Do you remember the furor over the whole issue of a magazine photoshopping Priyanka Chopra’s underarms to make them look smoother than a baby’s butt? Well, in order to quash the rumors of photoshop, Priyanka, herself, put up a “pit-stopping” photograph showing off her unrealistically smooth and fair underarms.
Now that the summers have finally reached our doorstep, most of us are busy busting out our strapless dresses and halter neck tops out of the storage, to beat the heat in style. But some of us are hesitant to do so because of our unsightly, dark underarms that might be put on display in those sleeveless garments. If you too are facing the same issue then don’t worry, for we are here to take care of your pit-(ty) issues!
We decided to take a leaf out of our Bollywood celeb’s secret skincare manual and compiled a list of tips and tricks that can help you get rid of dark, underarms. Lets’ read on.
1. Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize
If you are looking for a way out of dark unseemly underarms, then you do have to moisturize your underarms. Even though it might appear that your underarms don’t really need hydration since they are seldom exposed to harmful radicals but because they are in contact with cloth and skin, all the time, they are more likely to become dark due to constant chafing. You can put on some lotion on your underarms after you shower, to seal in the moisture.
2. Exfoliate Their Armpits
Just like your face, your underarms also accumulate dead skin cells over time, and this too can be a contributing factor towards their darkening. To prevent this from happening, you need to exfoliate your underarms. Since the skin in the armpit region is quite sensitive, you need to use a very gentle exfoliant. Try to exfoliate your armpits once a week to get rid of dead skin there.
3. Wax Instead Of Shaving
Even though it seems a shorter and more convenient route to getting smoother underarms, shaving often increases the number of ingrown hair which gives the appearance of bumpy, and unseemly skin. You can avoid this if you switch to waxing, but then also remember that you need to wax your skin in the direction which is opposite to the direction in which the hair is growing. This will reduce the chances of getting an ingrown hair.
4. Don’t Use Depilation Creams
No matter what they might endorse on the television, very few celebrities would actually own up to using depilatory creams on their skin in real life. Prolonged use of depilatory creams can darken the skin, due to the presence of chemicals in them. Besides, these creams don’t actually remove the hair from its roots, it is still present under the roots.
5. Don’t Use Antiperspirants
Before you ask, I will make it clear. We are drawing a distinction between an antiperspirant and a deodorant. Deodorant is one that neutralizes the odor-causing bacteria which breeds in our moist armpits, whereas antiperspirants block the pores of our skin making it impossible for the sweat to come through. In any case, deodorants are safer when compared to an antiperspirant. Especially, the ones which don’t have aluminum in them as they can irritate the skin further causing it to become inflamed which can also make it darker (1).
6. Your Clothes Matter Too
If you are in the habit of wearing clothes made out of fabrics such as polyester and other synthetic fabrics, we would suggest you switch to wearing more skin-friendly fabrics such as linen or cotton. These fabrics are less likely to irritate your skin upon contact, and this can help you avoid the darkening of the underarms.
7. Go For Treatments
In case, you still have dark underarms despite following every rule in the book, you can opt for a topical solution to get rid of them such as vitamin D solutions, alpha hydroxy acids, salicylic acid based creams, etc. But, do so under medical supervision, after consulting a dermatologist or a cosmetologist (2).
Follow these starry tips to bid farewell to those dark armpits. Now, you too, can step out in style and display those “pit-stopping” wonders of yours without anything holding you back.
However, we would like to point out that if you have dark underarms, it could be due to various factors such as your skin tone, hormonal imbalance, etc. In fact, obesity is also a factor which contributes to it (3).
So if you are unable to get rid of the pigmentation in your underarms, we would advise you to consult a doctor and see what the underlying cause is and get treatment for that. There are chances that those dark underarms are just a cosmetic symptom of something larger.
