I'm Black. How can you get rid of dark skin from under my arms and around my neck?

Question

When I was younger I had a bad rash under my arms. It left the skin under my arms very dark. It has lightened up since then but it is dark enough to leave me self conscious about wearing sleeveless shirts. I also have dark skin around my neck. I don't know how that happened. Is there a cream or something I can use that actually WORKS. I tried cocoa butter and a lot of expensive creams but nothing has helped. I think it is ligtening on it's own over time but I would like to get rid of it now.
Also, I have a child. During my pregnancy I occured a lot of stretch marks on my stomach. I really miss my cute stomach. Is there a cream that actually WORKS to get rid of stretch marks. I have tried a lot of cremes for this also but none worked.
If all else fails, I'm thinking about saving up for a trip to the plastic surgeon. It really bothers me that my skin is so flawed when it was once beautiful. Please Help.

Answer 1

Are you exfoliating regularly? I have a friend who is African American, and her skin while still dark, is a lot lighter than that of the other women in her family. The other women get ashy, and they have to exfoliate. Because of her skin tone, dead skin shows up not as ashy but as darker patches. She uses a good exfoliant regularly, followed by a deep moisturizing cream. All the moisturizers in the world won't help your dark patches if there's a serious buildup of dead skin on there.

Start out with a gentle exfoliant, such as St. Ives Apricot scrub, and see if that helps. You may need a stronger formulation, or a chemical exfoliant, such as an AHA cream, if you have a serious build up of dead cells. Exfoliating agents take off the dead layer of stuff on top, so they won't hurt your skin tone or bleach it out. Also, since the top layer of skin is always dying, you need to continue to exfoliate regularly if you find that is the problem.

As for your stretch marks, I have heard various things from various friends. The best remedy, it seems, is a good moisturizer and time. Take good care of your skin, and it should return to normal. The only one of my friends whose tummy didn't return to normal gained an exceptionally large amount of weight with her pregnancy (85 lbs.), and even her marks are so faded that you have to look carefully to see them.

I have provided a link below to my favorite online drugstore. Even if you don't buy there, you can look at products and get ideas about what does what. Everything is divided into sections for quick and painless browsing, and there are good descriptions for every product.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I'm white, so I really have no idea. However, I would go to a dermatologist and get their expert opinion. They're the ones with the medical background and training and can obviously help you more than me. Hopefully, you'll have beautiful skin again! Good luck!

Answer 3

Yeah there is a cream I forgot what it was called my mother told me about it cause she works in the pharmacy you can find the cream in Wal-mart its there I hope it works for you

Answer 4

try to use Papaya soap.It really works

Answer 5

http://www.wikihow.com/Lighten-Your-Skin