Once skin is exposed to UV radiation, it increases the production of melanin in an attempt to protect the skin from further damage. Melanin is the same pigment that colors your hair, eyes, and skin. The increase in melanin may cause your skin tone to darken over the next 48 hours.
However, when exposed to sunlight, your skin can increase melanin production, causing it to tan more easily. Sun Exposure: If you spend time in the sun, even with lighter skin, your body can react by producing more melanin to protect itself from UV damage, resulting in a tan.
Melanin Production: Tanning occurs when the skin produces more melanin in response to UV exposure. The more melanin produced, the darker the tan. However, there is a limit to how much melanin your skin can produce.
Foods for tanning: here are the friends of tanning
The best known of all is certainly beta-carotene. It is the precursor of vitamin A that stimulates the production of melanin and that helps minimize the aggressive action of sunlight on the skin.
Eggs: Eggs, especially the yolk, contain vitamin B6, omega-3 and omega-6, which hydrate the skin and promote tanning. Don't eat too many though, as they are high in cholesterol. Rocket, broccoli and spinach: Lots of green vegetables can also accelerate tanning; eat them raw in salads to get the greatest benefit.
The deficiency of vitamin B12 can cause specific skin manifestations, such as hyperpigmentation, vitiligo, angular stomatitis, and hair and nail changes [1].
Natural Sun Tanning
Fair skin can tan under the sun, but only with care. Start with short, consistent exposure, about 10-15 minutes a day during safer times like early morning or late afternoon.
Type IV – Brown skin color, brown hair, and brown eyes, tans more than average, rarely burns, and rarely freckles. Common ethnic background: the Mediterranean, Southern European, Hispanic.
Therefore, what will determine whether a person can tan or simply turn red is both the amount of melanin produced by their skin cells and its quality. Or, the ratio between “good and bad” melanin.
Make sure you drink water often to keep your whole body nourished and keep that tan glowing! It may sound like a gimmick, but there are actually certain foods that can help boost, and even enhance your tan. Eating carrots, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and cantaloupe will give you a healthy dose of carotene.
Currently, no safe or proven method exists to increase melanin – the pigment, or color, in a person's skin, hair, and eyes. A person's genetics determine their natural melanin levels and skin color. In general, people who have darker skin tones have more melanin than those with lighter skin tones.
The incidence of this change varies, and depends on the type of medication involved. Some of the most common drugs involved are NSAIDs, antimalarials, psychotropic drugs, Amiodarone, cytotoxic drugs, tetracyclines, and heavy metals such as silver and gold (which must be ingested, not just worn).
The primary stimulus for melanogenesis and subsequent melanosome production is UV radiation, which upregulates melanocyte production of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) and its downstream products, alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH).
Boost Your Beta-Carotene Intake
Foods rich in beta-carotene, like carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, and kale, can give your skin a natural glow while enhancing its ability to tan.
Stay Hydrated: Hydrated skin tans more evenly and retains its glow longer. Drink plenty of water before, during, and after sun exposure to keep your skin hydrated from the inside out. Additionally, moisturize your skin regularly with a hydrating lotion or aftersun product to maintain its elasticity and suppleness.
UVA rays penetrate to the lower layers of the epidermis, where they trigger cells called melanocytes (pronounced: mel-AN-oh-sites) to produce melanin. Melanin is the brown pigment that causes tanning. Melanin is the body's way of protecting skin from burning.
In the normal sunlight-driven tanning response, UV damage triggers an increase in the production of melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH), which is a short protein (peptide) that binds and activates another protein, the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R), on melanocytes.