Beyond Melanin: A Literature Review of Photoprotection Mechanisms and Gaps in Skin of Color
Pamella Leybengrub, Wintana Eyob, Lina Petrossian, Saumya Shetty, Berkeley A Scott, Mohamad Bilal Kebbe, Karen Vo · 2026
Read Beyond Melanin: A Literature Review of Photoprotection Mechanisms and Gaps in Skin of Color by Pamella Leybengrub, Wintana Eyob, Lina Petrossian, Saumya Shetty, Berkeley A Scott, Mohamad Bilal Kebbe, Karen Vo (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/PMC13525783.txt.
Description
Leybengrub and colleagues wrote a 2026 review on sun protection for skin of color. Darker skin carries more melanin, which blocks some sun damage naturally. That partial shield breeds a false belief that no protection is needed. Yet skin cancers in darker skin are found later and kill more often.
Visible light and deep UVA rays drive much pigmentation harm in darker skin. Dark patches after inflammation and melasma rank among the top complaints listed. Sun-driven aging and light-triggered rashes also burden these populations in the review. Standard sunscreens built around UVB miss those deeper rays entirely. The authors call for tailored products, teaching, and fairer care access. Education gaps inside clinics worsen the outcome gap, they argue.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Pamella Leybengrub, Wintana Eyob, Lina Petrossian, Saumya Shetty, Berkeley A Scott, Mohamad Bilal Kebbe, Karen Vo |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 48 KB |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |