Scott McGregor
Arm Pits have always been an object of obsession for a lot of women, and men too. I think the funniest trivia about arm pits is that a woman can smell out their soul mates by sniffing the partner's armpit. How true is this trivia, I have yet to discover. But the explanation given was that all humans produce different smells of feromones and that the armpit is one of the most concentrated feromone scented areas. Hence, if the smell appeals to the woman, then likely for the two to get together and stay together. At least it is more civil than Ally McBeal's butt sniffing.
Coming to the subject of armpits, many women prefer to have hairless armpits and thus you see the bloom of all the creams, waxing, IPL and Laser treatments to reduce hair in the armpits. Still another problem remains that is dark arm pits despite not having any hair. Especially when you are Asian with Skin Type 4 (like a dark chinese, a Malay or a light Indian) and a high risk of getting pigmentation or dark spots with any form of irritation to your skin (otherwise known as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation), you will notice that your armpits darken easily. The worst part is because this skintype is prone to discolouration and it is fair enough to see.
So Why do we get dark arm-pits to begin with?
Cause No 1: Arm pit hair shaving.
When we shave off our armpit hair, we leave residual hair inside the skin, and thus will give a dark discolouration of the skin above. A better way is to either wax or go for IPL or Laser hair removal to even get rid of the subsurfaced hair.
Cause No 2: Build up of dead skin especially inside the folds.
This is a situation where a soft loofah is actually useful. Other ways to help tackle this are scrubs, washes containing lactic acids, etc. You can also walk into your dermatologist/aesthetic physician's office and get a peel done. The armpits are just like other parts of your skin, does require some rejuvenating treatment to make it look better.
Cause No 3: The use of chemicals that react to the skin such as perfumes and deodorants.
I personally find the roll ons to be quite a culprit so I've actually switched to sprays which seem to have less darkening effect. However, stopping the use of the substance doesn't seem to make the armpit lighter, so treatment is still warranted.
Cause No 4: Acanthosis Nigricans.
I remembered when I was a student, this was one of the clinical signs that I really look for in a patient. So what is Acanthosis Nigricans. According to Pub Med Online Acanthosis nigricans is a skin disorder in which there is darker, thick, velvety skin in body folds and creases. and thus, it also involves the armpits. It is commonly seen obesity-related diabetes and people of African descent. However, it can also occur in normal healthy people and there are some who genetically inherits them. It occurs slowly over time, and treatment is mainly by controlling the underlying disease or asking the person to loose weight. A Q-switch Laser maybe able to help reduce the appearance of it.
Cause No 5: Hyperpigmentation.
This occurs when the melanin production in the skin increases. For armpit areas, constant rubbing of the skin can lead to slight inflammation leading to hyperpigmentation. This is pretty common in people with loose skin over the arms, or people who sweat a lot and prone to PIH (usually skin type 4-5). You will also notice this in pregnant ladies due to high progesterone hormones thus leading to higher incidence of melasma and increase pigmentation in folded areas. Treatment will help whiten the armpits, but other measures like wearing clothes that are not too tight to reduce friction, using aluminium oxide for perspiration control and avoiding things that irritant the skin to reduce inflammation is warranted in the long run.
So how can I improve how my armpits look?
Once your armpits are darkened and cannot be lightened by rubbing in the shower, it means that you need to come in for treatment to help reduce the problem. A single treatment will lighten the arm pit but repeated treatment is required to achieve best results. Check out Faceworks Clinic April Promotions for Arm Pit Whitening treatments : http://faceworksclinic.blogspot.com/2012/04/april-promotions-not-to-be-missed.html for our treatemnt against dark arm pits.
Once treated, you need to maintain the armpits by using moisturizers and proper deodorants taht does not darken your arm pits again. I normally use my face lightening creams in my arm pits too for maintenance.
For more information or to book appointment do call us at 03-21440080 or email to info@faceworksclinic.com - Please leave your name and phone number and we will call to answer your enquiry or to confirm the appointment.
