What pigment gives human skin, hair and eyes their color?

Melanin is the pigment that gives human skin, hair and eyes much of their color.

Melanin is produced by specialized cells called melanocytes. In skin, these cells package pigment into melanosomes and transfer them to nearby keratinocytes. The amount, type and distribution of melanin help create the wide range of human skin tones. Hair color also depends mainly on the balance between eumelanin, which is brown or black, and pheomelanin, which contributes red and yellow tones.

In the eye, melanin is found especially in the iris and the retinal pigment epithelium. It helps absorb excess light and ultraviolet radiation. Blue, green and gray eyes do not contain a blue or green pigment; their appearance mainly results from how light scatters through the iris combined with relatively low melanin levels.

A common mix-up is choosing hemoglobin, which contributes to the reddish appearance of blood and can influence some skin tones beneath the surface. Chlorophyll is the green pigment used by plants, while keratin is a structural protein in skin, hair and nails—not a pigment.