Deep in the epidermis, melanocytes make the pigment melanin and hand it to nearby skin cells. Melanin soaks up UV rays and caps each cell's nucleus like a tiny umbrella — protecting its DNA. Turn up the sun and watch.
Mild sun
Melanin & UVthe built-in sunscreen
Set the UV exposure
Skin color comes from three pigments: melanin (brown-black), carotene (yellow-orange), and hemoglobin (the red of blood showing through). The tradeoff: melanin blocks harmful UV, but a little UV is also needed to make vitamin D.
📷 Reference image
A real labeled figure to compare with the interactive above.
Skin Color & Melanin — OpenStax College, CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
