Secret Weapon: Knees & Elbows

A few comments on my blog bud Afrobella's blog caught my attention:

As for the darkening seen on the necks, knees and elbows of black folks, isn’t that just brown skin. The only black people I’ve ever seen who didn’t have a little darkening on there knees or necks were those people who are Alex Wek dark and those of majority mixed ancestry. I don’t know how many young women I seen scrub the backs of their necks and knees with rubbing alcohol and Clorox bleach in an effort to mix there skin tone. I don’t think it can be fixed.

Bite your tongue, girlfriend!  Of course it can be fixed!  And rubbing alcohol and Clorox bleach? Are people still doing that in this day and age?

Yikes!

I've got two words for you: exfoliation and sunscreen.  Skin sheds and regenerates anyway, so you don't have the same skin you had on your body last year.  Exfoliation speeds up that process and when you add sunscreen, especially in the summertime when they are exposed more, voila!   Your elbows and knees are the same color as the rest of your body.   There is no need to use any type of skin lightener to get the effect, although you can if you'd like to.  The secret weapon here, in my non-medical opinion based on my own experience, is sunscreen which helps prevent most re-darkening.  That's all any celebrity does too - look at Naomi Campbell.  That picture is from New York magazine and, trust me on this one, they don't bother airbrushing darkened elbows.

So, give it a try and let me know what you think.  Happy scrubbing!

St. Ives Medicated Apricot Scrub for Oily or Acne Prone Skin $3.99.   Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock, SPF 55 $9.99.

Comments

[afrobella]

Thanks for adding some SENSE to the discourse, Nichelle! That comment threw me for a loop. I shared it with my mom, and she was equally horrified. Of course, she's a big rubbing alcohol fan. I'll mention the exfoliation and sunscreen to both her and my sister. On New Year's Eve, my sister slathered Sally Hansen Bleach on her neck and elbows, as if that could miraculously remove the darkness within the eight minutes of application. Sheesh.

[Nichelle]

Sally Hansen bleach??? Where have I been? I had no idea about this madness!

[Anne]

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock SPF 55 is a great pick! It is also suggested by dermatologist Dr. Lesie

[Geija]

Women with darker skin tones still have to keep in mind that certain areas of the body carry more melanin than others, particularly in the knees, elbows, and knuckles. No amount of exfoliation or sunscreen may lighten these areas to match the rest of your skin tone. You can get them "lighter", but these areas may never lighten to your satisfaction. My dermatologist is African-American and he explained this.

[Nichelle]

Yes, I agree that the exfoliation process and sunscreen don't lighten skin. My own dermatologists (black and white) as well as derms I have interviewed have explained this.

As I stated, skin sheds naturally anyway and exfoliation helps speed up the process. Sunscreen is necessary not only to prevent additional darkening beyond one's natural color, it's necessary to help protect the skin because it is more sensitive after exfoliation (or use of Retin-A, Tri-Luma and other lightening products only available via prescription.) The affected area may be slightly darker than the rest of your body (depending on the person) but, quite often, you can absolutely achieve a relatively even skintone. It's definitely not about having lighter skin overall, or trying to be something that you're not.

[TheMakeupGirl]

Wow...bleach?? No no no no NO! Like my Nana said...A little lemon juice never hurt anyone. Rub fresh cut lemons on your elbows and knees my friend...she did it to mine...I do it to my son's and we are ash free with no darkness.

[Nichelle]

TMG - No, no, no is right!

[Monica]

How do you go about lightening scars? Because I light skin and I have scars on my legs that stand out.