woman looking at her knee | how to lighten dark knees

How to Lighten Dark Knees Naturally

As we know, there are times when you feel insecure about darker-looking areas on your skin. Especially when you're wearing clothes that expose them. Areas especially like behind the neck, elbows and knees. These areas are dark due to various ambiguous reasons, but today, let’s learn about how to lighten dark knees.

The knees are one of the most exposed areas of skin on your lower build. Hence, the skin there is constantly prone to injuries, friction and various other skin issues or factors. In most cases, people find the skin present over the knees patchy, rough, pigmented and sometimes saggy and wrinkled also called kninkles. The darkening of knees is not just common in adults, this happens even in children as well. It's frequently not a cause for solicitude and can be healed or cured with simple Ayurvedic and herbal home remedies. According to research, darker skin-toned people are much more likely to develop this particular condition, because their skin is naturally prone to producing excess levels of a pigment called melanin. The process is medically referred to as hyperpigmentation. Melanin is a natural pigment produced by our skin, it protects us from the UV rays of the sun.

Causes of dark knees

Though darkening of knees and elbows is substantially inoffensive, in rare cases it might indicate a beginning of an underlying skin condition or disorder which needs to be treated or looked over by a dermatologist.

The increased melanin release which causes the darkening of the skin present over the knees could be triggered by several causes. Some of which are as follows:

Due to friction:

When kneeling or resting over your knees, a common behaviour which causes constant pressure and friction that can damage your skin and gradually tend to rough and darken knees.

Dermatitis:

A chronic inflammatory skin condition is also known as Eczema. The darkening of skin could be due to the inflammation caused by eczema or scratching areas of the skin affected. Thus, people diagnosed with eczema have more chances of developing dark knees.

Psoriasis:

An auto-immune disease.

Due to Acanthosis Nigricans:

Occurs in children with high insulin levels.

Due to Medicine side effects:

Some medicines cause skin reactions and certain tabs can trigger hyper-melanosis causing temporary darkening of your skin. Hence, make sure to consult a doctor before consumption, in case you have any history of allergies or you're sensitive about dark knees.

Due to Dead skin build-up:

This happens when there's an accumulation of dead skin cells on the skin over some time. These skin cells can be gotten rid of by exfoliation. In case they are not removed, they turn darker by reacting with the oxygen content present in the surrounding atmosphere.

Due to Sun damage or UV rays:

Prolonged UV exposure leads to hyper-pigmentation and a darker skin tone in that area. This causes Melasma. A process where melanin is released to absorb and deflect the harmful UV rays. Excess release of this melanin causes the skin to darken.

Due to hormone imbalance or changes:

This particularly happens in women. Conditions like pregnancy, menstruation and menopause lead to hormonal imbalance. These Fluctuations may trigger hyperpigmentation. Various other medical conditions which cause hormone imbalance are Addison’s disease, Diabetes and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

Due to ageing:

The pigmentation can be caused even due to the ageing of the skin.

Due to Dry Skin:

Knees are prone to dry skin. Inadequate moisture might lead to impairment of the skin barrier. In such cases, where the epidermal barrier weakens, your skin becomes susceptible to damage, irritation and hyperpigmentation.

Due to Post-injury skin damage:

The skin tissue of your knees is slightly thinner. Which makes it prone to pigmentation and darkening.

Treatments & OTC cream or serums for dark knees

To avoid unwanted side effects, skin-lightening products and treatments should be used with extreme care. Not much is known about these medications, and some of them might even be harmful.

In particular, you should stay away from dark elbows & knees cream that contains:

ingredients include H2O2, mercuric chloride hydroquinone, and steroid hormones

Prescription medications often include active substances like hydroquinone and topical steroids. Unless otherwise directed by a medical professional, avoid using them.

Unregulated OTC goods containing these chemicals pose a risk of skin irritation.

One is lightening or depigmentation serum is available by Saturn by GHC and we highly recommend this product to lighten your dark knees.

Methods of prevention and cure

The tanning and darkening of knees can be annoying to remove, as they are one of the most stubborn areas. The amount of care taken for such areas of skin sometimes doesn’t matter, the reason being that these areas of roughness and pigmentation are difficult and time-consuming to get rid of. The moment your knees start to get dark or black, the appropriate and necessary treatment must be followed to remove them. Delaying it will make it much more difficult than it already is. The basic technique behind the treatment is hilarious but sort of similar to that of washing soiled clothes.

To get to it right away, there are some treatments and quick remedies that can be prepared at home by yourself, almost at zero expense. Here are some of the 10 best working methods which studies have proven effective:

Lemon:

The simple and best of all. Lemon is one of the fruits with the highest concentrations of acidic levels and is also commonly available, this natural bleach is a saviour. Squeeze out some juice and gently apply by massaging over the affected area and leaving it over for 10 minutes. Wash it off with lukewarm water. Doing this regularly results in lighter knees in no time.

Oatmeal/Gram Flour scrub:

Mix oatmeal or gram flour with enough quantity of milk or curd or cream or honey such that the mixture is more like a paste and is not flowing or dipping. Apply this paste over the affected area and leave it on for 2 to 4 minutes. Now start massaging gently for 5 minutes. Wash off with cold water when done. This mixture is a great exfoliator and moisturizer.

Baking soda:

This kitchen ingredient works as an excellent scrub. Make a paste using water and apply it over the affected area. Let it soak in for 5 minutes and start scrubbing with wet hands for 8 to 10 minutes. Apply moisturizer immediately, as baking soda can cause extreme dryness. The best effects will be achieved if you do this three times a week.

Olive/Coconut Oil:

Warm a little bit of olive oil or coconut oil, whatever you have on hand. Apply the oil to the afflicted areas and massage for around 10 minutes. And for the greatest benefits, soak it overnight. Perform this action once daily.

Aloe Scrub:

Using Aloe vera has many advantages. Make some Aloe gel by cutting out a leaf and removing its pulp or buy it from a store (Although, we’d prefer you to go natural). Crush the pulp and apply the paste over the affected areas and let it sit for 20 minutes or until dry. Rinse with cold water. Aloe not only makes the skin light, but it also keeps it moisturized and nourished.

Turmeric:

A popular Indian spice and a natural antiseptic. The turmeric powder needs to be mixed with water into a paste and applied over the affected areas. Massage for 5 minutes and rinse after 10 minutes. Turmeric helps in effectively glowing up the skin tone.

Green Tea Extract:

This can be taken into the diet by consumption of green tea and also be applied over affected areas. Green tea contains Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) which is a unique plant compound that has many positive effects on health.

Tomato scrub:

Tomato has excellent anti-inflammatory and antio-xidant qualities, especially due to the amount of lycopene content present in it. Make a paste out of tomatoes by crushing them. Apply and let it soak in affected areas for 10 to 15 minutes and rinse off with water.

Cucumber paste:

Consumption of cucumber juice as well as applying it as a paste for 15 to 20 mins over affected areas and rinsing off with water, has a calming effect on the skin. It also has an excellent hydrating ability which reduces skin pigmentation.

Black Tea Extract:

During the research, scientists looked at the effectiveness of this extract on hyperpigmentation in artificially hyperpigmented guinea pigs. For which the results were significantly positive. Hence concluding, black tea prevented melanin proliferation and lightened the dark areas of the skin.

Here's a tip, applying sunscreen of 50 SPF or above before exposing the darkly pigmented skin to direct sun, prevents the UV rays from causing more damage and helps in treatment by accelerating the above remedies results.

Take Away

The common issue of having dark knees can keep recurring unless you prevent the actual cause. Natural herbal treatments are the most suitable as well as reliable as they don’t superficially treat just the hyperpigmentation but also the root cause behind it as well. These treatments are simple and easy as all of the ingredients are available readily in your kitchen. All you need to do is bend your knees, take a seat and follow the article as we explain how to transform the most common condition of dark knees into baby soft, toned knees.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Should I apply sunscreen on dark knees & elbows?

When going outdoors, make sure to apply sunscreen liberally, even to the dark areas of your knees and elbows. The sun's rays may cause irreparable damage to the skin cells in these areas.

2. Does baking soda lighten skin?

Yes, Using a baking soda and water combination may help prevent hyperpigmentation on the skin.

3. Does Colgate remove dark spots?

Yes, It lightens the pigmentation of the skin.

References:

1. What to know about melanin - medicalnewstoday

2. Mukhtar A. Yusuf, MD, Nicma D. Mahmoud, MD, a Farhan R. Rirash, MD, Benjamin K. Stoff, MD,b Yuan Liu, PhD,c and Josette R. McMichael, MD, Aug 2019, Skin lightening practices, beliefs, and self-reported adverse effects among female health science students in Borama, Somaliland: A cross-sectional survey

3. So-Young Choi, Young-Chul Kim, Sep 2011, Whitening effect of black tea water extract on brown Guinea pig skin