The amount of melanin in ones body defines the protection that the skin will have from the sun. Those with dark skin have more melanin in their body than the ones with light skin. African American skin care tends to be overlooked for that reason. Dark skin people think that they never need to worry from our powerful sun. This is a common mistake. Black skin care is important at all ages and can be very challenging. Although African American skin is protected more than other skin types, there are basic protection steps that have to be addressed.

Let's take a little side trip and talk about melanin. It's a skin pigment which gives color to your skin. If you see a light-skinned person with freckles, what you are seeing is someone with little spots of melanin. A freckle is created by small concentration of melanin. When you become tanned by the sun, what is in fact happening is that the sun triggers melanocytes which are cells in your skin to create more melanin. The melanin moves to the outer layer of skin and creates a darker skin color.

What melanin does is protect your skin from sunlight thus aiding black skin care. It also slows down the aging process of your skin. People with black skin tend to look younger than people with paler skin. On the other hand, it does not have the same elasticity as lighter skin. Studies have shown that there are differences in skin barrier function between black skin and white skin. In a study on infants, black infants were shown to have a greater barrier to water loss than did white infants. This is more nourishing to the skin because the water is there to feed the skin. African American skin care is important in all ages.

While skin comes in dry, normal, and oily regardless of the color or level of melanin, there are basic fundamental differences in the skin's ability to protect itself. The added melanin creates a barrier to the skin that protects it but at the same time, it also makes it more difficult to have a skin care treatment penetrate deep into the skin. This means that you might need heavier oil as the base of the skin care treatment so that it can treat the skin and yet not be too oily. In different words, your skin does not need more oil quite as much as it needs oil that can work into the layers of your skin. In short, smaller molecules.

Fortunately, there is emerging technology that addresses just this problem of creating exact ingredients with small molecules for greater penetration of the skin. The bad news is that only the high end product lines have yet to incorporate this technology, which means higher prices.

Pay attention and look for black skin care treatment designed for deep penetration. African American skin care must not be neglected or forgotten. You may have been blessed with the best protection from the sun, naturally. You may look younger than your age. With these blessings there are still some measures that you need to take in order to keep your skin healthy. Research and get the right black skin care treatment that matches the needs of your skin type.