**10.2 Depigmenting**

We understand by melanogenesis the process that leads to the production of the pigment melanin from melanocytes. The melanoblasts, precursor cells of the melanocytes, are preferably located in the basal layer of the epidermis and in the hair follicles [31].

The melanocytes of the skin are surrounded by keratinocytes in a ratio of one melanocyte to approximately 36 keratinocytes, and the melanocytes transfer the melanin they synthesize to the keratinocytes.

Melanogenesis is influenced by:


Melanin is formed from the amino acid tyrosine through a series of chemical and enzymatic reactions described in the Raper-Mason pathway [32]. The end result of this pathway is the formation of two possible types of melanin: Eumelanin (dark brown/black color) and Pheomelanin (reddish/blond color).

In the structure of the melanocytes, we find the melanosomes, which are organelles where melanin is synthesized and stored before being distributed by keratinocytes.
