What Can Cats Teach us about Skincare?

I have been a big fan of cats my whole life. I just learned some new information about cats and “point coloration” that I found so fascinating. Temperature actually changes their color beginning at birth. Point coloration in cats originated in the Siamese breeds. It is actually a form of albinism resulting from a mutation that affects tyrosinase, an enzyme involved with melanin production. This is the same melanin that is in human skin.

This mutated enzyme called thermolabile cannot function at normal body temperatures and becomes active in cooler parts of the skin being the extremities. Pointed kittens are born white due to the warmth of the womb. After the kitten is born and as it matures, the cooler areas or extremities darken and the warmer areas of the body remain white.

Melanin is responsible for determining skin and hair color and is primarily a genetic trait, however we see increased presence in human skin with increased sun exposure. I am discussing this because it is still tyrosinase that is the key factor in both the cats and human skincare pigment issues – especially Melasma and post laser burn discoloration. I noticed about ten years ago that clients with melasma get noticeably worse in the summer and we see adverse events at about three times higher rate during the summer months.

It has been the assumption that this is due to the sun exposure, and that is still true. However, the increased temperatures during the summer months trigger tyrosinase and discoloration. So, remember to keep your skin cool when you are enjoying the summer months, and crank that AC! The heat is a culprit as well as the sun in skin discoloration issues.