According to the February 2008 issue of Allure magazine, researchers in the United States and Japan have found that keratinocytes regulate the amount of pigment that melanocytes produce.  This is a really exciting finding, as it will influence the ways that dermatologists treat pigmentation and hyperpigmentation issues in the future. As Raymond E. Boissy, professor of dermatology and cell biology at the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine tells Allure, “You have a whole new cell type to look at for controlling pigmentation…[and] it may be easier to manipulate keratinocytes, because they are abundant and turn over quickly, and the finding could lead to innovations in sunless tanning as well as treatments for age spots and pigment disorders.”