I'm black and I think I know exactly what you're talking about. I'm assuming you mean the skin feels normal and isn't a different texture, just coloured darker as opposed to rougher in texture or leathery or something, right? I haven't ever given it a lot of thought, maybe because I think it's very common in us more pigmented people. I've always thought/been told that it's caused by friction in damp areas e.g. thighs rubbing together, upper arms rubbing against the body- that sort of thing. Maybe because it's soooo common except maybe in really slim people - the sort with thigh gaps and an appreciable distance between their arms and bodies, I've never given it a second thought. It's only now that I think about it, that I'm realizing that maybe it's not common with caucasian people. Although, I have seen lots of caucasian people with more tan/red/brown/darker skin in the friction areas than the rest of their bodies. I think it's normal as long as it's not sudden onset or leathery or tough or extra itchy or anything.
One thing I can say is that at 275 lbs, the darker skin on the insides of my thighs extended a lot further than it does now. Now that there's a little less friction, the skin has faded a lot and is only dark at the plumpest parts of my thighs near the inside tops of my thighs where my thighs still rub quite a bit.
Last edited by toastedsmoke; 09-26-2014 at 08:36 AM.
My husband had difficulty hiding his and people thought it was dirt too. He got sent home from work multiple times because of it. They thought he was dirty and wasn't showering.
I have a very small amount of it on the inner thighs but it's easy to cover up.
Yeah, it's kind of horrible and super embarrassing, especially in a spot people can see. I tend to wear my hair long and down now ever since he made the comment. The stuff on my inner thighs and armpit area is easy to cover. I get very paranoid when my hair is in a pony tail though. I'm sorry to hear your husband got sent home from work over it, that's horrible
VioletDolphin83 I'm so sorry you have to deal with people pointing at you in the supermarket. Show me who they are, I'll drop insecurities their way! (If only that worked, right?)
I think my skin isn't as glaringly obvious as my weight, I do get people mention the weight more often. Sometimes it's "friendly" like.. "Hey! You gained a lot since I saw you last, I know, have you tried [insert fad diet or exercise here]." Really people? I don't need you pointing out I got fat, I'm aware. And unless I ask you for advice, I don't need you telling me what to try or not to try. Anyway, you've almost hit the 50lb mark! That's more of an accomplishment than most those brats pointing at you will ever accomplish. Be proud, hand in there, and lose the next 110 so next time you're in the market you can point out THEIR love handles.
toastedsmoke I'm white, so I can attest to the "friction areas" being a shade different. My legs seem fine, but I also think it's offset with how pale they are so I frequently go outside to tan them, I also keep them from rubbing by wearing spanx for skirts. Glides. But my armpits are a shade darker. Maybe the friction theory is a good. one. =o
I have seen darker spots on a few of my friends. I just thought it was normal. Like, when you see freckles, small scars, and other imperfections. No one has perfect skin all the way around unless they're using Photoshop.
Now I'm staring at my arms and seeing all sorts of weird things. I have a long scar, freckles in random spots. And not the "pale" ginger freckles, I'm talking DARK dots in random spots. I'm counting... 5 on one arm and 7 on the other. Like someone poked me with a brown marker in random parts. Wow... my arm hair is kinda long... did my veins always look so blue in my hands? OMG! HANG NAILS! How did I miss those! Ew... scars from my depression era, I wonder how many people who notice them buy the "Oh.... it's from a nasty burn from a griddle...." part? Looking at it... it's definitely not... red spotty things... OMG.. I totally am developing the bat wings! Time to do some more push ups!
I doubt anyone I run into notices all these little imperfections though. Sure, high school girls mocked my upper arm skin, and a few dates pointed it out to me because it's weird. But I can't really stress over it. And, it's sort of a blurb in my life I forget about most of the time. The embarrassing ones are the scars (they show how vulnerable I've been) and yeah... my weight. These are two things that actually say something about me, or who I've been. Also, there are misconceptions about both (like being overweight is automatically "lazy" or "slob" in some people's books).
I wish you luck with the dark spots, and I'm not saying I don't understand wanting to change them. I totally get it, my long winded point was merely, if you can't get rid of the spots, and if you do find that they are there to stay, then try a different mentality about them. Not everyone notices, not everyone will judge, and you can live with them to the point where you forget you have them. Of course, if you can get rid of them, that's probably plan A, but Plan B is the more mentally forgetting about them. Easier said than done.
I'm white and at my heaviest (291) the skin in my upper thigh area was quite dark and extended from about the leg crease down around 5 inches. My underarms weren't as dark, but there was discolored skin there as well. I've lost quite a bit of weight and the underarms are all but clear now and the thigh area is noticeably better. Only darker at the leg crease and not nearly as dark as before. I'm sure the weight coming off helped the most, but I also exfoliated and saw a slight difference prior to the weight loss. I read that rubbing lemon on the skin could have a natural bleaching effect (like literally cut a lemon into halves and rub away!), but I haven't tried that. I just really went to town with a scrubby poof with my usual body wash with every shower.
My knees also like to get a little dark now and then, but that's an issue with not enough moisture and irritating them with floor workouts. A little lotion after a good scrubby poof session takes care of the dead/dry skin that causes it.
If you don't mind me asking, what type of exfoliator do you use? I use the Clinique 3 step system for my face, and I occasionally use st.ives for my thigh/under arm area but it hasn't done much. I want to invest in a dark spot pigmentation serum or something but it's just soo expensive!
Sorry for the late reply!
Face: First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance pads day and night, daily. Sometimes I'll use Indeed Labs Pepta-Bright but I haven't had to use it in a while. If you can get your hands on it, I find it affordable and super effective!
Body: Not committed to anything but I think dry brushing really helps!!
Reading all these comments, I'm starting to feel like an outcast lol. I have the exact opposite problem!!! My body is nicely tanned and gets beautifully tanned in the summer, too but my face will NOT absorb any sun!!! I'm so light in my face and everyone notices because they all tell me. They say, I wish my legs were as dark as yours but your face is so white....GRRRRR!!! It,'s frustrating!
Location: Home of the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins
Posts: 13,429
S/C/G: 217/176/142
Height: 5'2
I think anyone who comments on anything about your looks, such as your weight, imperfections on your skin etc are very rude and don't deserve an answer, unless they do it in a kind way and are truly concerned for your welfare. Geez, nobody's perfect!
I have heard of this darkening of the skin so I googled it and this is what I found.
I have seen this on people of color and also on overweight people.
Kurisitaru, the red bumps on upper arms is called Keratosis Pilaris. There are a lot of creams advertized to treat this. I have psoriasis and I get the red bumps a lot. The lotion I buy works well over time for it if I apply it every night at bedtime. It is Eucerin Intensive Repair. I buy a 16 oz pump bottle in Walmart for about $11.
Last edited by Wannabehealthy; 09-28-2014 at 09:15 AM.
Location: Home of the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins
Posts: 13,429
S/C/G: 217/176/142
Height: 5'2
Quote:
Originally Posted by Start203
Reading all these comments, I'm starting to feel like an outcast lol. I have the exact opposite problem!!! My body is nicely tanned and gets beautifully tanned in the summer, too but my face will NOT absorb any sun!!! I'm so light in my face and everyone notices because they all tell me. They say, I wish my legs were as dark as yours but your face is so white....GRRRRR!!! It,'s frustrating!
I purposely use sun screen on my face because I do't want the wrinkles and dark spots that the sun causes. Then I use a self tanning lotion on my face. With make-up, you can't tell that it isn't a natural tan. They have come a long way with self tanners. You can get them that tan gradually and don't look orangy. The one I use is Coppertone Endless Summer. I don't know if they make it anymore. It has lasted a couple years because I only use it on my face and only when I'm tan.
I purposely use sun screen on my face because I do't want the wrinkles and dark spots that the sun causes. Then I use a self tanning lotion on my face. With make-up, you can't tell that it isn't a natural tan. They have come a long way with self tanners. You can get them that tan gradually and don't look orangy. The one I use is Coppertone Endless Summer. I don't know if they make it anymore. It has lasted a couple years because I only use it on my face and only when I'm tan.
This is a good idea...I'll have to look into that. Thank you! Don't know why I didn't think of it lol....so simple.
Location: Home of the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins
Posts: 13,429
S/C/G: 217/176/142
Height: 5'2
Quote:
Originally Posted by Start203
This is a good idea...I'll have to look into that. Thank you! Don't know why I didn't think of it lol....so simple.
I see you are in Florida, so that sun screen will be extra helpful against sun damage. I wish I had used it on my hands because that is one of the first places that gets dark spots that show your age.
Definitely use sunscreen, sun damage can be nasty. My mom use to be a huge natural tanner, and never really used sunscreen. She's going to be 50 this year, and a few years back she started developing discoloration. It's not cancer, but it's darker colored skin pigmentation on her upper lip (it makes her looks like she has a mustache) and on her arms. Dermatologist said it's from sun damage, and she has a medication to help lessen the discoloration now. She also has to constantly wear wide brimmed hats when outside now, on top of sunscreen.
I'm scared of skin cancer myself. I use to play softball a ton when I was younger. So there were several years where I spent hours and hours in the sun (practice and then games netted at least 4-5 hours daily). Never wore sunscreen cause our family just.. didn't. Now I have lots of moles/brown spots on my arms, legs, and even on my scalp. Constantly on watch for any that look irregular I think I notice them more than anyone else though. We are often very much more aware of our minor imperfections than those around us.
Kurisitaru, the red bumps on upper arms is called Keratosis Pilaris. There are a lot of creams advertized to treat this. I have psoriasis and I get the red bumps a lot. The lotion I buy works well over time for it if I apply it every night at bedtime. It is Eucerin Intensive Repair. I buy a 16 oz pump bottle in Walmart for about $11.
I also get this problem. Didn't know it had a name. It runs in my family and I've had it since I was a kid. When I was a teenager it went up to my face and people thought they were zits. Now it's mostly on my arms and that's it. Creams to treat it generally aren't advertised where I live unfortunately. I've tried using moisturiser as suggested by a doctor but didn't try it for very long.
My sister has darkened armpits and thighs. We're both Caucasian, but her skin has more of an olive tone than my freckly complexion. She's really embarrassed about it, and her clothes also darken a lot in those areas. It's like her skin makes some kind of chemical that stains things.
In her case, it seems to be worse when she wears deodorant (perhaps her sweat reacts with it or something). So, for the most part she doesn't wear deodorant. If you shower every morning, you can probably get through a normal-length day without smelling bad. Assuming this would make a difference.
That said, it doesn't make the problem go away completely for her and she's still searching for a better solution. She never wears tank tops because she's self conscious; she thinks they look hairy even though she's shaved them.
Personally, I think dark armpits/thighs look just as good as any other armpits, and they don't even come across as unusual/odd to me. It's really easy to be self-conscious about your own body, but that doesn't mean other people are looking at you the way you look at yourself.
If you keep yourself clean and exfoliate regularly, your skin will look lovely, patches and all. This is coming from someone with head-to-toe freckles! (not just those cute nose freckles!)
I'm white and I have/had darker skin under my armpits and on my thighs too. I speculating but i think it might be caused by friction. (fat repeatedly rubbing together). It has diminished substantially since i lost 40 pounds. I also exfoliate there pretty often, which helps with cell turn over. Maybe spend a little more time scrubbing those areas down in the shower, I think it will help : )
I am super, super pale. I do have the discoloration under my armpits, I thought that was just from shaving though? Maybe were talking about two different things.
