How To Increase Melanin Production

Tanning

Tanning and Increased Melanin Production

How do you increase melanin production in the skin to develop a tan with minimal exposure to UV radiation?
One must find a way to efficiently increase the production of the melanocyte-stimulating hormone, to produce melanin. Luckily there is a way to do this safely, and that is with the tanning peptide. This will all make sense with a quick review of some skin basics.
Our Skin – The Dermis and Epidermis
Located on the bottom is the dermis, the epidermis is the uppermost layer of one’s skin. The role of the epidermis is to protect the skin against the toxins in the, as well as water and UV radiation. Comprised of approximately 95% keratinocytes, which are responsible for producing keratin, within the epidermis we find the home of the melanocytes. A “melanocyte” is a specialised cell. It determines one’s skin, and it defines one’s natural hair colour.
In the skin, there are two types of melanin

• Protecting us from UV radiation is eumelanin. Eumelanin is brown-black and photoprotective.
• Offering no protection against UV radiation is pheomelanin, which is the yellow-red and photo-reactive melanin.
• Darker skin types will mainly produce eumelanin, whereas fair skinned skin types have high levels of pheomelanin, thus they typically burn quickly in the sun.

Melanin and its protective mechanism

If someone has been exposed to large amounts of ultraviolet radiation, they have the risk of causing damage to the DNA in their skin cells. Our protective mechanism is what counteracts this damage. Increased production of melanin pigment gets secreted from the melanocytes. The resulting tan works to buffer the skin from further UV damage. Tanning essentially is a reaction coming from the skin that ultimately aims to protect and prevent further DNA damage.
How developed one’s tan becomes is not attributed to the number of melanocytes present in the skin, but rather it is somewhat assigned to the rate of melanin produced and to the type of melanin produced.

Melanotan II – The Tanning Peptide

• First synthesised at the University of Arizona.
• Scientists were investigating potential treatments for skin cancer when they discovered Melanotan II.
• Through the process of melanogenesis, one could induce the body’s natural pigmentary system and achieve a protective tan before UV exposure.

With minimal UV exposure, the release of a-MSH stimulates a natural increase in melanin production. Use of the tanning peptide stimulates the increase of melanin by providing more a-MSH.
Clinical trials indicate that use of the tanning peptide promotes melanogenesis and it does so with minimal side effects.
Melanogenesis protects the hypodermis by absorbing all of the UVB light, blocking its passage into the underlayer of the skin. The hypodermis is the underlayer that UVB light could potentially damage with overexposure.
 

• Melanocytes produce melanin.
• Melanin is a skin pigmentation that contributes to our skin and hair colour.
• Skin colour / tanned skin protects the skin against ultraviolet radiation.
• Increase melanin production occurs with the tanning peptide.