Could it be goodbye to the porcelain-skinned English Rose? A paint-on treatment has been developed that may one day allow a real tan without sun, for even very fair skins. The key chemical, a plant extract called forskolin, protected mice against UV rays and allowed them to develop a natural tan by stimulating pigment-producing cells called melanocytes.
The ability to tan is largely controlled by a hormone called melanocyte-stimulating hormone, which binds to the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) on the outside of melanocytes. Many people with with red hair and fair skin have a defect in this receptor, meaning they…
