Your skin's tone is caused by several factors.
You may be familiar with some of them, but not others.
There are also factors that can change your skin's tone or make pigmentation uneven.
Let's take a look at all of those factors and some helpful solutions.
• Heritage Your family heritage or race will determine, at least to a certain extent, the color of your skin.
For example, if your ancestors are from the Mediterranean area, your skin will have a more olive tone.
Some surprising underlying colors mix together to create an individual's complexion.
Blue, for example, is a common color in many people's complexion.
They are often surprised to learn about it.
The colors are actually due to a pigment called melanin.
• Melanin Melanin is produced by specialized cells called melanocytes, which also happen to be the location of the most serious form of skin cancer; melanoma.
All humans who are not albinos have some amount of melanin in their bodies.
Melanin is also responsible for a person's hair color.
In people who have darker skin and hair, the melanin is closer to black.
It is referred to as eumelanin.
Pheomelanin has a pink or red hue.
It is found in both light and dark-skinned people, but is most abundant in people with red hair.
• Melanin Production Melanin production or melanogenesis can be stimulated by various stimuli according to laboratory research.
Certain nutrients, hormones and a variety of toxins stimulate melanin production.
But, the most common cause of increased melanogenesis is exposure to sunlight.
• Sunlight Regardless of your heritage, regardless of whether you are naturally light-skinned or dark-skinned, exposure to sunlight will cause a darkening of your skin's tone.
The change typically occurs gradually over time, often going unnoticed.
Exposure to sunlight is also responsible for melanin clumps, which are present in freckles and age spots.
Other types of melanin clumps, such as the uneven pigmentation that sometimes accompanies pregnancy, are caused by hormonal changes.
• Hormonal Changes Exactly how hormonal changes affect the skin's pigmentation is unclear.
The hormones must have some effect on melanogenesis.
We have only observations to show us that hormonal changes seem to contribute to changes in pigmentation.
• Pigmentation Changes The pigmentation changes that occur during pregnancy are short-lived.
In most cases, they last for only a few months.
By the time the baby is delivered, the heavily pigmented areas should be mostly faded away.
During and around the time of menopause, there may be some changes in pigmentation.
The skin's color may become darker, lighter or simply uneven.
This is one of the visible signs of aging.
• Aging Aging alone does not have to cause changes in the skin's tone.
It is usually some combination of the above factors, rather than aging itself, that is the actually cause.
Excessive exposure to sunlight, for example, will cause a fair-skinned person's tone to become redder.
Other individuals may simply see a little darker tone as the years go by.
There are solutions for uneven pigmentation and the darkening of tone that accompanies sun exposure and sometimes the aging process.
You'll learn about those solutions that you may personally use in my next article.
• Click the link below in the resource box for: How to Lighten Your Skin Tone.
Sign up for the Free Skin Care Guide and Newsletter.