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    This (lowercase (translateProductType product.productType)) has been cited by the following publications. This list is generated based on data provided by CrossRef.
    Climstein, Mike Furness, James Hing, Wayne and Walsh, Joe 2016. Lifetime prevalence of non-melanoma and melanoma skin cancer in Australian recreational and competitive surfers. Photodermatology, Photoimmunology & Photomedicine, Vol. 32, Issue. 4, p. 207.
    Lucock, Mark Jones, Patrice Martin, Charlotte Beckett, Emma Yates, Zoe Furst, John and Veysey, Martin 2015. Vitamin D. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, Vol. 20, Issue. 4, p. 310.
    Osborne, Daniel L. and Hames, Raymond 2014. A life history perspective on skin cancer and the evolution of skin pigmentation. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Vol. 153, Issue. 1, p. 1.
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  • Print publication year: 2010
  • Online publication date: August 2012

12 - Skin Coloration

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Summary

Human skin is functionally hairless and exhibits a wide range of natural colors from the most deeply saturated dark brown to pinkish off-white. Differences between people in skin color are readily perceived and have been used as the basis for classifying people into groups referred to as races or race-color identities (Harris et al.,1993). The array of colors observed in the skin of modern humans is greater than that of any other single mammalian species, and is the product of natural selection (Jablonski and Chaplin, 2000), despite some arguments to the contrary (Blum, 1961; Frost, 1988; Robins, 1991; Aoki, 2002). Skin pigmentation in humans evolved primarily to regulate the amount of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) penetrating the skin and, thus, modify its bioactive effects.

Color is imparted to skin by a variety of different substances, which are visible to varying degrees in different people. The most important of these substances is the pigment, melanin, which is produced in specialized cells called melanocytes within the skin. In people with very pale skin, the skin gets most of its color from the bluish-white connective tissue of the dermis and from oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin associated with red blood cells circulating in the capillaries of the dermis. The red color produced by circulating hemoglobin becomes more obvious, especially on the face, when the arterioles dilate and become engorged with blood as a result of prolonged exercise or sympathetic nervous stimulation caused by embarrassment or anger (Jablonski, 2006).

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