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Melanin is the pigment that gives skin and hair their colour. It is the target chromophore for laser hair removal and pigment treatment—and, because it sits in the epidermis, the main reason darker skin needs extra caution.
Melanin is the pigment produced by melanocytes that colours skin, hair and eyes. As a chromophore it absorbs light strongly across the red and near-infrared range, which makes it the intended target in laser hair removal (heating the melanin-rich follicle) and in pigment treatments (shattering melanin clusters in sunspots and melasma).
The complication is that melanin is also abundant in the epidermis of darker skin. When a laser fires, that surface melanin competes for the energy meant for the deeper target—raising the risk of burns, blistering and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation on higher Fitzpatrick types. The profession’s answer is longer wavelengths (1064nm Nd:YAG bypasses much of the epidermal melanin), lower fluences, longer pulses and aggressive epidermal cooling.
In short, melanin is both the target we exploit and the variable we must respect—understanding it is the foundation of safe, inclusive practice.
Melanin is the target we aim for and the risk we manage—master it and you can treat every skin tone safely.
The Fitzpatrick scale classifies skin into six types (I–VI) by how it responds to sun—from
A chromophore is the structure in the skin that absorbs a particular wavelength of light.
Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) is the darkening of skin that follows inflammati
Melanin is the skin and hair pigment that acts as the target chromophore in laser hair removal and pigment treatment—and the reason darker skin requires longer wavelengths, lower fluences and cooling to avoid burns and hyperpigmentation.
