Human skin color Human skin color Human skin color ranges in variety from the darkest brown to the lightest hues. An individual's skin pigmentation is the result of genetics, being the product of both of the individual's biological parents' genetic makeup, and exposure to sun. In evolution, skin pigmentation in human beings evolved by a process of natural selection primarily to regulate the amount of ultraviolet radiation penetrating the skin, controlling its biochemical effects. The actual skin color of different humans is affected by many substances, although the single most important substance is the pigment melanin. Melanin is produced within the skin in
White (horse) other white spotting genes. True white horses have unpigmented pink skin and unpigmented white hair, though eye color varies. The lack of pigment in the skin and hair is caused by the absence of pigment-producing cells called melanocytes. Some coat colors are characterized by light or white-like coats and even pinkish skin, however these white-like coats are not lacking melanocytes. Instead, white-like coat colors result from various changes in the ways melanocytes produce pigment. Gray horses have the most common "white-like" coat color. However, the most noticeable difference between a gray horse whose hair coat is completely white and a