sunglasses...decreases melanin production in body?
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free skin care · Tue Aug 16, 2005 11:24 am

so i was browsing an online site about fair skin and there was a topic about freckle production and someone suggested this as why someone was getting so much melanin production:

"You may have been out more than normal, this year has certainly been hotter than normal in most places so you might be getting more uv than usual, your body for some reason might just have decided to produce more melanin (wearing sunglasses slows production-your body needs the light to know to produce it, maybe you're not wearing sunglasses as much or a lighter pair than usual)."

I hardly doubt that is true, because the sun is penetrating your skin so That would cause the freckles. Not lack of sunglasses...heat and light lets our bodies know we are getting sun..yes, the eyes see it..but that just seems like a stretch.

free skin care · Tue Aug 16, 2005 11:54 am

That is very strange. I don't see the logic in the sunglasses theory at all -- like you said, the sun is penetrated through the skin. Odd!

free skin care · Tue Aug 16, 2005 12:00 pm

That information is completely wrong. Wearing sunglasses does not stop your body from producing melanin. Melanin is produced by the skin from contact with a UV light source. Nor does heat cause your body to produce more of it. The reason that most hyperpigmentation occurs in the summer is because people are outside more & it is usually more sunny. It has nothing to do with temperature or what type of eye wear you are donning. Laughing

Funny!

free skin care · Tue Aug 16, 2005 1:34 pm

Maybe they confused melanin with melatonin???? I know that sunglasses would definitely effect your melatonin production. But that has nothing to do with freckles! ROFL!

free skin care · Wed Aug 17, 2005 10:14 am

I asked the person to provide their source of information and this is what they gave me:

"Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) is produced by the pituitary gland. MSH flows through the bloodstream and reaches the melanocytes, encouraging them to produce more melanin (for example, a person injected with a large dose of MSH will get darker). The pituitary gland is actually quite interesting - it is tied into the optic nerve, which means that it can sense light. If you have ever raised chickens for eggs, you know that in the winter egg production falls way off. You solve this problem by providing light in the chicken coop. The extra light stimulates the pituitary gland in chickens, which causes the gland to produce a hormone essential to egg laying. In humans, light affects the pituitary gland as well and one result is the production of MSH. A funny side-effect of all of this is that wearing sunglasses may make you more susceptible to sunburn! See this page for some thoughts on the subject.
from http://travel.howstuffworks.com/sunscreen2.htm which is only one of many sites (reputable ones, not second grade research papers) that I have seen it on in searches for other information on tans."

Ummm..interesting.

free skin care · Thu Aug 18, 2005 6:38 am

purpleturtle, your information is accurate. I had heard this a few years back also and saw the research, it is true.

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