The Biological State and Condition of the African Skin

(Dear Reader - this is not article about the biological black supremacy but simply the details about the biological state and condition of the black skin so that we should not undermine or hate it.)

The African skin is given its dark brown to black pigment by a substance called 'melanin.' Melanin is a dark brown to black pigment occurring in the hair, skin and iris of the eye in people and animals. There are two major forms of melanin -- eumelanin and pheomelanin. Eumelanin is brown to black while pheomelanin is yellow to red.  

The word melanin comes from the Greek term ‘melas,’ 'melasis' or 'melanos,' which means dark or black. It is found in almost every organ of the body and is necessary in order for the brain and nerves to operate, the eyes to see, and the human body to reproduce.

It is produced by cells in the skin called melanocytes. Melanocytes resemble nerve cells and are essential for conveying energy. In the geometric centre of the brain is a part called the "pineal gland" (the Third Eye in Eastern philosophy, the Horus Eye in ancient Egypt or the Inner Vision) and this secretes melatonin which activates the pituitary gland to release the melanocyte stimulating hormone according to light stimulus received through the eyes and from the skin. It is in the melanocytes that melanin is produced. 

The pineal gland is the size of a pea  an eye like structure, is located directly behind the eyes, attached to the third ventricle. This gland is activated by Light, and it controls the various biorhythms of the body. It works in harmony with the hypothalamus gland which directs the body's thirst, hunger, sexual desire and the biological clock that determines our aging process.  

The outer layer of the skin is where melanin is produced and there are 12 black nuclei or melanated centers in the core of the brain. Melanin is present at the inception of life: a melanin sheath covers both the sperm and the egg. In the human embryo, the melanocytes (skin pigment cells), brain and nerve cells all originate from the same place - the neural crest. When Melanin is missing or insufficient in the ectoderm of the early embryo (blastula), this causes the mother to lose her baby; in the case of Caucasians, a defective baby is produced. 

"Individuals whose bodies can produce sufficient quantities of melanin will have dark skin, black hair and brown eyes. Those with bodies that are not able to produce significant amounts of melanin will have pale skin, blonde hair and blue eyes."

Melanin is also found in pigment-bearing neurons within areas of the brain stem, such as the locus ceruleus and the substantia nigra.

At the core of one’s brain is found the locus coeruleus, literally, means ‘dark blue place’ in Latin. It is a nucleus in the brain stem (inferior to the cerebellum in the caudal midbrain/rostral pons) apparently responsible for the physiological reactions involved in stress and panic.

Substantia nigra is the "black substance", a darkly coloured structure buried deep in the brain that makes dopamine, a compound present in the body as a neurotransmitter and a precursor of other substances including epinephrine (a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands, especially in conditions of stress, increasing rates of blood circulation, breathing, and carbohydrate metabolism and preparing muscles for exertion).

Melanin-rich cells in the substantia nigra are the ones most likely to be destroyed in people who have Parkinson's disease, resulting in tremors and rigidity. In fact, all the most crucial brain structures are heavily melanized. Melanin in the brain increases from the lower primates and reaches its peak in the black people.

There are hints that people with lots of skin melanin are less prone to hearing damage than the more lightly pigmented among people because melanin of the skin variety is also found in certain cells of the cochlea of the inner ear.

Melanin is like chlorophyll in plants. Chlorophyll allows photosynthesis to occur and the transference of the sun’s energy for the body. While the growth of plants is directed physical sunlight, the growth of human beings is directed toward spiritual consciousness and inner vision.

Melanin is the super absorber of all forms of energy.  It has "black hole" properties. It can convert light to sound and back again. It stores, transforms and conducts energy.

The colour black is the perfect absorber of light and all energy frequencies, giving melanin these properties. Thus scientists describe melanin as acting like a "black hole." Melanin can rearrange its chemical structure to absorb ALL wavelengths of energy (sunlight, X-rays, music, radar) and can transmute and store this energy for later use.  In The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors (Third World Press, 1991), Dr. Cress Welsing writes that melanin gives us the ability to use our bodies as direct connections with the Godforce, the source of all Energy - like plugging a cord into a wall socket. It also gives our hair antennae-like ability.

Life is built upon carbon or carbon-based compounds. Carbon is a black element that forms the basis of all organic and biochemisrty (Chemistry of Carbon Building Blocks of Life). As an element, it burns hotter, cuts deeper, dies harder, insulates more thoroughly, absorbs more fully than any other material and the key to modern technology. Important biological molecules are arranged around a backbone of carbon. These molecules iclude DNA, RNA, proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Therefore, "blackness" is fundamental in the operation of the universe because it allows the perfect reception of all wavelengths of energy.

It is the body' s natural defense against the ultraviolet rays of the sun and appears as a dark-brownish material inside the cells of the deep layers of the skin. The cells that produce it (melanocytes) are residents in the skin's deepest layers. The more melanin present in the skin, the less risk of damage to the skin.

The amount of melanin one has in the skin will determine the hair and skin colour. Melanin plays an important role in the determination of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) effects, such as wrinkling, premature skin aging and sunburn. Resistance to these effects is determined by the amount of melanin or pigmentation present in the skin. People with albinism are highly sensitive to ultraviolet, which can easily damage skin and eyes and a Caucasian receives protection through temporary pigmentation from tanning by sunbathing or aplication of skin creams. For them, sensitive areas such as lips, nose, ears, palms of the hands and soles of the feet should be protected. In this regard, dark-brown skinned people (Africans, Maories, native Americans, Aborigines and some Indians) have high skin melanin content and are less likely to suffer from skin cancers and other solar-induced diseases than those with lower melanin content

Melanin helps one to survive a variety of environmental conditions. Clearly melanin protects us from the ravages of ultraviolet light. Some of the most darkly pigmented people in the world, natives of the North Solomon Islands, almost never get basal cell carcinoma or melanoma, and if they do have melanomas, these tumors arise on the light-skinned soles of their feet. Caucasians living in Hawaii, on the other hand, have the highest documented skin cancer rate in the United States.

Melanin is the umbrella of the skin and protector of its deeper layers. One of the most important effects of melanin is the absorption of heat, which works most effectively in people who have the most melanin in the skin. Another huge advantage for melanin is that it is an effective neutralizing agent for molecules that are harmful to the human body.

Other amazing facts about melanin:

·     Melanin granules are "central computers" and may analyze and initiate body responses without reporting to the brain;

·     Melanin slows aging and protects you from damning effects of sunlight.  The darker your skin (genetically) is, the less it ages. Thus Whites have wrinkled skin in there 30s while Blacks have smooth, slowly wrinkling skin even in old age;

·     All people of colour have melanin circulating in the blood due to spillage from the melanosomes (melanin packets).

·     The melanin molecule is so stable that it has been found in 150-million-year-old dinosaur fossils. It is highly resistant to chemical and physical analysis; thus its precise structure is unknown;

·     Melanin particles both scatter and absorb ultraviolet and visible light smoothly over a broad spectral range. Every sunburn is an injury, and injuries are cumulative over the years. During the tanning process, the sun stimulates the melanocytes to produce and liberate more melanin for skin protection. This is why Europeans will always come to visit and stay in Africa. Sunbathes especially in Africa and visiting saunas for Europeans is more beneficial because they create a darkish colouring on their skin, thus strengthening it. However, until the melanin reaches the surface of the skin, the skin is left vulnerable and can be heavily damaged and burned.

·     Skin cancer risk rates are inversely proportional to degree of skin pigmentation. Melanin is therefore photo-protective. To look at the undisputed scientific benefits of melanin, we must look at the effects of what naturally occurs on people with or without melanin. Africans do sunburn and seem to be clinically exempt from the well known signs of premature skin aging as seen in Europeans. Africans rarely show deep wrinkles and the other signs of de-pigmentations, leathery-dry skin, etc.

Europeans have produced melanin-based sunscreens lotions, skincare (eye shadow and face powders) and haircare cosmetics to protect their skins. These melanin-based products are meant to provide what they do not have from nature - melanin, the invisible shield of protection. If Caucasians really believe that white skin is "superior," why is "tanning" so important despite its known health risks (thousands die annually from skin cancer)?

In the same vein, they have then produced lotions and creams so that African women can look lighter (like Caucasians) in the name of beauty yet they will be damaging the melanin's capacity to be useful. Africans have then taken up these kind of cosmetics blindly. The electromagnetic spectrum is composed of rays of the sun vary in intensity according to their wavelength, which is measured in nanometers (nm).

The energy emitted by these rays can burn the skin and cause various illnesses. Fortunately, the atmosphere of the earth provides a natural barrier against ultraviolet radiation and the ozone layer filters out many of them. Because they penetrate deep into the skin, the rays of the sun have far-reaching effects. The main consequence is that the body tissues slacken, the skin loses its firmness and fine lines and wrinkles are formed.

Sun protection is mainly a matter of putting a barrier between sunlight and the skin, as well as respecting some simple rules (gradual exposure to the sun, using clothes as protection, not going in the sun at the hottest time of day and using melanin-based sunscreen). Skins of Caucasians are obviously the most at risk.

The African skin is dark and therefore rich in MELANIN and therefore: 

1. Never let anyone make you feel ugly, bad or inferior for having a dark skin. 

2. Never let anyone try to change your dark pigmentation by using skin bleaching cremes and skin lighteners.