Question: Why does the sun make your skin dark but your hair light?

Leigh Kesler answered on 6 Mar 2019:

Interesting question! The sun fades many things; you’ll notice that fabric left out in the sun will also eventually fade. Hair and fabric are similar in that they are not alive. Our hair follicles are alive, but the hair you see is just dead cells. The light from the sun can break down the chemical bonds that make up the pigment in hair and other items, which eventually bleaches them. Our skin, on the other hand, is alive. When the light from the sun hits our skin, it triggers certain cells to make melanin, which is a pigment that turns our skin brown. The melanin protects our skin from damage from the UV rays in the sun, which is why our bodies produce it.