Fair Skin, Red Hair and Sunglasses? Maybe This Isn’t So Cool…

Home » Essential Oils » Fair Skin, Red Hair and Sunglasses? Maybe This Isn’t So Cool…

The pituitary gland is tied to your optic nerve and is sensitive to sunlight. When light enters your eyes, it triggers your pituitary gland to produce a melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) that activates your melanocytes to produce melanin. This means that wearing sunglasses can actually cause sunburn.

Our skin is the body’s largest organ, and acts as a barrier between our inner organs and the outside world. It’s made up of essentially two parts the epidermis and the dermis. The epidermis is the outer section and is comprised of a layer of living cells, topped by a layer of dead cells. The dead cells are the skin we see.

Even though the upper epidermis is just a lot of dead cells, it contains keratin, a tough protein that also makes up our hair and fingernails, Keratin is thicker on the bottoms of our feet and the palms of our hands for added protection against abrasions and other intrusions from the outside world.

Inside the dermis is where all the skin’s functioning equipment is located, These include nerves, sweat glands, hair follicles, blood vessels and special cells called melanocytes, which produce melanin, the material responsible for skin pigmentation, hair and eye color. Most humans have about the same amount of melanocytes, some just produce more melanin than others. Albinos, however, produce no melanin at all.

sunshine

When our skin gets exposed to sunlight (particularly ultraviolet rays) melanocytes begin producing melanin to help protect the dermis, and keep the skin cells from getting fried. The melanin acts as an absorbing agent. So over time, as exposure to the sun continues, more melanin is produced and subsequently the skin becomes darker.

The hair is a different story. Hair color is also determined by melanin, but hair cells are dead, so sunlight doesn’t initiate melanin production but rather begins to break down the melanin already in the hair, and the hair’s color begins to fade or lighten.

Although you can still burn with or without them, when you wear sunglasses you actually are slightly increasing the chances of getting sunburn. When we are in the sun, our pituitary gland produces and releases melanocyte-stimulating hormones (MSH) into our bloodstreams, triggering melanocytes under our skin to produce more melanin, which in turn protects us from exposure of UV rays. (Melanin is also responsible for our skin color- more melanin means a darker color, and better protection from UV rays, while on the other hand albinos lack melanin, and burn easily in the sun.) Our skin produces melanin without the signals from pituitary gland, but it will turn up production when signaled to do so.

red head sunglasses

Our pituitary gland is tied into our optic nerve meaning that it can sense light, which kick starts the whole process of producing MSH based on the UV our eyes receive. When we wear sunglasses to shield our eyes, we are also shielding the pituitary gland from knowing to turn up our melanin production. This in turn, leaves us at greater risk of the damaging effects of ultraviolet radiation.

I put together a blend of 10 drops lavender essential oil, 10 drops frankincense essential oil, and 10 drops peppermint essential oil  with some water which helped to soothe and take the heat out of the burnt area.

Most of what I shared in this article I got from reading others’ research and watching some dear Gingers cover up and still get burnt.  Please do your own research and protect yourself according to your own convictions.  🙂

Comments are closed

Be On My Team

We are here to assist you through your entrepreneurship and personal growth.
Are you looking to be your own boss?
Would you like to live a healthier and wealthier life?
Do you want to utterly love what they do every day?
Would you like to earn a thriving income from an online business that can be managed from anywhere in the world?
Would you like to make a positive difference in people’s lives?
Would you like to build a solid, sustainable recurring income that will pay them for years to come?
Would you like to be part of a committed group of like-minded entrepreneurs working to further each other’s businesses?
We look forward to hearing from you and beginning this journey with you.  Join My Team

Wellness/Recovery

Overall wellness involves mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health and is the result of deliberate effort. We see wellness an approach to healthcare that emphasizes preventing illness and prolonging life, as well as recovering from injury, disorders and diseases.

Wellness is all about proactively taking care of yourself. It’s what you eat, who you surround yourself with, your mindset and attitude, plus how you behave in your life and work.

Because our minds, bodies and spirits are connected, we believe in treating the person as a whole.  We know that no single approach is the right one for every individual, and so I have been trained in a range of modalities.  We take a holistic approach to our encounters with each individual.   Our human potential and resilience is amazing and we use different approaches depending on your preferences.  To begin your journey  Click Here.

Essential Oils for Emotional Support

Essential Oils for Emotional Support Asking for help is the first step in a process that will lead to your healing. We understand that it is often difficult and humbling to take this step. We are here to assist you through this phase in your recovery/healing journey. You may already know which oils you prefer. If this is you click here. This option allows you to simply purchase your oils or set yourself up to get wholesale prices any time you want by purchasing an enrollment kit. You need only purchase one item one time per year to keep this membership.

You may not be sure which oils are best for providing emotional support. If you would like to speak with me regarding which oils and/or supplements will be best for you, click here to begin your journey.

Serving the Missouri Ozarks