By Gertrude-Emilia Costin1 and Gopinathan K. Menon2
1Institute for In Vitro Sciences, Inc. (IIVS), Gaithersburg, MD, USA
2California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, USA
Section I. Why be interested in knowing the melanocyte? Cosmetic chemists best appreciate the implications of skin color for which the melanocytes are singularly responsible by producing melanin, the pigment which imparts the skin with its various shades of color. The marketing campaigns focused on the efficacy of personal care products to modulate skin color warrant an in-depth understanding of melanocyte, its biology, and how