Hii guys!

So I have a very tmi type question and if this inappropriate, mods can take it down (and I apologize!). I just have this burning question and I no one else in real life seems to have this problem so I thought I would ask on here.

I am of indian descent so I have darker skin, but I have considerably darker skin on my upper inner thigh and armpits!!! It's making me so self conscious and I have no idea what to do to get rid of it.

I have asked doctors and they've ruled out glucose resistance, acanthosis nigricans, I've had labs done (thyroid and everything is normal), and I've been told it's just something darker skinned girls have, but I know many who never have this problem (who are also on the heavier side like me) and no one in my family has this either !! I live in the dessert now and I feel so paranoid to wear shorts or sleeveless tops.

I can't believe I'm even asking this on here, but if anyone has any advice I would love to hear, again so so sorry for asking such a tmi question!! I have tried creams like Ambi but they haven't anything at all. Ugh it's annoying. Any help/advice is appreciated!

I'm sorry I don't have an answer for you but I hope you find one. You said you asked doctors, but have you asked a dermatologist specifically?

I have! They haven't really given me an answer more like lose weight and it'll go away but I've been losing and it hasn't gotten lighter at all. Maybe it's something I will just have to live with, but it makes me super self conscious!

This is a photo of what it looks like
http://t.b5z.net/i/u/2001091/i/darkprs.jpg

I'm a little lighter than her, but the darkness area is about the same on me, and she's not overweight at all, so I'm so confused as to what this is! and if losing weight will make it go away.

Anyway, thank you for your reply! Much appreciated =)

My husband has this problem. People who are overweight or people who have darker skin are more likely to get it. If your problem is due to being overweight then losing weight should help it but if it's due to having darker skin then you have to ask the doctor about possible treatments. My husband has lost some weight and is eating a lot better than he used to and now he is having less problems with it.

Is it possibly a fungal infection? Sometimes skin gets darker in response to on ongoing infection.

doesn't seem like tmi to me. J/s but some people have darker spots and it can be totally normal. Im sure its like a pimple,,,,, you notice it and think its Blarrrrring obvious and other people are like in your face squinting like "i don't see anything"

I'm white and i thought EVERYBODY was like this! Lol! I have slightly darker skin in some areas of my body but it never bothered me...

I know exactly what you're talking about! I am tan-skinned (MAC NC43ish) and I get hyperpigmentation around my mouth and under my arms. The only thing that has worked for me, on my face anyway, is exfoliation. I use an acid toner and that works wonders for me, along with a sunscreen. I don't really know what to do for other areas of your body but I'd say trying to exfoliate a few times a week might help. I'm not too bothered with my underarms because it's not super obvious, but maybe you could start by trying a body scrub on the areas that bother you.
Hope that works for you!!

It isn't, well at least the doctors have told me it isn't. My skin isn't irritated or anything it's just darker, like the picture posted above. It's just annoying because it is a very obvious color difference!

I wish! But it really is a couple shades darker than my skin tone

Oh good to know I'm not alone! Do you just let it be? I'm super conscious about since I can wear short and things now, I feel like I have other obstacles to face lol

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!

Thank you all for your replies!! I was super embarrassed to ask this and I really appreciate the responses!!

I just let it be.... It never occured to me that this characteristic was an exception, really. I do have some features that bother me (like my stripy weird belly - stretch marks)and iam a bit self conscious about them, so i get the feeling of wanting to cover what bothers you. In the past i've covered myself a lot, but in the last years i started to wear what i wanted and what makes me comfortable and its been a great shift in the way i think. Turns out some of the things that bothered me the most are normal, common and most people don't even notice them. Have you tried actually wearing shorts? Maybe it won't be as bad as you think. I really do believe many people have darker skin in some spots and inner thighs and armpits are very common places. I thought everybody did, but have discovered on this thread, that some don't.

I actually have some darker colored skin around the inner upper thigh area, and on the back of my neck. Sometimes I'll also get a more coarse feeling area of skin in the vicinity of the armpits. For me it's places where skin sort of rubs together frequently. I work on the computer so my head is up, and I'm overweight so that causes the crease in my neck, legs rub together when I walk, same with the armpit area when I move my arms. It makes the affected areas look "dirty" for lack of a better word. Literally.. a guy I dated a few years back thought I had dirt on the back of my neck when my hair was up.

I've been told it's associated with being over weight, and that's what I've read. So I'm hoping as I lose it'll go away. Especially the part on the back of the neck. I do find that scraping at the discolored skin when it's been soaked in water (like at the end of the shower) helps to alleviate it a little bit, although it doesn't go away completely.

I used to have pretty dark underarms and the only thing that worked for me after a lot of research and failed attempts at home remedies is a product called xtreme brite gel. You can get it on eBay for around $15. Look it up on Youtube also, some people have used the gel and it worked well for them as well. The only problem for me is that since I stopped using, it's gotten back to a few shades darker, but I'm ok with it because it's not extremely dark like before. Also, some of my underarm skin is damaged because I applied too much of the gel in areas that weren't even dark, so use very little to the dark area and be patient - trust me, this stuff works. Not sure if you can use them on other areas such as your thighs, but it's worth looking into.

Best of luck!

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.

So.... maybe I'm weird, I don't see anything wrong about the girl in the photo. I had to really look for the dark skin, and even when I realized that it was darker... I didn't see anything wrong about it.

I'm pretty sure I've seen the darker skin on many people, never really noticed nor cared. It's lie a tan line, sure, they can seem embarrassing, but most people dont't even notice and if they do, so what?

I should probably be more self conscience about my arms. I'm white, and my upper arms have these weird little red bumps all over them that flake off and... well it looks like a skin disease. Some poeple have pointed it out, so many have told me to see a dermatologist. I never notice it, and while yes some people have pointed it out, that was back in high school when I was a cheerleader and all the girls would call me fat even though I was bulimic and my ribs were sticking out. So I chuck that up to superficial children. These days, I forgot I had it until I was thinking of how many times I've even bothered to notice other people's skin.

Or maybe I'm weird and when I see zits, skin tones, tan lines, frizzy hair or anything most people are embarrassed about I just don't think anything of it or at worst think that person is just having a bad hair day. Most people are too self involved to notice other people's problems. And even if they do, the ones that notice you probably won't see again, and the ones you have around you all the time, probably care more about you then your darker skin spots.

With ALL that being said.

I'm told vitamin E creams work wonders on skin issues, stretch marks, scarring, and other things. Perhaps check it out.

Your lucky to not get picked on about your skin. Because there are plenty of people that do get harassed about their skin, being obese or whatever other imperfection that they have. It is true that it's mostly teenagers and children that do the bullying. But these teenagers can have jobs and go outside and are not just confined to schools. For instance, nearly every time I go to the local super market there is a few teenagers or young adults that will point out the fact that I'm fat. Sure, I have gotten used to it somewhat, but often it still hurts emotionally.