I am from the southern part of India, and most of the people here have a dark complexion. The sad truth is most of the natives here do not like their skin complexion, they feel fair complexion is what makes a person look beautiful. One of the most prominent questions people have here right after a child’s birth is, “What is its complexion?” If it is fair in complexion, there are no limits to the levels of compliments on the baby’s beauty. On the contrary, if it happens to be dark, there are no limits to the levels of criticism for both parent and the baby.
Somehow wrong ideas have been embedded into people’s mind about complexion, and its relation towards beauty.
Fair complexion doesn’t equate to a healthy skin or beauty. Instead, its the healthy skin that makes the person look beautiful.
Why is there a difference in complexion from person to person?
Skin color differs from person to person. Melanin secreted by melanocytes present in our body decides our skin complexion. At the same time, it is this melanin that protects our skin.
Do you know the reason why our skin becomes dark when we are exposed to sunlight?
It’s because of melanin. When we are exposed to sunlight, ultraviolet rays start to penetrate the skin surface. To protect our skin from this radiation, melanin rushes to the top layer of our skin. We curse the sunlight, without knowing the actual truth.
Though many people in my place curse themselves for being dark, they are not aware of the fact that it is their dark complexion that protects them from skin cancers. Southern India has the least number of skin cancer victims as compared to rest of the country. What makes this possible? It is melanin that protects us from skin cancers.
Melanin secretion will be more in people with dark complexion over those with fair skins. It is the main reason why dark skinned people do not undergo many skin problems.
There are 6 different skin types on the whole. This classification is based on the level of darkness and melanin levels in each skin tone.
Type 1 – Very Fair
This is a very fair skin type. This skin will have sunburns more readily after exposure to sunlight. But it doesn’t tan.
Type 2 – Fair
This is a fair skin type. This type of skin will have sunburns readily as well with exposure to sunlight, it does tan a little.
Type 3 – Medium
It is a medium complexion, skin type, it’s not too dark and too fair at the same time. This skin type will have sunburns and tans readily with sunlight.
Type 4 – Olive
Olive skin type people rarely undergo sunburn, but are more vulnerable to tan, when exposed to sunlight.
Type 5 – Brown
Brown skin type people very rarely undergo sunburns, but they tan immediately after exposure to sunlight.
Type 6 – Black
This skin type has almost zero possibility of sunburn or sun rash, but it does tan immediately as it has high levels of melanin.
I hope by now, many of us would have realized that black skinned people are more blessed and protected by nature.
There are many popular celebrities in the world who have dark complexions. But their skin complexion never stood in the way to their popularity.
Like I mentioned before, Fair complexion doesn’t equate to a healthy skin or beauty. Instead, it’s the healthy skin that makes the person look beautiful.
So let’s look into some quick tips to keep our skin healthy.
Tips for Healthy Skin
- Protect the skin from dehydration and dryness. When our body is deprived of water, it will immediately reflect on our skin.
- Foods like Apple, strawberry, watermelon, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, and orange, will help to retain moisture in our skin.
- Drink a glass of orange juice without sugar, whenever possible. Vitamin-C present in it will keep your skin glowing.
- Mix 1/4 tsp of rice flour, 1/4 tsp of almond powder, 5 drops of lemon extract, 1/4 tsp of yogurt, and make it into a paste. Spread this over tanned surfaces on face, hands, legs, neck etc, and wash it after a few minutes. Do this twice a week.
Do you know you can detect diseases in your body through your skin?
- Yes, you can find out different defects and possible diseases in your body through some visible skin signs. Here is the small helpful guide for it.
- When there are excess levels of tan around the neck and armpits, it’s a warning sign of future diabetes.
- Very dark circles around the eyes could be a sign of hemoglobin deficiency.
- When hairs lose its shine and appear dry, it could mean there is deficiency of vitamins.
- The presence of pimples and unnecessary hair growth could be the sign of hormone imbalance.
- People who have frequent pimples should check for diabetes.
- Frequent pimples could also appear in people with low immunity.
- When skin appears dry, it could be a sign of hypothyroid.
- When there is excess sweating, it could be a sign of hyperthyroid problems.