Skin problems make us feel insecure, especially during the swimsuit season. Darkening the skin of the armpits is one of these problems, especially when you consider they are often associated with unhygienic. Fortunately, dark underarms usually aren’t a sign of anything serious.
There are various other areas of darkening besides the underarms, such as knees, elbows, back of the neck, and groin.
This skin condition may be caused by several different factors, and if they are correctly identified, then you may find an effective way to eliminate this problem. Most importantly, you may need to understand the reason behind your particular case problem. Otherwise, the problem may return sometime later after the bleaching.
What causes dark underarms?
Darkening of some parts of the skin in folds around our body is usually caused by acanthosis nigricans (AN). Pigment cells called melanocytes determine our skin colour. These cells may turn the skin a darker colour when they multiply due to several different factors. As such, people with darker skin are more prone to have such a problem with pigmentation than people with lighter skin.
Darkening of the skin may also occur due to such factors as a reaction to antiperspirant or deodorant, or to any other cosmetic preparation for the body. Among these factors, there also are a reaction to synthetic fabrics, tight clothes, repeated shaving or plucking, or insufficient hygiene.
Always try to lubricate the skin with a soft soap or shaving cream before shaving.
However, there also may be several underlying reasons other than skin-related ones behind the problem.
Obese people are more prone to have Dark Underarms
It is explained by the resistance of our body to engage the insulin functioning properly. Extra weight increases insulin’s level in the blood, which leads to the increased production of skin pigment cells. Therefore, overweight people face the problem with darkening skin folds more often than others.
Type 2 Diabetes
Obesity also entails type 2 diabetes. Associated with an improper insulin acceptance of the blood cells, this condition causes high blood pressure. People with type 2 diabetes have more chances to develop AN.
Hormonal Imbalance
Dysfunctions of hormones may sometimes disrupt insulin levels and therefore cause dark armpits.
Treatment of Dark Underarms
As we have discussed already, dark underarms and other skin folds may be caused by various medical conditions. Sometimes, however, they can be caused by external factors such as insufficient hygiene, reaction to some soaps or deodorants, synthetic fabrics, and etc. Therefore, combining both medical treatment and home remedies will help cure dark folds.
Note that you need to find a remedy that suits you best. If you feel even the slightest discomfort from using it, it is better trying something else.
Lemon juice and other folk remedies
Lemon and Tumeric – lemon juice has become famous for its whitening properties, which is the most popular and inexpensive means to whiten the skin naturally.
Here is how you do this: squeeze a lemon juice into a small container, sprinkle a pinch of turmeric there, mix and apply on the armpits after a shower. Rinse with warm water in 10 minutes. Also, you may mix lemon juice with honey.
Lemon and Honey – Soothing effects of honey combined with the whitening effects of lemon juice creates a tool that gently brightens your skin.
Mix 1 tbsp of honey with 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice. Apply to the targeted part of the skin and leave for 15 minutes.
Repeat this procedure once to three times a week. Be sure not to overdry the skin, as the lemon acid can leave a burn. After the procedure, moisturize the place of exposure or apply a fat cream.
Potato or Potato?! Yes, you read it right, potatoes may also help in this situation. You will need to get the juice of potatoes and to hold compresses with it for 15 minutes on the dark parts of the skin.
A similar effect has cucumber juice and finely chopped parsley, levelling the colour of the epidermis. You can apply cucumber juice and parsley every day after the shower.
Massage brush and scrub
Peeling the targeted parts of the body helps remove dead skin particles and facilitate the removal of ingrown hairs. Therefore a massage brush with a scrub of your liking is an excellent underarm care product. With a systematic exfoliation with a massage brush and body scrub, you may achieve a desirable result already after 2 or 3 times.
Prevention of Dark Underarms
Aggressive factors may influence the appearance of dark spots under the arms and in other parts of our body, but we should not forget about simple natural remedies such as we have talked about.
Increased sweating is one of the causes of pigmentation. After a hard day or a workout, do not forget to take a shower. By keeping up the simple hygiene, we can protect our underarms, knees, elbows, back of the neck, and groin from the pigmentation problems.
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