Dark underarms can be quite embarrassing and prevent you from wearing your favourite clothes with confidence. Those with discoloured underarms usually avoid wearing sleeveless outfits, swimming costumes and other such attire in public. Discoloration and darkening can happen on any part of the body, even something as protected and unexposed as your underarm area. A lot of lifestyles, hygiene and dietary habits are responsible for dark underarms. However, if you are here looking for answers on how to get rid of dark underarms, let us first tell you that this is a very common problem and a lot of women have this concern. There is absolutely no need to be embarrassed. By identifying the causes and adopting the right remedies you can definitely lighten dark underarms.
To learn what may be causing this problem and whether there are any solutions for it, we got in touch with cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Mrunal Shah Modi, Owner & Director at Shine Skin, Hair & Laser Clinic, Mumbai, to get expert insights on the topic. By the end of this article you will know exactly how to get rid of dark underarms, but first, let’s take a look at what causes underarm darkening.
1. Causes of dark underarms
In order to understand how to get rid of dark underarms, it is important to first learn what causes it in the first place. There’s a reason why some women have absolutely flawless and neat looking armpits, and some don’t. Here’s what Dr. Modi has to say:
i) Increase in serum cortisol level
Medical reasons like increased serum cortisol levels in the blood with deranged serum insulin levels can cause the darkening of the underarms and the neck area. A serum cortisol test can be done to identify if this is causing the darkening.
ii) Acanthosis Nigricans
A common skin pigmentation disorder, Acanthosis Nigricans causes the underarm area to turn dark and thick. Other than the underarm area, it can also appear on elbows, knees, groin, knuckles, palms and soles of the feet.