Why do people have different skin colors? Meet melanocytes, the cells that make the brown color called melanin.
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Melanocytes live at the bottom of your skin's outer layer. They make a brown color called melanin.
A melanocyte has long arms that reach out between the skin cells around it. It packs melanin into tiny packets and passes them along its arms.
Press Share melanin on the 3D model to see the skin cells get their melanin.
Inside each skin cell, the melanin sits on top of the nucleus like a little umbrella. It helps shade the cell's DNA from the sun's rays.
When you are out in the sun, melanocytes can make extra melanin. That is what a tan is.
Press Sunny day to wake the melanocyte up.
Melanin only helps a bit, so everyone still needs sunscreen, a hat, and shade!
Here is a surprise: almost everyone has about the same number of melanocytes. Skin color depends on how much melanin they make.
Freckles are little spots where melanocytes made extra melanin.