So I decided I'm gonna take a little break from my usual political threads to talk about a more mundane and down to earth topic that some people are very passionate about. Boys and girls, let's talk about skin, specifically melanin. your body is filled with trillions of skin cells which are created, live and die every day, and our skin cells produce melanin when exposed to UV radiation, which helps protect our skin from sunburns and other solar damage. Many people, especially in the west, harness this special feature of the skin to improve their appearance in a process known as tanning. Indeed, every summer you probably see a lot of your friends and family get that glowing sun kissed look, sometimes after only a few hours out in the sun and in other cases after several days of outdoor sunbathing.
Nope that we're done with all that scientific gibberish that no one cares about, this is where it gets interactive. What skin type are you? You probably have never thought about this question before, but skin comes in multiple types that vary in color greatly, and people aren't simply "dark skinned" or "light skinned." Human skin varies between type 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, and knowing your skin tone can greatly benefit you if you're an avid sun tanner.
Type I: type 1 skin is what we think of as nordic, being extremely light in complexion and unable to tan. Type 1 skin will always burn in the sun and those with it should avoid long periods of sun exposure even with sunscreen.
Type II: Type 2 skin is less fair than type 1 but is also your typical northern or central European tone. Type 2 burns easily but can mildly tan a little darker.
Type III: This is my skin tone right here. Type III is the lightest tone within the olive skin range, and is found among some central europeans and many southern europeans, latinos, levantine people, North Africans, iranians, northern indians, Chinese, korean, thai, vietnamese, burmese and Japanese people. Type III is naturally a light color but can tan moderately or darkly, although it can still burn
Type IV: type 4 skin is naturally a light brown color and can dark. It rarely burns and is found among people around the mediterranean, latin america, east asia, southeast Asia and North India.
Type V: type 5 is dark brown skin that rarely tans and never burns. 5 is found among some people from the mediterranean, people in the Arabian oeninsula, east africa, india, southeast asia, latin America and native Americans
Type VI: the darkest skin. This tone is found throughout africa, melanesia, southern India and central American native americans. It never tans or burns
So what skin tone are you? Do you tan at all or do you avoid the sun at all costs? Is anyone you know into tanning a little too much? Let me know down below
