How is melanin made?
In order to understand how we can effectively treat hyper-pigmentation we need to review how melanin is made in the skin. The production of pigment within the melanocyte is a multi-step process. The first step is mediated by the enzyme, Tyrosinase, and it involves the conversion of the amino acid Tyrosine to L-DOPA. In the second step, L-DOPA is converted to Dopaquinone, a dihydroxybenzene derivative; this step is also mediated by the Tyrosinase enzyme but it now requires copper as an enzyme co-factor. Once Dopaquinone is made, the biosynthetic pathway splits and several subsequent reactions lead to either eumelanin, the brown and black melanin, or phaeomelanin, the yellow and red melanin pigments. Scientists are continually studying this biosynthetic pathway in an effort to better understand and control the process of melanin formation. How can we control hyperpigmentation? The most obvious means of controlling pigmentation, especially sun induced, would be to apply a broad-spectrum s
