What cells produce the pigment in hair and skin?

In these layers are three special types of cells:

• Melanocytes (meh-LAH-nuh-sites) make melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color.
• Keratinocytes (ker-uh-TIH-no-sites) make keratin, a type of protein that’s a basic component of hair, skin, and nails.

What material makes epidermis tough?

Almost 90\% of the epidermis is made of cells known as keratinocytes. Keratinocytes develop from stem cells at the base of the epidermis and begin to produce and store the protein keratin. Keratin makes the keratinocytes very tough, scaly and water-resistant.

What determines the color of skin and what is the process that darkens skin when it is exposed to UV light?

What determines the color of skin, and what is the process that darkens skin when it is exposed to UV light? The pigment melanin, produced by melanocytes, is primarily responsible for skin color. Exposure to UV irradiation stimulates the melanocytes to produce and secrete more melanin.

What is the name of the special cell in the stratum Germinativum responsible for producing dark skin pigment?

melanocytes
The deepest of the epidermal layers is called the stratum basale or stratum germinativum. In this layer lie important cells called melanocytes. Their name is derived from two parts: melano-, which means black or darkness, and -cyte, which means cell.

Which pigment gives Colour to skin?

Skin color is determined by a pigment (melanin) made by specialized cells in the skin (melanocytes). The amount and type of melanin determines a person’s skin color.

How is melanin formed in the skin?

Melanin is produced through a multistage chemical process known as melanogenesis, where the oxidation of the amino acid tyrosine is followed by polymerization. The melanin pigments are produced in a specialized group of cells known as melanocytes.

What is carotene melanin?

Explanation: Melanin is a pigment that gives the skin color. Carotene or rather β -caroteen is a red-orange colored pigment that gives carrots their orange color. An excess of carotene would turn your skin orange. In the body, carotene is converted into vitamin A.

Which pigment found in skin originates from outside the body?

Through a process called melanogenesis, melanocytes produce melanin, which is a pigment found in the skin, eyes, hair, nasal cavity, and inner ear. This melanogenesis leads to a long-lasting pigmentation, which is in contrast to the pigmentation that originates from oxidation of already-existing melanin.

What produces melanin or pigment?

Melanin is a pigment produced by the melanocytes, within the melanosomes, in a reaction catalyzed by tyrosinase during the conversion of tyrosine into dopa.

What determines skin color melanin?

Skin colour or pigmentation is determined by three pigments or chromophores: Melanin – a brown/black or red/yellow polymer produced by melanosomes in melanocyte cells. Haemoglobin in red blood cells in the superficial vasculature.

What contributes to skin color?

Melanin, however, is the major component of skin color ; it is the presence or absence of melanin in the melanosomes in melanocytes and melanin in keratinocytes that is responsible for epidermal pigmentation, and the presence of melanin in macrophages or melanocytes in the dermis that is responsible for dermal …

Which of the following are pigments that contribute to skin color?

The pigments that contribute to skin color are melanin, carotene, and hemoglobin.