How do these hormones increase melanin?

Melanocyte-stimulating hormones increase melanin by activating melanocytes in the skin, which triggers pigmentation; related synthetic peptides mimic the hormone and activate melanocortin receptors to produce the same tanning effect. 1

• Melanin’s role: Melanin is the pigment that gives skin its color. The transcripts also explain that melanocytes absorb ultraviolet light and initiate biological signals that change skin pigmentation, but do not explicitly describe melanin as reducing UV damage to skin cells. 2