u/Capitan_Carl

I have been researching how to increase melanin to help my very fair skin handle the upcoming summer sun more safely.
I started tracking my daily micronutrient intake on the Cronometer app on my iPhone to monitor my copper and base amino acid levels. I also bought a tub of L-Tyrosine powder online and have been taking it every morning with my tea. It tastes incredibly chalky, almost like drinking dissolved drywall lol
I have been doing this daily for three weeks now. I went for a brief walk in the park yesterday and still got immediately red and splotchy. It is so so so annoying and makes me feel like I am just wasting my time by not knowing how to increase melanin naturally
I read a few papers stating tyrosine should help preparing the skin, but my system seems to just ignore the supplement. the tracking app shows my nutrition is perfect, so I dont know if my digestion is simply blocking the absorption or if I am doing this completely wrong.
Has anyone actually had success with trying to get more pigment this way, ois it just my genetics?

I'd rather check before I either overreact or wait too long because of my cat losing hair on ears. I have a 4 year old domestic shorthair (around 4 kg), indoor only, no other pets, healthy as far as I know. About a week ago I noticed she had a small thinning patch in front of one ear, and as of this morning the other ear is showing some thinning too. The skin underneath looks normal to me, no redness or crusting
I've been reading about cat losing hair on ears and the possible cause spectrum is SO WIDE, like ear mites, allergies, ringworm, stress overgrooming, hormonal issues, or in some cases just normal preauricular thinning that can happen between the eyes and ears on some cats. The range from "totally normal" to "fungal infection that's contagious to humans" is unhelpful when I'm trying to decide if I need to book a vet visit this week.
Theres no visible mites or dark debris in the ears, she's not scratching, no head shaking, eating and drinking normally, litter box habits unchanged. She's still cuddly and her energy seems fine. The only thing I can think of that's different is we switched her treats about three weeks ago to a different brand because the store was out of her usual ones.
anyone dealt with cat losing hair on ears? was it usually something simple like a treat allergy or normal thinning, or did it turn out to be something that actually needed vet treatment? Trying to decide if I should book an appointment now or give it another week to see if it stabilizes