What do we know about the skin around knees and elbows?
It is usually thicker than its surroundings and has more folds, is rough and dry and appears to be dirty even though the part may have been covered like full sleeved clothes and jeans. The skin is at least a tone darker than the original skin color. It looks ugly and never seems to restore to its original state.
Why is the skin dark?
Have you seen a baby with dark elbows and knees? No, obviously. It is the result of friction like leaning on the elbows or knees which causes the maximum problem. In schools, we are supposed to sit on the ground or participate in sports activities which causes the knee skin to grow drier. And, of course, due to our bad habits, we seem to lean on our elbows rather than sit straight and keep a good posture. The other cause is lack of hygiene and improper care. So, your affected areas need more care now on.
There are other reasons as well. Being overweight is one of them. And, another of the most pertinent reasons is eating a lot of sugar. Now, I would suggest you to ponder on certain points? Is your menstrual cycle highly irregular? Have you been to a doctor or ignored it? Are you a teenager going through puberty? Are you having any other dark patches or blotches on your skin, especially near your genitals or breast or neck? If all these questions are answered in negative, you do not need any professional advice. If not, you might need to consult a doctor and get yourself checked. Darkening of skin is usually a symptom to some of the diseases caused by hormonal imbalance in the body.
An Advice: When you read these questions, I am sure everyone of you would feel that all the questions are positive and may get panicked. So, I would like to suggest that you talk to your mom about all these issues and then come up to a conclusion. Always remember many of our problems including skin and hair conditions are due to weight issues which seems always out of control. So, take time and start with losing weight. I am sure that many of your would notice an immediate change. Even the cure for the said diseases is to lose weight so no need to think much. Now, on a lighter note, let us go to the home remedies and see what we can do to get rid of the dark skin.
Home Remedies and Habits to get rid of the Dark Skin
- First things first. Lose weight. Start pranayam. It is the simplest of the exercises and extremely relaxing.
- Secondly, stop munching on sugar and processed food. All the processed food including breads, cereals, energy drinks, soft drinks, energy bars and health foods are extremely high in their sugar content. And, they can wreak havoc with your system. Feel like having a dessert. Go for yogurt banana custard which is satisfying enough for the palate. Or, prepare the particular junk food which you feel like munching on at home.
- Stop leaning on your elbows and knees and you would see the difference in two days. Trust me, I have been there and done that.
- Always use a moisturizing and little rough body scrub made from honey or oils like coconut, almond, olive and such. They help in getting rid of the dead cells in these areas in an effective way. Sugar and rock salt are obvious choices for the granular part of the scrub. Use Cane Sugar (powdered jaggery). It is widely available and use organic products as much as possible.
- Apply a heavy moisturizer on your legs and arms. They are, generally, the driest parts of the body even if your skin type is oily. Keep the elbows and knees moisturized.
- Use a loofah at least 3 times a week in your bath if you have sensitive and dry skin and once a day for other skin types. It helps in regular exfoliation of the area and keeps the skin smooth.
- Applying coconut oil or almond oil is also beneficial as they are best oils for curing dry skin.
- Use bleaching fruits (fruits good for oily skin) in conjunction with moisturizing agents (liquids good for dry skin) of your applying as a knee packs, elbow pack or scrub. Like, lemon juice with sugar is a good option, even better is tomato juice or pomegranate juice with honey or oils. Fresh Lime (mausambi) juice or orange will give more potent results than lemon.
- Coconut oil and Walnut powder make good exfoliators for dark skin patches.
- Another great remedy which surely works is milk cream. Mix milk cream with a pinch of turmeric and apply on the affected areas.
- Aloevera (straight from the plant) also shows lightening of the skin.
- Keep the elbows and knees covered as much as possible.
- There should be no deep lines visible on the joints. If you can see lines, that means your skin is dry and you need to moisturize it. Apply oil from Vitamin E supplements topically.
- Sesame oil is great for moisturizing such areas as it has especially high proportion of essential fatty acids.
- Massage the areas with oil daily. That will make the skin soft.
Note: The skin on elbows and knees always look little darker than original skin color because of the folds in the skin which increases if you are overweight. So, to check if the color of knees and elbows have lightened, folds on the elbows or knees and see the color. That should give you the accurate state of your skin.