the.com/eumelanin
The pigment that decides if you tan or just lie to yourself about it.
means Eumelanin is the brown-to-black pigment in skin, hair, and eyes that absorbs UV light and gives most of the world's tanning (or burning) outcomes their baseline color.
from Built from Greek roots: 'eu-' meaning 'good' or 'true,' and 'melas/melanos' meaning 'black' — so literally 'true black.' The word distinguishes it from its redder, sulfur-containing cousin pheomelanin; both were named as melanin research split pigment into categories in the 20th century, with 'eu-' marking this one as the classic, true-to-type dark pigment rather than a variant.
- colors made
- brown and black, not red or yellow
- sun defense
- absorbs UV, converts it to harmless heat
- redhead rule
- low eumelanin means pheomelanin takes over instead
- also found in
- octopus ink and your inner ear