"Bye-Bye Dark Spots: The Ultimate Treatment Guide"

When speaking with clients about the best products and skin treatments for their skin, it’s important to understand the science behind skin tone more broadly and the process behind our vital pigment: melanin.

Most clients know that melanin is the protein that gives our skin its natural color. However, many people are not aware that melanin is also known to protect skin against the harmful effects of UV (ultraviolet) rays, oxidative stress, and DNA damage. Just as we hold an umbrella over our heads to protect against the sun and rain, melanin forms a protective cap over our skin cells’ DNA.

Many people are also surprised to learn that much like sunscreen, melanin has an SPF. Scientists debate melanin’s exact SPF value – but we do know that it helps to absorb or redistribute some of the UV light we’re exposed to.

Melanin also presents free radical-scavenging properties to help protect skin against oxidative stress. Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) – better known as free radicals – are produced in the skin under the influence of UV radiation and pollution. These compounds are highly reactive and can induce DNA damage in our epidermal skin cells.

Article from Dermalogica