How do people with dark skin color withstand sun light better?

Everything in this world comes with its advantages and disadvantages so does the the skin color. White skin is more prone to have sun burn and skin disease as compared to dark colored individuals. This is a good news for dark colored individuals that they are less likely to have acnes, sun burn, cracked skin and also skin cancer (to some extent). Dark color provides natural protection against sun light radiations. Dark colored skin has more concentration of melanin, a brownish pigment, that is released under the influence of sunlight by the special cells called melanocytes that are present in the skin. Those individuals whose one or both parents have dark complexion then they also have a tendency to get a dark complexion. Because the genes that they get from their parents increase the concentration of melanocytes in the skin which produce more melanin and increased concentration of melanin in skin means they will have a darker complexion.

 

This melanin absorb the sun radiations and protect the skin against its bad effects. White colored individuals have less melanin in their skin, so the sun radiations penetrate deeper and damage the skin. Melanin protects the skin against radiation of sun, but it does have disadvantages. Due to this melanin, skin of the dark colored individual has lesser tendency to synthesize vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin. Vitamin D, is produced in the skin under the influence of sun light. White colored individuals can synthesize enough vitamin D with 10-15 minutes of sunlight exposure. But dark colored individuals require 10-15 times more duration of sun exposure in order to synthesize the same amount. Therefore, it is recommended that dark colored individuals should be provided with vitamin D supplementation.

 

Sun blockers or sun screen creams help to whiten the skin by decreasing the amount of melanin in the skin. These creams do so by blocking the sun radiations and without sun radiations, the melanocytes (the melanin forming cells) decrease the production of melanin and thus the skin starts to become lighter, whiter and brighter. But you have to use sun screen whenever you go out in sun and you should use vitamin D supplements if you are using sunblock agent.