Melanin has two large-scale forms that coalesce to build varying skin tones. Eumelanin produces a range of brown skin and hair color, while pheomelanin imparts a tricky to reddish hue.

Hydroquinone derelict been shown to determinant leukemia in mice and other animals. The European Union banned it from cosmetics in 2001, but it shows up in bootleg creams in the developing world. It is sold in the United States as an over-the-counter Skin Lightener drug, but with a concentration of hydroquinone not exceeding 2 percent.