Why Does Human Skin Have Different Colours?

All around the world people have skin of different colours. For instance, the people who live in northern Europe have white skin whereas those who live in the western Africa have black skin. People who live in the south East Asia have yellowish skin.

Do you know why human skin has different colors?

Mainly the colour of the human skin depends on the three ‘color materials’ or ‘pigments’ found in the body. The first pigment is known as ‘melanin; which is a brown substance. It appears black if gets concentrated. The second is known as ‘carotene’ which is a yellow substance. And the third is known as ‘hemoglobin’ which is the red pigment of the blood. The colour of the skin will become creamy white in the absence of these pigments. The different colour of the skin is produced by the mixture of these three pigments in different proportions. A man of dark complexion has more melanin while a man of yellowish complexion has more carotene. More melanin is produced by the tissues of the body when exposed to the ultra violet rays in sunlight. Due to this reason, the people who live in tropical regions have very dark coloured skin. Our skin becomes dark if we work in the sun continuously for a few days. In the cold countries people have white skin because their skin contains smaller amount of melanin. White spots are produced in the body due to the deficiency of these pigments in the body. This is a type of disease which is known as ‘leucoderma’.