Oh, thank you 😁 It was so much fun to research and write this one! and I’m loving the positive responses to it’s message, too—exactly what I had hoped to see! 🧡👏
Very much enjoyed this informative post. Each person in my immediate family has a different skin tone. What never seems to be addressed is those people who do tan, but their tanning brings on heavy freckling they find unattractive.
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Yes, facultative tanning and freckles can be seen as a kind of melasma or hyperpigmentation. I am also prone to this (especially once I started having children, as the hormones play a role). If they want to reduce the effect and have a more even skin tone, they might consider spending longer outside at sunrise and sunset when there is no UV light at all because this type of sunlight offers photobiomodulation (PBM) which may trigger autophagy in the melanocytes so they clear up the concentrated pigment, as well as give a protective factor against later UV exposure. In latitudes where this skin-type is more common, sunlight remains low on the horizon in this infrared range for many long hours during the extreme seasons of the year. Cold air exposure may also play a role in optimizing mitochondrial health in the skin, as well as elevated dietary need for seafood and to avoid plant-based fats and to avoid iron-enriched foods, as these types of fats and metals tend to oxidize in the skin leaving a less pretty look with the melanin having releasing oxidized metals instead of forming the desired sunkissed glow. In the healthy tan, the metals are reduced from their oxidative to neutralized state (ie, FeIII to FeII) and contained in the melanin for future release either by re-absorption or when the skin gets sloughed off. Interestingly, photobiomodulation seems to work for both hyperpigmentation like freckles, and for hypopigmentation, like vitiglio, even with less-ideal laser therapies: https://doi.org/10.1089/photob.2023.0040
I have olive skin and tan easily (partial Mediterranean ancestry -- it's pretty easy for me to avoid burns without sunscreen) but live in an area that doesn't have much sun for most of the year. I look TERRIBLE with pale skin. Just sickly and unnatural. :-/ So I try to get as much sun as possible.
When in a dark time of year, photobiomodulation and cold therapy can help with skin tone by increasing collagen and mitochondrial function. This is why steam/sauna and cold exposure were practiced almost universally in polar climates.
My good friend has always had extremely white / blondish hair, and is of nordic descent. I wonder if he has vellus hair? So much valuable information here - thank you!
I’m about to be on vacation in Florida and I found this not only incredibly informative, but as a fair skinned person I’m going to be applying some of this to my life
Fascinating! You mention melanin regulating copper/zinc in the body. I’d always heard grey hair meant a deficiency of copper, so now I’m wondering if melanin is a link that was missing in the grey hair/copper conversation. Get more copper and a tan and perhaps have less grey hair?
I sunbathe all day and have grey hair. My tan hasn’t changed that. When I was younger I had sandy blonde hair which lightened in the summer and darkened in the winter. I’ve always lived in sunny places. I think I’m level 3 on the Fitzpatrick scale.
Really enjoyed this read! I have always been drawn to exposing my skin to the sun as a way of warming - I often feel like a flower turning to the rays. But, can also immediately feel if the sun is too much for me and look for cooler, shader places. I’m of Sicilian and Irish ancestry and feel as though the Italian skin I’ve inherited makes me a three. Thank you for sharing!
You are such a WELL OF WISDOM, WOMAN! I INjoyed every last drop of thIS! Thank you, thank you, thank you Nikko!
Oh, thank you 😁 It was so much fun to research and write this one! and I’m loving the positive responses to it’s message, too—exactly what I had hoped to see! 🧡👏
I can really sense how much fun you have with it and how much it TRULY Lights you up! It’s so felt ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
Very much enjoyed this informative post. Each person in my immediate family has a different skin tone. What never seems to be addressed is those people who do tan, but their tanning brings on heavy freckling they find unattractive.
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Yes, facultative tanning and freckles can be seen as a kind of melasma or hyperpigmentation. I am also prone to this (especially once I started having children, as the hormones play a role). If they want to reduce the effect and have a more even skin tone, they might consider spending longer outside at sunrise and sunset when there is no UV light at all because this type of sunlight offers photobiomodulation (PBM) which may trigger autophagy in the melanocytes so they clear up the concentrated pigment, as well as give a protective factor against later UV exposure. In latitudes where this skin-type is more common, sunlight remains low on the horizon in this infrared range for many long hours during the extreme seasons of the year. Cold air exposure may also play a role in optimizing mitochondrial health in the skin, as well as elevated dietary need for seafood and to avoid plant-based fats and to avoid iron-enriched foods, as these types of fats and metals tend to oxidize in the skin leaving a less pretty look with the melanin having releasing oxidized metals instead of forming the desired sunkissed glow. In the healthy tan, the metals are reduced from their oxidative to neutralized state (ie, FeIII to FeII) and contained in the melanin for future release either by re-absorption or when the skin gets sloughed off. Interestingly, photobiomodulation seems to work for both hyperpigmentation like freckles, and for hypopigmentation, like vitiglio, even with less-ideal laser therapies: https://doi.org/10.1089/photob.2023.0040
This is fascinating. I have never heard this discussed anywhere else. I have learned so much from you in such a short time! Thank you.
I have olive skin and tan easily (partial Mediterranean ancestry -- it's pretty easy for me to avoid burns without sunscreen) but live in an area that doesn't have much sun for most of the year. I look TERRIBLE with pale skin. Just sickly and unnatural. :-/ So I try to get as much sun as possible.
When in a dark time of year, photobiomodulation and cold therapy can help with skin tone by increasing collagen and mitochondrial function. This is why steam/sauna and cold exposure were practiced almost universally in polar climates.
Thank you!
My good friend has always had extremely white / blondish hair, and is of nordic descent. I wonder if he has vellus hair? So much valuable information here - thank you!
Yes, everyone has some vellus hair into adulthood (like the peach fuzz on our cheeks), and some people keep more than others.
Absolutely fascinating read, I’m really enjoying your posts.
I’m about to be on vacation in Florida and I found this not only incredibly informative, but as a fair skinned person I’m going to be applying some of this to my life
Fascinating! You mention melanin regulating copper/zinc in the body. I’d always heard grey hair meant a deficiency of copper, so now I’m wondering if melanin is a link that was missing in the grey hair/copper conversation. Get more copper and a tan and perhaps have less grey hair?
I sunbathe all day and have grey hair. My tan hasn’t changed that. When I was younger I had sandy blonde hair which lightened in the summer and darkened in the winter. I’ve always lived in sunny places. I think I’m level 3 on the Fitzpatrick scale.
There’s a point where the melanocytes at the root of the hair no longer work and cannot be restored (at least to present knowledge).
It’s potentially reversible in the early stages when it’s a stress situation, but not later on if the melanocytes have completely lost function.
Really enjoyed this read! I have always been drawn to exposing my skin to the sun as a way of warming - I often feel like a flower turning to the rays. But, can also immediately feel if the sun is too much for me and look for cooler, shader places. I’m of Sicilian and Irish ancestry and feel as though the Italian skin I’ve inherited makes me a three. Thank you for sharing!