Supplement to increase the expression of m...
Rior
16 Mar 2012
My skin is pale. Very, very pale. Not for lack of effort, I've just got ginger-blood. I was curious as to whether anyone knows of anything that would increase the expression of melanin in one's skin? Of course, without side effects would be the best... Even if it involves getting sun to actually increase a tan, that's cool. I just go from white, to sunburned, to white, to sunburned, back to white. Having transparent, luminescent skin really isn't that great.
Anyone have any suggestions?
Anyone have any suggestions?
cherrysilver
17 Mar 2012
Okay, FWIW, I've heard that lutein and astaxanthin taken in the proper doses could help with skin tone. You could also try to up your beta-carotene by drinking carrot juice, but I wouldn't overdo it.
ta5
18 Mar 2012
L-Tyrosine.
Carotenoids, like the ones cherrysilver listed, will add some of their own pigmentation and can help protect against sun damage.
Those two alone should add a slight cosmetic darkening of your skin without any sun. With sun, in my experience, tyrosine is effective in increasing tanning.
Vitamin D. Someone correct me if I'm reading this wrong: http://pmid.us/6175546
Any antioxidant should be photoprotective. If you pick an antioxidant and search pubmed for it and photoprotection, you will probably get hits.
There's something called Fernblock.
It's not a supplement, but Skinbiology sells copper peptide suntan lotion. Any of their copper products should be photoprotective, but I suspect their GHK lotion is better even though they downplay it. I use their products and had enough sun exposure that I would definitely have had a painful sunburn, but had no pain whatsoever. Redness maybe, but no pain. It's cool. It's also good post-sunburn. It can sting pretty bad putting it on a burn, but after a couple minutes feels better.
Other topical antioxidant lotions, like aloe vera, can have similar protection. Again, pick any antioxidant and it's probably photoprotective topically.
Edited by ta5, 18 March 2012 - 01:39 AM.
Carotenoids, like the ones cherrysilver listed, will add some of their own pigmentation and can help protect against sun damage.
Those two alone should add a slight cosmetic darkening of your skin without any sun. With sun, in my experience, tyrosine is effective in increasing tanning.
Vitamin D. Someone correct me if I'm reading this wrong: http://pmid.us/6175546
Any antioxidant should be photoprotective. If you pick an antioxidant and search pubmed for it and photoprotection, you will probably get hits.
There's something called Fernblock.
It's not a supplement, but Skinbiology sells copper peptide suntan lotion. Any of their copper products should be photoprotective, but I suspect their GHK lotion is better even though they downplay it. I use their products and had enough sun exposure that I would definitely have had a painful sunburn, but had no pain whatsoever. Redness maybe, but no pain. It's cool. It's also good post-sunburn. It can sting pretty bad putting it on a burn, but after a couple minutes feels better.
Other topical antioxidant lotions, like aloe vera, can have similar protection. Again, pick any antioxidant and it's probably photoprotective topically.
Edited by ta5, 18 March 2012 - 01:39 AM.
chotaerang
19 Mar 2012
astaxanthin does work. I take around 10g a day and the effect is subtle but nice.
Logan
19 Mar 2012
astaxanthin does work. I take around 10g a day and the effect is subtle but nice.
That amount of astanxthin taken daily could have a pro-inflammatory effect.
http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC2845588/
It may be wiser just to stick with 2 to 4 mgs. If you think about it, that is still far more than we would have ever gotten from our diet anyway, even if we were eating the right foods.
Rior
19 Mar 2012
astaxanthin does work. I take around 10g a day and the effect is subtle but nice.
That amount of astanxthin taken daily could have a pro-inflammatory effect.
http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC2845588/
It may be wiser just to stick with 2 to 4 mgs. If you think about it, that is still far more than we would have ever gotten from our diet anyway, even if we were eating the right foods.
Good to know. I'm really considering starting a raw-food diet (not strictly, but in far greater quantities) for the sake of receiving an actually adequate amount of phytonutrients. Because as of now, over the course of a month I eat as many vegetables as I'm supposed to every day. It's a problem.
Logan
19 Mar 2012
Why do you feel the need to go raw food to get more veggies in your diet? Its really not that hard. If you want to do something that will motivate you to eat more veggies, and improve your overall health, eliminate grains from your diet, with the exception of maybe a little rice here and there.
niner
19 Mar 2012
astaxanthin does work. I take around 10g a day and the effect is subtle but nice.
Wow, ten grams? Are you kidding? That is a scary high dose; a thousand times as high as a dose that I already wouldn't take. The thing that scares me is the association of carotenoids with cancer. There is not very much data about supplemental astaxanthin in humans. Studies of dietary astaxanthin, in vitro studies, or animal studies can't fully address the behavior of large doses of the supplemental compound in a human.
How about a spray tan?
sdxl
19 Mar 2012
I'm pretty sure those 10 grams are a mistake. After all who's going to swallow 2500 4mg softgels or 1000 10mg softgels? It would not only be very inconvenient, but also quite expensive.astaxanthin does work. I take around 10g a day and the effect is subtle but nice.
Wow, ten grams? Are you kidding? That is a scary high dose; a thousand times as high as a dose that I already wouldn't take. The thing that scares me is the association of carotenoids with cancer. There is not very much data about supplemental astaxanthin in humans. Studies of dietary astaxanthin, in vitro studies, or animal studies can't fully address the behavior of large doses of the supplemental compound in a human.
How about a spray tan?
Rior
19 Mar 2012
Why do you feel the need to go raw food to get more veggies in your diet? Its really not that hard. If you want to do something that will motivate you to eat more veggies, and improve your overall health, eliminate grains from your diet, with the exception of maybe a little rice here and there.
Raw food diet as the majority of phytonutrients are apparently cooked out when...cooked. Steaming vegetables can work, but only to a certain degree. I have no problem sacrificing a good bit of taste for good health, I figure dehydrating my food and going through a raw food diet would accomplish that. Plus, less work, easy on-the-go snack because I'm lazy. It isn't to say I'd stick with solely raw food, but that I'd try to incorporate more of it into my diet as it's got huge health benefits. As of now I eat almost strictly meat and grain, so I'm...very far off from being healthy haha.
Edit: Also, I'm sure whoever posted 10g really meant 10mg. Still high but not unreasonable
Edited by Izat04, 19 March 2012 - 09:21 PM.
Logan
19 Mar 2012
Why do you feel the need to go raw food to get more veggies in your diet? Its really not that hard. If you want to do something that will motivate you to eat more veggies, and improve your overall health, eliminate grains from your diet, with the exception of maybe a little rice here and there.
Raw food diet as the majority of phytonutrients are apparently cooked out when...cooked. Steaming vegetables can work, but only to a certain degree. I have no problem sacrificing a good bit of taste for good health, I figure dehydrating my food and going through a raw food diet would accomplish that. Plus, less work, easy on-the-go snack because I'm lazy. It isn't to say I'd stick with solely raw food, but that I'd try to incorporate more of it into my diet as it's got huge health benefits. As of now I eat almost strictly meat and grain, so I'm...very far off from being healthy haha.
Edit: Also, I'm sure whoever posted 10g really meant 10mg. Still high but not unreasonable
Dropping the grains will make you want to eat more veggies, at least it did for me. I do not think cooking vegetables the right way does not elimintate phyto or micro nutrients than much. As far as tomatoes are concerned, cooking actually creates more lycopene, which has plenty of evidence behind it for several health benefits. I have also read that slow cooking vegetables like kale may actually make it easier to digest the nutrients present. Just focus on cutting out grains add more good fruits and vegetables to your diet. It really is quite simple.
Denjin
21 Mar 2012
astaxanthin does work. I take around 10g a day and the effect is subtle but nice.
That amount of astanxthin taken daily could have a pro-inflammatory effect.
http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC2845588/
It may be wiser just to stick with 2 to 4 mgs. If you think about it, that is still far more than we would have ever gotten from our diet anyway, even if we were eating the right foods.
Where does it say this in the study? Was it for something other than C Reactive Protein? 8mg was still better than no Asta at all, but not as good as 2. Suppose it's possible that 10mg would obviate this. I have some 10mg pills I use during summer but this study does have me rethinking it and I'll probably go back to 4.
As to the op - why do you want to do this? I'm a pale natural redhead and I like it. The only thing I don't like is how easy I get sun-damaged, but lycopene and astaxanthin (in summer) + sunscreen seems to keep it at bay.
mikeinnaples
21 Mar 2012
I would definitely consider astaxanthin and lutein regardless if you have a family history of AMD.... though I suspect that it will be curable sooner rather than later.
Logan
21 Mar 2012
Sorry, I was mistaken. It is 10mg and not 10 grams.
I knew what you meant. I think 10 mg might be a bit too high still, taken over the long haul. It not only is not necessary, but could do more harm than good. It's just not worth the very little bit of extra color you might be getting, especially if you are into life extension.
Logan
21 Mar 2012
astaxanthin does work. I take around 10g a day and the effect is subtle but nice.
That amount of astanxthin taken daily could have a pro-inflammatory effect.
http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC2845588/
It may be wiser just to stick with 2 to 4 mgs. If you think about it, that is still far more than we would have ever gotten from our diet anyway, even if we were eating the right foods.
Where does it say this in the study? Was it for something other than C Reactive Protein? 8mg was still better than no Asta at all, but not as good as 2. Suppose it's possible that 10mg would obviate this. I have some 10mg pills I use during summer but this study does have me rethinking it and I'll probably go back to 4.
As to the op - why do you want to do this? I'm a pale natural redhead and I like it. The only thing I don't like is how easy I get sun-damaged, but lycopene and astaxanthin (in summer) + sunscreen seems to keep it at bay.
The group that took 8 mg had increased levels of IL-6, which could lead to a pro-inflammatory effect. This was not the case with the 2mg group. Why risk it???
Logan
22 Mar 2012
astaxanthin does work. I take around 10g a day and the effect is subtle but nice.
That amount of astanxthin taken daily could have a pro-inflammatory effect.
http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC2845588/
It may be wiser just to stick with 2 to 4 mgs. If you think about it, that is still far more than we would have ever gotten from our diet anyway, even if we were eating the right foods.
I was wrong about this. You could easily achieve 2 to 4 mgs of astaxanthin 5 to 7 days a week if you ate the right foods. Evidently you can get anywhere form 1 to 7 mgs from eating a 200 gram serving of salmon, which turns out to be slightly above the weight of your average filet. I bet wild sockeye salmon nearly always has more than 2 mgs astaxanthin per 200 gram serving. I could see myself eating wild alaskan sockeye salmon filets 5 days a week. You could switch it up and eat a few of the other high astaxanthin content fish if you didn't want to eat salmon everyday. I get a bag of eight 5 to 7 ounce frozen wild alaskan sockeye salmon for 29 dollars from Costco. Gotta love Costco. I also get my Wyman's wild frozen blueberries there-4lb. bag for 9 dollars.
Logic
27 Mar 2012
The last couple of times I have tried to post my posts have not appeared.
I thought perhaps I wasnt allowed to post links but that does not seem to be the case.
If someone would tell me why my posts are not appearing; that would be most appeasing.
So lets try again:
Melanotan II
I thought perhaps I wasnt allowed to post links but that does not seem to be the case.
If someone would tell me why my posts are not appearing; that would be most appeasing.
So lets try again:
Melanotan II
JLL
29 Mar 2012
Carotenoids seem like a pretty good bet. In supplement form that is:
Topical vs. Oral Antioxidants for Sun Protection – Which Is Better?
Lutein powder has been shown to improve several skin parameters, and it's pretty cheap too. Also, it's better absorbed from a powder extract than from foods. Lycopene protects from UV rays as well. While most of the studies focus on UV protection instead of tanning, I think there's a connection between the two - the more resistant your skin is to UV damage, the less red you get from sun, and the more easily you tan. That seems to be my personal experience.
Then there's saturated fat - many people report improved sun tolerance after they switch to palm oil and coconut oil. I haven't seen much evidence for this, but I guess it's plausible.
Green tea protects from UV rays too.
Topical vs. Oral Antioxidants for Sun Protection – Which Is Better?
According to the authors, it's possible that systemically applied antioxidants are absorbed and transported onto the skin surface with sweat and sebum and that applying a cream won't increase the concentration any further. This is because the strateum corneum, the outermost layer of the epidermis, acts as a reservoir for topically applied substances.
Lutein powder has been shown to improve several skin parameters, and it's pretty cheap too. Also, it's better absorbed from a powder extract than from foods. Lycopene protects from UV rays as well. While most of the studies focus on UV protection instead of tanning, I think there's a connection between the two - the more resistant your skin is to UV damage, the less red you get from sun, and the more easily you tan. That seems to be my personal experience.
Then there's saturated fat - many people report improved sun tolerance after they switch to palm oil and coconut oil. I haven't seen much evidence for this, but I guess it's plausible.
Green tea protects from UV rays too.
ta5
01 Apr 2012
Deckah
02 Apr 2012
Maybe Fucoxanthin mentioned in here and here. It's an interesting idea to use a brown carotenoid.
Anti-pigmentary' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20796192']Anti-pigmentary activity of fucoxanthin and its influence on skin mRNA expression of melanogenic molecules.
→ source (external link)Never heard of it before, but seen that a few people on the melanotan site have used or were going to use it. They didn't respond with any results though.
chotaerang
03 Apr 2012
Maybe Fucoxanthin mentioned in here and here. It's an interesting idea to use a brown carotenoid.
Anti-pigmentary' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20796192']Anti-pigmentary activity of fucoxanthin and its influence on skin mRNA expression of melanogenic molecules.→ source (external link)
Never heard of it before, but seen that a few people on the melanotan site have used or were going to use it. They didn't respond with any results though.
Wow. That is really interesting. Would this then imply that other carotenoids also inhibit the tanning response? I have noticed that since taking astaxanthin my skin colour is not changing much whether I get a lot of sun or not.
Deckah
04 Apr 2012
Wow. That is really interesting. Would this then imply that other carotenoids also inhibit the tanning response? I have noticed that since taking astaxanthin my skin colour is not changing much whether I get a lot of sun or not.
Not sure. Ive heard the opposite of what you experienced(people claim it helps them) though, on astaxanthin. Seen some reports of a loading phase(manufacturer suggestions) then trickling down to a maintenance.
Whatever happened to the melanotan II clinical trials?
platypus
04 Apr 2012
I guess melanotan and analogues are the only ones that develop a real tan in people who otherwise cannot get tanned (very fair-skinned redheads for example).
tlm884
06 Apr 2012
I am a fan of spray tans. If you can find a salon with the California Tan system or the Versa spa system I would recommend trying them out. I would avoid a Mystic Tan. The sugars DHA and erythrulose react with amino acids in the upper layer of the skin to give a tanned color. DHA giving a more orange color and erythrulose giving a more red color. Versa Spa has a higher concentration of erythrulose in its solution and you don`t look like you have a fake tan. I really like the color and if you take care of it, it will last a week.
ta5
21 Feb 2013
Int' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>http://pmid.us/22089762']Int J Mol Med. 2012 Feb;29(2):209-17.
Mangosteen leaf extract increases melanogenesis in B16F1 melanoma cells by stimulating tyrosinase activity in vitro and by up-regulating tyrosinase gene expression.
Melanin synthesis is stimulated by various effectors, including α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH), cyclic AMP (cAMP)-elevating agents (forskolin, isobutylmethylxantine, glycyrrhizin) and ultraviolet light. Our investigation focused on the identification of the melanogenic efficacy of mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) leaf extract with regard to its effects on melanogenesis in B16F1 melanoma cells, since it has been known to possess strong anti-oxidant activities. The mangosteen leaf extract was found to stimulate melanin synthesis and tyrosinase activity in a dose-dependent manner without any significant effects on cell proliferation. Cytotoxicity of the extract was measured using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay; the highest concentration of the extract that did not affect cell viability was 32 µg/ml. Formation of melanin from cultured B16F1 melanoma induced by extract treatment was estimated using spectrophotometry. In order to clarify the subsequent mechanism of tyrosinase activation by the extract, the levels of tyrosinase expression in B16F1 melanoma were examined using an intracellular tyrosinase assay and tyrosinase zymography. Up-regulation of intracellular tyrosinase expression seemed to correlate with an increase in microphtalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) protein levels since MITF is the key factor for genes involved in melanogenesis. Both of the results showed that tyrosinase activity was markedly enhanced from extract-treated cells. The overall results suggest that mangosteen leaf extract may be a promising candidate for the treatment of hypopigmentation disorder and useful for self-tanning cosmetic products.
PMID: 22089762
→ source (external link)Mangosteen leaf extract increases melanogenesis in B16F1 melanoma cells by stimulating tyrosinase activity in vitro and by up-regulating tyrosinase gene expression.
Melanin synthesis is stimulated by various effectors, including α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH), cyclic AMP (cAMP)-elevating agents (forskolin, isobutylmethylxantine, glycyrrhizin) and ultraviolet light. Our investigation focused on the identification of the melanogenic efficacy of mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) leaf extract with regard to its effects on melanogenesis in B16F1 melanoma cells, since it has been known to possess strong anti-oxidant activities. The mangosteen leaf extract was found to stimulate melanin synthesis and tyrosinase activity in a dose-dependent manner without any significant effects on cell proliferation. Cytotoxicity of the extract was measured using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay; the highest concentration of the extract that did not affect cell viability was 32 µg/ml. Formation of melanin from cultured B16F1 melanoma induced by extract treatment was estimated using spectrophotometry. In order to clarify the subsequent mechanism of tyrosinase activation by the extract, the levels of tyrosinase expression in B16F1 melanoma were examined using an intracellular tyrosinase assay and tyrosinase zymography. Up-regulation of intracellular tyrosinase expression seemed to correlate with an increase in microphtalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) protein levels since MITF is the key factor for genes involved in melanogenesis. Both of the results showed that tyrosinase activity was markedly enhanced from extract-treated cells. The overall results suggest that mangosteen leaf extract may be a promising candidate for the treatment of hypopigmentation disorder and useful for self-tanning cosmetic products.
PMID: 22089762
Edited by ta5, 21 February 2013 - 10:59 PM.
