Yes, Hispanic people have melanin. Every living person does, regardless of ethnicity or skin tone. Melanin is the pigment produced by specialized skin cells called melanocytes, and all humans have roughly the same number of these cells. What varies from person to person is how much melanin those cells produce and what type they make. Because Hispanic populations are among the most genetically diverse in the world, the range of melanin levels within this group is exceptionally wide.
How Melanin Works in All Skin
Your body produces two primary forms of melanin. The first, eumelanin, creates brown and black pigment and is the main driver of UV protection. It absorbs harmful radiation before it can damage the DNA in your skin cells. The second type, pheomelanin, produces red and yellow tones. Pheomelanin contains sulfur and is less effective at blocking UV rays.
The balance between these two types determines your natural skin, hair, and eye color. Someone with high eumelanin production will have darker skin that burns less easily in the sun. Someone with more pheomelanin relative to eumelanin will tend toward lighter skin, red or blonde hair, and greater sun sensitivity. This ratio is set by dozens of genes, not a single switch, which is why skin tone exists on a continuous spectrum rather than in neat categories.
Why Hispanic Skin Tones Vary So Widely
“Hispanic” describes a cultural and linguistic background, not a biological one. The U.S. Census Bureau and the Office of Management and Budget define “Hispanic or Latino” as a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. That means Hispanic people can be of any racial background, and in practice, most have a complex mix of ancestries that directly shapes their melanin production.
Genetic studies of Hispanic and Latino populations consistently find three major ancestral contributions: European, Indigenous American, and African. The proportion of each varies enormously depending on family history and region of origin. A person of predominantly Indigenous ancestry from southern Mexico will typically produce more eumelanin than someone of predominantly European ancestry from Argentina, even though both identify as Hispanic. Research on skin pigmentation genetics has shown that the ratio of European to Indigenous American ancestry is one of the strongest predictors of skin color in this population. One well-studied gene, SLC24A5, carries a variant strongly associated with lighter skin that is common in people of European descent but rare in Indigenous and African populations. In Hispanic individuals, this gene is “polymorphic,” meaning both versions circulate within the community, contributing to the broad spectrum of skin tones.
When researchers measured skin pigmentation in Hispanic groups using spectrophotometry (a device that objectively reads skin color), they found Mexican American participants ranged from Fitzpatrick skin type I through IV, while Puerto Rican participants ranged from type II through V. The Fitzpatrick scale runs from I (very fair, always burns) to VI (deeply pigmented, never burns). Across the full Latino sample, 42.3% fell into type II, which is relatively light and burns easily. This spread illustrates a key point: there is no single “Hispanic skin type.”
Melanin, Skin Cancer, and Sun Exposure
Higher melanin levels do offer measurable protection against UV damage, but that protection is relative, not absolute. In 2012, melanoma rates were about six times higher among non-Hispanic white Americans (22.6 per 100,000) than among Hispanic Americans of all races (4.2 per 100,000). That gap reflects the UV-shielding effect of greater eumelanin production in many Hispanic individuals.
The lower incidence, however, creates a dangerous false sense of security. Hispanic patients are consistently diagnosed at later stages with thicker tumors compared to non-Hispanic white patients, and they have poorer survival as a result. The reason is partly biological (melanomas in darker skin often appear on less sun-exposed areas like the palms, soles, and nail beds, where people don’t think to look) and partly cultural (a widespread belief that darker skin “can’t get” skin cancer delays screening). The American Academy of Dermatology recommends sun protection for people of all skin tones.
Melanin-Related Skin Conditions
The same melanocytes that protect against UV damage can also produce pigment unevenly, leading to conditions that are more common in people with moderate to high melanin levels. Melasma is the most prominent example: it causes brown or gray-brown patches, usually on the face, and is significantly more common among Latino, Black, and Asian populations than among white populations.
Among Latina women, prevalence estimates range from about 1.5% to 33%, with rates between 50% and 80% during pregnancy. Roughly one-third of women who develop melasma during pregnancy will have it for the rest of their lives. A study of Latino male migrant farmworkers found an overall melasma prevalence of 14.5%, with rates as high as 36% among poultry workers exposed to heat and certain chemicals. These numbers highlight how melanin-rich skin, while protective in some ways, is more reactive to hormonal changes, heat, and UV exposure when it comes to pigment disorders.
Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation is another common concern. After any skin injury, from acne to a minor scrape, melanocytes in medium and darker skin tones often overproduce pigment at the healing site, leaving dark marks that can take months to fade. This is a normal melanin response, not scarring, but it’s a frequent reason Hispanic patients visit dermatologists.