When You Get a Suntan,why Does It Soon Fade Away

Question

When you get a suntan,why does it soon fade away if you do not consistently spend time in the sun?
A)The melanin breaks down if not kept warm
B)The melanin is absorbed at a constant rate and you have to build it up faster than it is absorbed
C)"Tanned" cells are eventually sloughed off (although melanin is produced in living stem cells that continue to divide,half the melanin is lost into each daughter cell that dies and is pushed to the surface)
D)Sunlight suppresses the lighter skin pigments and they can again return to mask the melanin
E)Ultraviolet radiation destroys melanin

Accepted Answer

Tanned cells are eventually sloughed off as part of the natural skin regeneration process. As these cells are shed, they are replaced by new cells that have not been exposed to sunlight and therefore do not contain the same amount of melanin. This results in the fading of the suntan over time if you do not consistently spend time in the sun.