The cells in your skin that give you your color are especially at risk from sun damage and natural byproducts of pigment production, which can harm the cells and possibly lead to skin cancer or discoloration.

When your skin is exposed to sunlight, pollution, or even just normal body processes, it creates harmful molecules that damage skin proteins and break down collagen—this is why wrinkles form over time.

When skin pigment cells are under constant stress from unstable molecules, it can throw off their balance, mess up skin color, and lead to conditions like vitiligo or dark patches.

Ultraviolet radiation exposure induces melanin production as a protective response, but this process simultaneously causes cumulative DNA damage in skin cells, leading to photoaging and increased risk of skin cancer.

The pigment cells in your hair follicles can get damaged by normal sun exposure and the way they make color, especially as you get older, because their natural defenses weaken over time.

Too much oxidative stress might lead to fewer pigment-producing cells in hair and cause hair to lose color, based on lab studies that simulate this stress in human hair follicles.