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The best natural supplement without additives with melanin for hair color and skin color
Melanin is the pigment responsible for our beautiful variety of skin tones and shades, eye colors and hair colors. Melanin also protects against the harmful effects of ultraviolet (UV) rays. The melanin absorbs harmful ultraviolet light and protects the skin from the sun's harmful UV rays. The more melanin, the better protective barrier against the effects of sun exposure. Melanin is also the pigment that gives hair its color and it is melanin that keeps gray hair away.
Melanin is a class of biological pigments that protect the skin against, for example, wrinkles and inelastic skin. Pigment cells called melanocytes produce melanin in the outer skin layer. All melanocytes produce melanin, but cells in dark-skinned people produce more melanin per cell. The two types of melanin produced in human skin include black-brown, eumelanin, and yellowish-red pheomelanin. Each melanin has separate biological properties. Women produce 3 to 4 percent less melanin in their skin than men.
Melanin is also the pigment that gives hair and eyes their color. When the hair starts to turn white or gray, the whole hair is not affected. The gray hairs start to appear when there is still naturally colored hair left. White hair only occurs when all the colors in the hair are gone. Every hair on our body has its own cycle. Each hair grows, takes in nutrients for health and growth, falls out, and then grows back. Each of the hairs gets its own dose of melanin, and while some get enough melanin, there are some that don't, so these become light, while others become dark. What you notice is that the hair seems to turn gray; when it is actually a mixture of dyed, gray or white hair. As the person gets older and the body's ability to produce melanin starts to slow down, all the hair in the body turns gray or white, and that's when you start seeing all the hair as white.
Hair color is determined by the amount of a pigment called melanin in the hair. An overabundance of a type of melanin, called eumelanin, gives people black or brown hair. An overabundance of another pigment, called pheomelanin, gives people red hair.
The benefits of melanin for you in each supplement are listed below:
SKIN
ANTI-GRAY™ GRAY HAIR
HAIR
No. Although the terms sound similar, they refer to different things. Melanin is a pigment responsible for skin tone. Melatonin is a hormone that regulates your sleep. Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland from tryptophan. The effect of melatonin is to make you sleepy, and the secretion of melatonin is probably the body's most important mechanism for making us sleepy.
Melanin is the pigment that gives skin, hair and eyes their color. Dark-skinned people have more melanin in their skin than light-skinned people. Melanin provides some protection against skin damage caused by the sun, in that the melanocytes increase their production of melanin in response to sun exposure, causing us to tan.
Melanins are a group of pigments that give rise to the color in our skin, in our hair and in our eyes. While melanins have several functions in our bodies, probably the most important function is to protect our skin from the harmful effects of sunlight.
There are two basic classes of melanins:
Pheomelanin is a melanin that is found in smaller amounts in skin and hair. Light-skinned people have more pheomelanin than dark-skinned people. Pheomelanin contains the amino acid cysteine which gives red/yellow color tones, and pheoalanine is very abundant in large quantities in red hair and also contributes to the reddish color of freckles.
Eumelanin is the most common melanin in human skin and hair, and dark-skinned people have more eumelanin. Eumelanin colors hair from brown to black, and eumelanin is also the form of melanin that is usually missing in albinism.
All melanins are produced by melanocytes, which are a type of cell in our outermost skin layer (epidermis). Specifically, the melanocytes are located at the bottom of the epidermis and they generate melanin inside membrane-bound structures called melanosomes. Melanocytes transfer melanosomes to the cells above, i.e. to the keratinocytes, these keratinocytes are the dominant cell type in our outermost skin layer.
Melanin's essential function is to protect our skin from harmful UV rays from sunlight. UV exposure is the biggest cause of skin cancer.
You've probably heard of UVA and UVB rays, but here's a quick reminder of how different they are. UVA rays are the longer wavelength rays and represent the majority of UV radiation that reaches the atmosphere. UVB rays have shorter wavelengths and make up only a minority of UV radiation.
As the ozone layer is getting thinner, more and more UVB rays reach us, which is worrying considering that UVB rays are the most harmful and mutagenic (can cause mutations). UVA rays are also harmful to our genes, and UVA rays reach us even when we are sitting in the shade. The UVA rays penetrate deeper into the skin than the UVB rays do, and can have mutagenic effects in the dermis, i.e. the second layer of our skin that lies below the epidermis (the outermost skin layer).
Both UVA and UVB rays can cause genetic mutations in our DNA. Fortunately, we have proteins to detect and repair DNA mutations. If a mutation is not detected and repaired, the mutation multiplies as the cell divides. And if the mutation is in certain genes, it can lead to cancer.
In the two most common types of skin cancer, mutations associated with UVB damage are found in over 50% of patients.
Melanin protects our skin from light in several ways. It absorbs and redistributes the light energy from the UV rays, and it protects our genetic material (DNA) stored in the cell nucleus from the rays.
Light-skinned people are about 70 times more likely to develop skin cancer than dark-skinned individuals, suggesting that pigmentation is a key factor in skin cancer. The difference is not in the number of melanin-producing melanocytes, but in the amount of melanin produced. Asian individuals have, on average, twice as much melanin as Caucasians, while Africans have about three to six times more melanin. Since the rate of skin cancer in light-skinned and dark-skinned people differs by a factor of 70, factors other than the amount of melanin are clearly contributing factors.
Another contributing factor may have to do with the lifespan of the melanosome. One study showed that melanosomes in dark-skinned people are more resistant to cell breakdown (when cells become too unstable in an organism, resulting in its eventual death) than in light-skinned individuals.
Melanin, as sun protection has an SPF or sun protection factor. Scientists debate exactly how much SPF melanin has, but it's around SPF 1.5 - 2 and can be as high as 4. It may not sound like much, but an SPF 2 represents a doubling of the amount of protection from the sun. If you think about it another way, melanin absorbs around half of the UV light we are exposed to.
After DNA damage or repair from UV light exposure, the production of melanin is increased and this creates a tanned skin. How skin pigmentation is regulated is not well understood but will likely be the subject of future research. In mammals, more than 120 genes are known to have a role in pigmentation.
In other words; when the skin is exposed to the sun's UVB radiation, it gradually forms a pigment - melanin - which protects against mainly UVB radiation, and causes the skin to tan. This production of melanin is called melanogenesis. The increased production of melanin is a reaction to the DNA damage caused by UV radiation. Melanogenesis leads to delayed tanning, which typically becomes visible two or three days after exposure.
UVA radiation does not cause sunburn, but reaches deeper into the skin and can break down the connective tissue protein collagen , which among other things accelerates skin aging, and makes the skin wrinkled and inelastic.
People with any skin type can increase melanin to reduce the risk of skin cancer. Studies suggest that increased intake of certain nutrients can increase melanin levels.
NUTRIENTS CAN INCREASE MELANIN
There are many nutrients that are believed to increase melanin and can improve the health of the skin in general, which can reduce the overall risk of developing skin cancer.
DIFFERENT WAYS TO INCREASE MELANIN IN THE BODY
Nutrients may be the key to increasing melanin naturally in the skin. Here are some nutrients that can help your body produce more melanin.
ANTIOXIDANTS
Antioxidants show the strongest potential for increased melanin production. Although more studies are needed, some research suggests that antioxidants may help.
Micronutrients such as flavonoids or polyphenols, which come from the plants we eat, act as powerful antioxidants and can affect melanin production. Some of them increase melanin , while others can help reduce it.
Eat more antioxidant-rich foods such as dark leafy greens, dark berries, dark chocolate and colorful vegetables to get more antioxidants. Taking a vitamin and mineral supplement may also help.
VITAMIN A (RETINOL)
Studies indicate that vitamin A is important for melanin production and is important for healthy skin. You get vitamin A from the foods you eat, especially vegetables that contain beta-carotene, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach and peas.
Since vitamin A also acts as an antioxidant, some researchers believe that this vitamin, more than any other, may be a key to melanin production. However, more studies are still needed to directly prove that vitamin A increases melanin in humans.
However, some studies suggest that taking vitamin A (specifically retinol) can be good for skin health.
A type of carotenoid (the substance that gives red, yellow and orange vegetables their color) is found in vitamin A. It may also play a role in melanin production and UV protection, according to research.
Vitamin A is found in animal products in the form of retinol, but also in certain plants as a precursor to vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene. You can increase vitamin A levels by eating more foods rich in vitamin A, such as oranges, vegetables (carrots, squash and sweet potatoes), fish and meat. Because vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, it can build up in the body. If you want to take extra vitamin A from food supplements, make sure that the food supplement contains beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is only converted to vitamin A when needed, in the body.
VITAMIN E (TOCOPHEROL/TOCOTRIENOL)
Vitamin E is an important vitamin for skin health. It is also an antioxidant and can possibly increase melanin levels.
Although there are no studies that prove a direct link between vitamin E and more melanin , some studies show that vitamin E can help protect the skin from sun damage.
You can get more vitamin E by taking a vitamin E supplement, or by eating more vitamin E-rich foods such as seeds and vegetable oils, margarine, wheat germ, green leafy vegetables, avocados, whole grains, and eggs.
VITAMIN C (ASCORBIC ACID)
Like vitamin A and vitamin E, vitamin C is also an antioxidant. Vitamin C is needed for healthy mucous membranes. Vitamin C can also have some effect on melanin production and also protects the skin.
There are no studies proving that vitamin C increases melanin production. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that vitamin C may increase melanin levels.
Eating vitamin C-rich foods such as citrus, berries and leafy greens can optimize melanin production. Taking a vitamin C supplement may also help.
HERBS AND PLANTS
Some studies have investigated the potential benefits of herbs and teas in protecting the skin from damage caused by UV rays. Herbal products such as green tea and turmeric, which are rich in flavonoids and polyphenols, can increase melanin levels in the body, and can help protect the skin.
So far, however, no studies have shown that herbs or plants of any kind can increase melanin production. At the moment, such claims are only anecdotal.
Eating healthy foods and taking supplements that contain certain vitamins and antioxidants, such as vitamins A, C, and E, can help you take care of your skin and may reduce your risk of skin cancer, according to some studies.
However, it has not yet been proven that these antioxidants reliably increase the body's melanin . The only proven way to prevent skin cancer is to stay out of excessive sunlight and use a high-quality sunscreen.
