Your skin is composed of many layers. The top layer, or epidermis, contains all the resultant pigments and markings of the inner layers. The second layer, or dermis, contains the sebaceous glands for oil production, hair follicles and melanocytes that provide the skin with its color. Although scientists disagree on why moles exist, they can appear on the epidermis for a number of different reasons.
Melanocyte Clustering
Normally, melanocytes distribute melanin evenly across the skin surface, causing a continuous skin tone over the body. However, at mole locations, melanocytes tend to gather in clusters or groupings, producing heavier melanin concentrations in certain areas of the skin. According to research reported by the Mayo Clinic, as the melanin, or skin pigment, from the melanocytes reaches the epidermis, it creates a darker and heavier shading than usual, causing the development of a mole.
Genetics
The Georgia Department of Community Health reports that moles, especially large, potentially cancerous ones, tend to run in families. Irregular-shaped, quarter-inch-sized moles, known as atypical nevi, are inherited with the genetic coding of skin formation. In fact, families with larger distributions of these moles or other types of moles tend to produce offspring with higher mole concentrations.
Aging
A family practice physician from Arizona, Dr. Marc Bauder, contends that only 1 percent of people are born with moles. The rest develop them as they grow older, usually starting at age 5 or 6.
The Georgia Department of Community Health notes that the specific trigger of development remains a mystery, but doctors agree that the number of moles you have may be predetermined at conception. In other words, your genetic coding, which varies in activation throughout your lifespan, can turn on and turn off the production of moles. By the time you reach 40, new moles stop developing, and by age 70 or older, your moles may begin to fade.
Sun Exposure
UV radiation from the sun and sunlamps starts the production of melanin from melanocytes, causing a darkening of the natural skin tone. Similarly, moles can become darker and more apparent following prolonged exposure to the sun. Although the sun does not directly produce moles on the body, it can cause mole cells to mutate, resulting in a skin cancer known as melanoma.
The National Cancer Institute asserts that melanoma is a very serious form of cancer, capable of spreading throughout the body. As mole cells grow out of control, you may notice the appearance of heavy abnormality and blackening at the skin's surface. Beware of any irregularities in the shape of your moles and see a doctor if you notice anything unusual or painful.
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