The color of skin depends primarily on a pigment called melanin. It is also influenced by the blood flow through the skin. Melanin is a pigment produced by special cells called melanocytes that manufacture packets of melanin called melanosomes and transfer them to the skin cells of the epidermis the keratinocytes. In white people the darkest area is the upper thigh and the lower back is the lightest. In black people the abdomen is the darkest.
