Pigmentation, what is it and where does it comes from?
Ok, to really understand pigmentation we really need to start at the beginning with a bit of biology…stick with me and I’ll try and make it more interesting than high school biology!
The colour of your skin is directly related to the activity of your melanocytes and melanocytes are responsible for producing melanin and melanin is what gives your skin it’s colour. Now, to understand how it becomes visible on the skin as “blotches” or freckles or unevenness in colour we need to have a quick look at the skin itself.
The skin has basically 3 layers, the epidermis, the dermis and the subcutaneous. What we are focusing on today is the epidermis.
The epidermis is the outer most layer of the skin and is essentially a protective shield. It is comprised of 5 layers. The top layer is called the Stratum Corneum and the bottom layer is the Stratum Basale, and the Stratum Basale is where the melanocytes are based. Still with me….?
Now as we already know, the melanocyte is responsible for producing melanin. But why does it produce melanin I hear you ask….the short answer is for protection. Now, stay with me because this is where the science happens…
When UV radiation (sun), hits your skin, it triggers a response in the melanocyte which in turn stimulates a melanosome to produce melanin to try and protect your skin cells from DNA damage. Imagine a little bubble( a skin cell), with a little brain (nucleus). When your body realises it is under attack from UV radiation, the melanocyte arm, (think of it like an octopus), fuses with the keratinocyte (skin cell), and the melanosome is transferred through into the skin cell and releases melanin. The melanin cells then cluster around the nucleus, (brain of the cell) to protect it, (think Mel Gibson in Braveheart). Melanin is then able to absorb the UV radiation rather than the nucleus to keep the DNA protected.
Now, why do we see pigmentation on our skin? Ok, the more UV damage you experience, the more melanin is produced and as the skin cells (keratinocytes) move up through the layers of the epidermis, you start to see pigmented “blotches” on the skins surface.
As the body attempts to protect itself, more melanin is deposited resulting in a “tan”. However, the more damage we sustain from UV radiation, the more damage occurs to our DNA and the less evenly melanin in distributed which results in uneven, dark spots and “splotches” on our skin.
And that is a basic biology lesson in pigmentation. Hopefully, this will give you a better understanding and insight into the process of pigmentation and in our next blog we will cover how to improve and prevent pigmentation.
Spoiler alert…sun protection plays a big role 🙂
Can’t wait for the next installment…..Book a complimentary consultation with Leisa.