Light skin of UVA can penetrate deeply into the dermis in persons with light skin pigmentation with little protective melanin pigment. The characteristic of fair skin, red hair, and freckling is associated with high amount of pheomelanin, little amounts of eumelanin. This phenotype is caused by a loss-of-function mutation in the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene. However, variations in the MC1R gene sequence only have considerable influence on pigmentation in populations where red hair and extremely fair skin is prevalent. The gene variation’s primary effect is to promote eumelanin synthesis at the expense of pheomelanin synthesis, although this contributes to very little
Pigment carmine was popular in Europe, blue remained an exclusive color, associated with wealth and status. The 17th-century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer often made lavish use of lapis lazuli, along with carmine and Indian yellow, in his vibrant paintings. The earliest known pigments were natural minerals. Natural iron oxides give a range of colors and are found in many Paleolithic and Neolithic cave paintings. Two examples include Red Ochre, anhydrous FeO, and the hydrated Yellow Ochre (FeOHO). Charcoal—or carbon black—has also been used as a black pigment since prehistoric times. Two of the first synthetic pigments were white lead (basic lead