I have a patchy sunburn and the darker parts are peeling first. Why?

The skin contains a pigment called melanin. It colors the skin, imparting the variety of skin tones we all recognize.

Melanin blocks at least some of the UV rays from penetrating the skin. After repeated or prolonged exposure to UV rays, the skin produces more melanin. Consequently, the skin darkens, or tans, which in turn protects the skin.

(source http://www.medicinenet.com/sunburn_and_sun-sensitizing_drugs/page7.htm)

Two main layers make up the skin. The dermis contains blood vessels and nerves. The epidermis layer above the dermis that we see as our skin color contains the melanin. Melanocytes insert melanin granules inside cells as newly formed cells push older ones to the surface. As the cells migrate, they produce keratin, another inert protein, and then die, leaving the keratin to form the tough stratum corneum we see every day. So when we sunburn, the skin turns darker as a protective response to the UV rays, and eventually die as newer cells are produced below the epidermis to replace this dead skin, which we see as the darker parts peeling away.

(from http://ideaplace.org/Why/TanOrBurn.html)

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I have a patchy sunburn and the darker parts are peeling first. Why?

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I have a patchy sunburn and the darker parts are peeling first. Why?

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