About Brown Skin: Melanin

Whether we trace our roots to Rio de Janeiro, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Guam, Samoa, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Egypt, Morocco, Senegal or Cape Town, there is one trait that all women with brown skin have in common: elevated levels of melanin.

Melanin is the chemical that determines the color of skin. The more melanin there is in a person's skin, the darker that person's skin will be.

The melanin in brown skin is made in cells known as melanocytes, which are found in the upper (basal) layer of the epidermis. The melanocytes in some individuals and ethnic groups express melanin-producing genes more frequently, thereby producing more pigment within the skin.

Melanocytes are very reactive in our skin. They can and do produce more melanin when stimulated by a diverse array of factors including sunlight, inappropriate skin care products or cosmetics, irritating topical medications, certain oral medications and many medical conditions.

Because of the reactive and unpredictable nature of melanin, women with brown skin are more likely to suffer from problems such as dark marks, blemishes and other skin discolorations such as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, melasma and vitiligo.

Brown skin also reacts differently and at times more severely to common conditions such as acne, eczema and psoriasis. Finally, women with brown skin often take medication for conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease, and these medications can also lead to skin discolorations.