PrinCple Facts:
Skin color can be everything from very pale to very dark, and many shades in between. That's because of something called melanin, which is a pigment produced by cells known as melanocytes. These cells are found in most animals and humans alike within the skin, hair and iris of the eye.

Here are some facts about melanin:

• Some people make more melanin than others. Everyone has about the same number of melanocytes that make melanin, but not everybody makes the same amount of melanin.
• How much melanin your body makes depends on your genes, which you get from your parents. Theres are two types of melanin– Eumelanin (the bronzy, brownish tones) and Pheomelanin (the red hair and freckles)
• Melanin is why you get a tan or burn. When you go out in the sun, your body makes more melanin. That's because it's trying to protect you from the sun's damaging rays by deflecting or absorbing them but melanin isn't strong enough to completely protect you, especially if you have pale skin. You should always protect your skin from the sun by covering up and using sunscreen.
• Albinism is the genetic inability to produce melanin and vitiligo is the progressive loss of melanocytes.

People with darker skin have more melanin, they usually don't get as wrinkly when they get older. They're also less likely to get skin cancer. But even dark-skinned people can get wrinkles and skin cancer, so everyone needs to protect their skin when they go outside.

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