How to brighten your dark underarms

Even though dark underarms is not a serious medical condition it may causes embarrass and low-self esteem especially if wearing tank-top or sleeveless shirt is what you like to do in summer.

What causes this condition, and who’s at risk?

The skin of your armpits is very delicate and can be irritated easily. The underarms skin folds over itself makes it more prone to hyperpigmentation

1. Friction

Friction is the most common cause of hyperpigmentation of skin. If you wear tightly fitted clothes, the fabric may causing irritation to your skin and in turn hyperpigmentation. Wearing comfortably fit clothes and choosing natural fabrics like cotton or silk over artificial ones lets your skin breathe and reduces the chances of irritation

2. Frequent shaving

Frequent shaving removes the protective top layer of your skin along with the hair. Thus the sensitive skin of your underarms is more exposed to sweat, dirt and skin care products, eventually leading to irritation and discoloration.

3. Deodorants

Strong chemical deodorants with alcohol and perfume may causing irritation and hyperpigmentation to your skin.

4. Sweat

The bacteria that flourishes in your sweaty underarm not only causes the smell, but can also cause discoloration of your underarms.

5. Medical conditions

Although it is not very common, darker underarms might be signs of an underlying medical condition such as acanthosis nigricans, polycystic ovarian syndrome or Addison's disease, Obesity and hormonal disorders like insulin resistance/ diabetes or increase in serum cortisol levels can also cause darkening of the underarms.

How to lighten dark armpit skin

1. Use gentle soap contain mild exfoliator such as salicylic acid to exfoliate and remove dead skin cells

2. Avoid rubbing or scrubbing underarms area to avoid making this worse

3.Moisturize the underarms area to prevent dryness containing mild, gentle brightening ingredients such niacinamide, soy, retinol or vitamin C. Use only gentle ingredients because skin of the armpits is very delicate.

4. Shave properly and not frequently, avoid dry shaving to reduce irritation. Consider underarms laser hair removal to minimized shaving.