When the skin covering our underarm area is few shades darker than our skin tone, that is what we call dark underarms. Yet times, dark underarms can lower the fun and confidence while we are in sleeveless outfits. We tend to hesitate to throw our hands in the air and be free, if we have darker underarms. This post is going to help you with that.
What Causes Dark Underarms:
They say prevention is better than cure. In order to prevent further darkening, let’s see what are the things that are causing dark underarms.
- Dead skin:
Like facial skin, skin covering our body also needs exfoliation. Reason being the accumulation of dark skin cells. As the dead skin accumulate, they make skin look dull and dark. - Shaving:
Shaving cuts the hair, it doesn’t remove the hair from roots. Once we shave, the hair follicles are still there. They make the skin look slightly darker. - Deodorant:
I agree that a deodorant is a must to smell good, but I always prefer and suggest to use perfume over a deodorant. Using perfume over the outfit is much better than using it straight on skin. Chemicals in the deodorants can cause skin darkening, if used for longer period of time. - Hyper-pigmentation:
It is a skin condition where the production of melanin (responsible for skin tone) is slightly higher at certain part as compared to the other parts of the body. In this case the extra amount of melanin produced, makes skin look darker. Which we usually call dark patches. - Tight Clothes:
This might come as a surprise. But skin covering under arm area is slightly thin. The friction caused by the tight clothes can irritate the are underarms and result in discoloration. - Bacterial Infection:
Due to lack of hygiene, there might be infection caused by bacteria. - Smoker’s Melanosis:
Smoking kills. It also ruins the skin condition. Smoker’s Melanosis is a condition caused by tobacco where the underarms gets darker. - Sun exposure:
Not only the underarms, if we get exposed to direct sunlight for longer period, we might end up with sun burns or tanning on the exposed area. - Hormonal Issues:
If you are under any medications or there is fluctuation in hormones, there is a chance that the skin gets these dark patches. - Skin Disorders:
There are certain skin disorders which result in dark patches.
How to Cure Dark Underarms:
Now that you know most of the causes for nasty patches, you are half way there. You now know what not to do and what to do to get brighter, healthy underarm skin.!
- Waxing Over Shaving. When we wax, the hair strands are removed from their roots. So the skin won’t look dark.
- As mentioned above, use perfumes on your outfits rather than using it on your skin. But please make sure the perfume won’t leave any stains on your outfit. You need to consider this point especially when it is oil based one.
- Try to avoid wearing tight clothes. Not just because of the dark patches, but also sometimes it causes irritation to small blood veins. Which might also end up causing further more skin issues. Choose free, loose clothes. Let your skin breath.
- Maintaining a good hygiene is the key. Shave the hair on the underarm area frequently. Use talcum powder to keep the area dry and free from bacteria.
- Apply sunscreen on to your underarms if you are going out in sun wearing sleeveless outfits, where the area is going to be exposed directly to sun.
- Scrubbing away the dead cells can make the skin look fresh and bright, it includes the skin covering underarms too. Regular scrubbing the underarm area can give you good results.
- Try some homemade masks using brightening agents like curd or lemon. Apply curd on to the area in need and wash with water after 10 minutes. Lemon juice is slightly acidic and if you have dry or any wounds on the area, lemon juice might cause slight burning sensation. But with regular use, you can get rid of dark patches.
- If the condition didn’t improve despite of following these remedies, please see a good dermatologist. Because if the issue is inside the body (like hormones or skin disorder), a good doctor’s help would surely help.
Hope you find this post useful.
Spots caused by more exposure to direct sun is called sun spots. These are dark brown spots that might take time to appear visibly dark on your skin. But once they are there, they are quite hard to remove completely. A good care with the help of appropriate creams and scrubs is what it takes.
This is caused due to hormonal changes. They usually appear on forehead, cheeks and upper lips.
This is quite common dark spot faced by many. This is due to pimples, burnt skin or any skin abrasion. These dark patches are high in melanin. Takes long time to fade.
Concealers are the ones which helps to hide skin issues. (
If you have severe patches, post a good consultation, you can go for laser treatment. This treatment is going to lighten the patches. But couple of things to consider here are – it is expensive and it is not permanent.
If none of these home remedies work, kindly consult a good dermatologist to get your skin issues resolved with prescribed medication.
