suntan

…the designer Coco Chanel made suntans the rage, exposure of the female form became almost total. Sunbathing suits revealed more of the female anatomy than any costume since antiquity: whereas in the past ladies had gone to great lengths to avoid being browned by the sun (for a sunburned complexion…

…process manifests most noticeably as skin darkening, with exposure to sunlight serving as the stimulus for MSH production and secretion. Similar effects are seen in amphibians, in some fishes, and in reptiles, in which MSH regulates melanin synthesis in cells known as melanophores (a type of chromatophore) and enables the…

Both suntans and postinflammatory pigmentation result from the overproduction of melanin.

Within days, a protective tan (in mild cases of sunburn) is formed.

…sunlight, human epidermis undergoes gradual tanning with increases in the melanin content, which helps to protect underlying tissues from injurious sun rays.

…darkening of the body—for example, tanning in humans. Such melanic shielding protects the tissues of the organism from potentially dangerous levels of ultraviolet radiation. Since the ultraviolet shield need protect only easily damaged cells in the nervous and reproductive systems, it does not necessarily have to lie in the skin…

Tanning is a natural body defense relying on melanin to help protect the skin from further injury. Melanin is a chemical pigment in the skin that absorbs ultraviolet radiation and limits its penetration into tissues. A suntan occurs when melanin pigments in cells in the…