Darkening of the skin between the upper thighs is usually caused by chafing (when thighs rub together and cause friction). This is common in people who are overweight.
Illnesses and infections can also cause dark spots on inner thighs. Such may include fungal infections, acne (causing blackheads) and even some viral infections such as herpes.
The first step in getting rid of these spots (blackheads) on thighs is identifying what the underlying cause is.
Causes
My inner thighs are dark, why? Depending on what side you are on, black patches on inner thighs is a normal and common occurrence in most people.
Though harmless, dark inner thigh can be embarrassing especially for those can’t the urge to floss in public places like in a swimming pool.
So what causes dark brown spots on inner thighs? There are a dozen reasons why you soft skin can suddenly develop this kind of sports.
This reason ranges from excess sweating, razor spots for those who shave or wax along the bikini region to an allergic reaction of the thigh skin to medicine and cosmetic products.
To get rid of dark spots on thighs, you will need to first identify and understand what the underlying cause of the spots are. Here are some of the possible cause of dark spots on inner thighs:
1. Increased melanin production
One of the most likely causes of dark skin on thighs is increased production of melanin. Melanin is a dark brown to a black natural chemical that determines the color of the skin. Increased production of this chemical has a direct cause on the increase darkening if your skin color.
Increased production of melanin can be caused by damaging of melanin cells in skin or over stimulation of these cells, what follows is an abnormal production of melanin, either too much or too little production.
With little production of this chemical, your skin becomes or bright, with overproduction of melanin, your skin especially the inner thighs may have dark spots.
2. Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation
Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation is the cause of skin darkening. PIH is known to cause skin darkening and discoloration that shows up as spots or large patches on the thigh and other parts of the body.
Post inflammatory hyperpigmentation occurs when cells that normally produce melanin across your skin go into override and produce too much of this natural skin coloring matter. PIH is caused by an inflammatory reaction in or an injury to the skin.
With this condition, when the excess melanin is produced in the upper layer of the skin, the pigmentation color is usually a dark brown shade, on the other hand, if the excess melanin is produced in the lower layer of the skin a gray or blue discoloration becomes visible.
3. Obesity and overweight
Darkening of inner thighs are more in common in people with obesity or overweight. Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat accumulates to the extent of having a negative effect on a person health.
- When obese or overweight, your inner thighs may keep rubbing against each other (chaffing thighs). This friction causes dark skin patches on your inner thighs.
- The friction caused by excess rubbing or the skin is said to induce over secretion melanin which is what causes dark skin in obese people.
The common causes of obesity include a combination of excessive food intake, lack of physical activities and genetic susceptibility where one can inherit the condition from his or her parents. Obesity and overweight can be prevented by a combination of social changes and personal choices. The main treatment of obesity is thus dietary changes and exercises.
4. Hormonal changes
Hormonal imbalance or fluctuation has a lot of effects on our health, modes, and appearance in terms of skin colors and others.
To understand this, you will need to first know what hormones are. Hormones are chemical secreted by cell or glands. This chemical secretion acts as a messenger that are sent out from one part of the body to the other.
A skin condition known as Melisma is one of the skin conditions caused by hormonal fluctuation. While there is definite genetic component to the disease, it is often triggered by hormonal fluctuating. This condition is common during pregnancy.
What happens is that, with this condition, your melanocytes are stimulated to produce an abnormal level of melanin.
Melanin, as mentioned, is the chemical component responsible for the dark or light coloring of the skin, whether it is on the inner thighs or anywhere on the body. Hormonal fluctuation is not permanent, one the level of the hormone stabilizer (after delivering for pregnant women) you can regain your original skin color.
5. Use of certain medications
Different medications will produce different side effects on different people. What that means is that, when one is on a given treatment or medication, the medication may cause the secretion of abnormal body activities. A common such case is a hormonal imbalance. This is common for those using anticipative.
Some medication may also lead to the abnormal secretions of melanin by the melanocytes. With over secretion of melanin, you are more likely to have dark inner thighs.
In cases of such medicine side effects, you will need to consult your health care provider as soon as possible. Medicine side effects or allergic reaction to medicine can be life threatening especially if you are using over the counter medication.
6. Wearing tight irritating clothing
Irritation from wearing tight clothing could be the other possible cause of the dark inner thighs. Continues irritation of our inner thighs or any other part of the skin can lead to the damaging of the melanin glands which in turn leads to the abnormal secretion of melanin (the dark coloring matter of the skin)
7. Excess sun exposure
Sun damaging or sun poisoning caused by excess exposure to the sun ultraviolet rays is the other possible cause of dark spots on the skin.
Apart from giving your skin the dark coloring, melanin is also responsible for protecting your skin from UV light from the sun. When your skin exposure for long on direct sun, the melanocytes are secreted to produce more melanin hence the dark spots or coloring on skin.
UV light can damage your skin, you could even end up developing skin cancer, as a result of this, dermatologist advice against long exposure to the sun without protection. If you have to stay out for long, make sure you apply a considerable amount of sunscreen to protect your skin from sun damaging.
8. Shaving and waxing
The other likely cause of dark spots on upper inner thighs is shaving waxing and another poor method of hair removal along the bikini line. For those people who shave close to the skin may end up damaging the upper dermis of the skin, this can lead to the development of ingrown hair that appears dark. These bumps are also called razor bumps.
Dark skin on inner thighs caused by poor shaving method can be prevented by adopting proper shaving and hair removal techniques.
If you are not sure about waxing your bikini area, let it be done by a professional, that way, you keep your skin tidy and avoid the dark spots that might develop on the skin.
9. Excess sweating
Hyperhidrosis or excess sweating is the other possible cause of dark inner thighs. This condition is common in obese or overweight people.
For those people who sweat a lot around the inner thighs, this condition creates a conducive environment for fungi and bacteria to grow.
If you are one of those people who sweat a lot and wear tight clothing, the condition is even worse.
Overgrowth of fungi leads to irritation that causes the stimulation of the melanocytes, this could lead to over secretion of melanin thus dark inner thighs.
Maintaining a high standard of hygiene is can help minimize the risk of bacteria and fungi growths. If you are one of those people who sweat a lot, make sure you keep your skin clean and dry always.
10. Diabetes, acanthosis nigricans
Apart from the causes discussed above, dark inner thighs or skin can also be caused by a different underlying medical condition such as such as diabetes and acanthosis nigricans.
Diabetes is a medical condition in which your body’s ability to respond to hormone insulin is impaired, this results in abnormal metabolism of carbohydrates and increased level of glucose.
Acanthosis nigricans in the other hand is a fairly common skin pigmentation disorder. The condition is often characterized by the dark patches on skin with a thick velvety texture. This skin condition is common in people with diabetes, have dark skin or are obese or overweight.
From all the possible causes above, before you attempt to treat or get rid of the dark spots on the skin, your will first need to identify what the exact cause is. Have a dermatologist examine and diagnose the condition to establish what the cause is, after which the right treatment option can be prescribed.
11. Blackheads
Shaving the bikini area is one of the common cause of dark patches on thighs with blackheads. Dark patches can also be caused by a condition such as hidradenitis suppurativa, simply known as HS or acne inversa.
- This is a chronic skin condition characterized by clusters of abscesses or subcutaneous boil-like infection.
- The bumps caused by this condition are often free from actual bacteria
- Apart from the inner thighs, this condition will also affect the underarms, under the breasts, buttocks, and groin.
- According to Mayo clinic, this condition is rare and long-term.
The condition might feature small, painful lumps under the skin that often occur on the body part that rubs against each other. HS tends to start after puberty, the condition can persist for many years and may worsen over time. When diagnosed and treated early, you can be able to manage the symptoms, prevent new lump from forming and complication.
Apart from HS, other conditions that might cause dark inner thighs would include conditions such as folliculitis and molluscum contagiosum. Folliculitis is caused by the inflammation of the hair follicles on the skin while molluscum contagiosum is a relatively viral infection of the skin that results in round, firm. Painless bumps ranging in size.
Pictures
Dark patches on inner thighs can be really annoying, here are some images of how the dark spots appear.
Dark thighs are normal and harmless, you do not need to worry about that, you can also simply get rid of the spots and lighten your thigh skin back to normal with simple, natural home remedies. You can also stay free from the spots by avoiding all the possible causes.
For medically caused dark skin thighs, treating the underlying cause is the best and easiest way to get rid of the dark thighs skin.
The number one cause of dark inner thighs and other parts of the skin is increased melanin production. Melanin is a dark brown to a black natural pigment found in most living organism.
This dark pigmentation is formed by the oxidation of amino acid tyrosine followed by polymerization. Melanin is produced by a specialized group of cells known as melanocytes.
Melanin is the primary determinant of a person’s skin color. The more the amount of melanin your skin contains, the darker the color of the skin. Genetics and environmental factors play a major role in the secretion of this pigment in the body.
Apart from defining the skin color of humans, melanin absorbs ultraviolet rays from the sun that penetrate the skin.
This help protects DNA placed within the organelle from damage. So before you rush to artificially whiten you skin by destroying the melanin pigments, perhaps think about the importance of melanin in your body.
How to get rid of dark spots on thighs
Getting rid of dark spots on thighs will depending on how severe the spots have spread on your thighs. The treatment or the process one has to use to get rid of dark spots on thighs will also depend on what the underlying cause is.
For natural or normal causes like hormonal imbalance during pregnancy, the spots can be left to clear on their own without treatment.
Here are some of the ways you can get rid of inner thighs on skin.
Treatments
The treatment for dark upper thighs will vary depending on what the underlying cause of the condition is. To lighten your skin of the dark spots, one your dermatology might prescribe:
- Topical lightening creams and gel
- Treatment for the underlying cause of the darkening
- Topical antibacterial
Laser treatment
Laser skin lightning is the other possible treatment option recommended to get rid of black inner thighs fast. For people with dark thighs and armpits, laser lightening or whitening can be used to get rid of such spots.
This procedure can be used not only on bikini area but also for underarm lightening. The procedure uses a beam of light which is targeted at the affected area of your skin to remove traces of dead skin cells. The procedure also gets rid of pigmentation that which makes your skin look whiter and smoother.
Advantages of laser treatment will involve:
- Improving the texture of the skin
- It is a safe and quick way to whiten skin with dark spots
- The procedure can help get rid of chicken skin
Lightening creams
There are a variety of different creams that can help get rid of dark spots on the skin. Some can have side effects as such is very important to have the best creams prescribed to you by a professional skin care practitioner.
Different outlets might price them differently. Lightning creams for dark skin are readily available in pharmacy and leading stores. You can also have the creams delivered to you at your doorsteps when you order for online stores like amazon and eBay.
When using lightening creams, you need to be very careful, discontinue and report any case of side effects as soon as you notice any, to your healthcare provider. What that means is that, before you apply any lightening cream on your skin, read and be aware of the side effect. This information is available on the packaging of the creams.
Home remedies
As mentioned early, dark spots on skin are neither harmful nor life threatening. As such, the condition can easily be treated and managed at home with simple natural remedies. Here are some of the most effective at home treatment you can use to get rid of dark spots on inner thighs.
- Lemon juice
Raw lemon juice contains acidic content that acts as a natural bleaching agent. When applied on dark spots on inner thighs, lemon juice may help get lighten your skin by getting rid of these spots. O use lemon as a natural whitening remedy, you will need to:
- To prepare an even better remedy, mix an equal amount of coconut oil with lemon juice
- Gently apply the resulting mixture on the affected part of the e=inner thighs and massage it gently
- Leave the oil mixture on for some minutes before rinsing it off with lukewarm water
- Do this repeatedly twice or twice a day
- Try a mixture of milk, honey, and almond oil
A mixture of milk, honey, and almond oil is the other best remedy you can use to lighten your skin of the dark spots. Almond oil contains plenty of vitamin E that help lighten the skin whereas milk and honey nourish the affected area and prevent infection.
To use this remedy,
- Simply mix the three ingredients.
- Gently stir and apply the mixture on your inner thighs and leave the paste on for 20 minutes
- Wash the paste off and pat to dry your inner thighs with a dry towel
- Repeat the process
- Aloe Vera gel and almond oil
In cases where the dark spots are accompanied by inflammation and itching, aloe Vera gel can help your skin of such the irritation.
A mixture of aloe Vera gel and almond oil will thus not only lighten your inner thighs but also help soothe the skin in cases of itching and inflammation. Aloe Vera gel also contains antibacterial quantities that might help prevent bacterial infection.
Simple mix the two in equal amounts and apply them directly on the affected area. Leave the mixture on for some minutes before rinsing it off with water. Make sure to keep your inner thighs clean and dry.
Other natural ways to light your skin may involve:
- Regular exfoliation with oatmeal
- Use tea tree oil
- Try apple cider vinegar
- Use salicylic acid soap
Before and after
With proper diagnosis and treatment, you would expect the discolored skin to change in appearance from before and after treatment. In order to get rid of the dark spots or skin on inner thighs, the right diagnoses and subsequent treatment have to be used.
Depending on what the underlying cause, the condition can either be life threatening or not. In most cases, however, dark skin is harmless and not life-threating. The condition can also be easily managed at home with simple steps like using kojic acid whitening soap and different lightening creams and gels.
Here are some images of how dark patches on upper inner thighs appear before and after lightening.
References
