Natural ways to lighten dark underarms

The underarm area rarely gives us any trouble but is a major cause of embarrassing and frustrating during the summer season. Dark underarms sometimes force us to stop wearing favourite sleeveless tops or going out for a swim?

Here are a few home remedies for lightening the underarm skin colour. Waxing: It is the best option, as it removes hair from the roots. As such, it is said to weaken the follicles over a period of time and thus discourage hair growth.

The lemon and sugar mixture used for waxing would itself help to lighten the skin, as lemon juice helps to make skin colour lighter. Combined with sugar it is more effective. Ready-to-use wax and waxing strips are also available, but getting your waxing done at a beauty parlour may give better results.

Bleach: Mix gram flour (besan) with yoghurt and a pinch of turmeric into a paste. Apply three times a week in the area and wash it off after half an hour. Yoghurt contains lactic acid and helps to lighten skin colour. Turmeric is also mild natural bleach.

Scrub: Both cucumber and lemon juice help to lighten skin colour. Mix them in equal quantities and apply under the arms 3 or 4 times a week. Wash if with plain water after 15 minutes. Rice flour can be mixed with yoghurt and used as a scrub under the arms. Apply the paste and leave on for 15 minutes. Then moisten the area and rub it gently on the skin, washing off with plain water. Rice flour helps to remove the dead cells along with their contained pigment.

Potato juice may be applied to the arms daily to make the skin colour lighter. Apply and leave on for 20 minutes. Wash off with plain water. Mix baking soda with water into a paste and apply under the arms daily. Leave on for 5 minutes and wash off with water.

Sesame seed (til) oil mixed with coconut oil can be applied and massaged daily. Sesame seed oil has SPF and helps in cases of sun-damaged skin. Coconut oil contains vitamin E, which benefits the skin and helps to lighten the skin colour.