Having elbows and knees darker than the rest of the body can be troublesome for many. No one likes to be two-toned, especially when it comes to parts of your body that will often be visible. There are several reasons that could collectively contribute to the dark patch that forms on your knees and elbows. Let’s have a look at them:
Friction:
The human body is a miracle. It is astounding how well the parts of the body to protect themselves. One of its greatest characteristics is the ability to protect itself from damage.
All of us know that friction is very damaging to the skin. In order to protect the sensitive lower layers of the dermis, the skin will become extra thick. Thus the outer layer of the skin will have dead skin cells build upon it which is significantly darker than our natural and healthy skin.
Sunlight:
Even though the dead skin cells are “dead” they can still absorb the sunlight, which in turn gives them a much darker look than normal.
Genetics:
Sometimes there are factors that you cannot help. For some people, especially those with darker skin, it is in their genetics to have dark spots on their knees and elbows.
Dry skin:
Due to the lack of oil, the skin becomes dry and is more vulnerable to being attacked by the pollutants in the air. The problem with dry skin is that they tend to let the healthy skin cells die out more quickly which will cause the dark spots to form.
But don’t lose hope. It’s not impossible to lighten dark elbows and knees.
Even if there are a lot of factors working against you and putting you in a greater position to gather dark skin on your elbows and knees, there are remedies that will help you lighten dark elbows and knees:
Lemon juice:
This is the easiest and quickest way to lighten dark elbows and knees. Lemon consists of natural bleaching elements that help eliminate the dark color from the skin on your knees and elbows. Just apply some lemon juice on your skin and leave it for 3 hours. Do this every week and you’ll notice a remarkable difference.
Turmeric:
Though often used for food, turmeric has fine bleaching and toning components within itself which will do wonders for your skin. The best type of turmeric is the organic turmeric, which will produce even better results than processed turmeric.
You can mix it with yogurt or heavy cream and make a paste. Apply it on the dark spots and keep it there for 20 minutes. Once it has been dried, either scrub or rinse off the paste from your skin.
Aloe vera:
Though aloe vera has always been known to be one of the best moisturizing agents, it is also well-known as a great skin toner as well as a lightener. It will not only remove dark spots from the skin on your knees and elbows but also eliminate sun damage while hydrating the skin.
Just try to incorporate these remedies every week right before showering, you should see how these natural ingredients work to lighten dark elbows and knees.
