What a drag. Many people feel just like you. What do you mean by meet ups?
Although we have asked the readership on a number of occasions about their interest in having a meeting in one city or another, it is never greeted with much interest. It most likely has to do with how spread out out community really is, and unless we met in someplace like Las Vegas or Los Angeles, or New York, or Columbus Ohio, we would not stand to have much participation from the people who post most frequently on the site.
I can help you on a couple of your stated problems. First of all, the darkness under your arms is due in part from irritation from deodorant/antiperspirant, and also from friction from your clothing. The seams that jut into the armpit and scrape and saw at them leaves that mark. (as a side note, I had a good belly laugh at the latest fashion idiocy, “Anal Bleaching.” Paris Hilton types are paying to have painful potions slathered on their pink bits and bearing the stinging agony, when all they need to do is STOP WEARING THONGS!)
The solution is to change the way you dress, and for faster results, apply aloe vera gel on the area to sooth and heal it up and fade away the hyperpigmented skin. Another change that would do you good is to start mixing up and using your own deodorant-antiperspirant. You can make it with non-flavored milk of magnesia as the base, add a some baking soda, and if you like, a dash of some essential oils, like lavender, tea tree oil, and so on, and enjoy the health benefits of leaving aluminum salt products behind.
As for the clothing, you need to eliminate the friction under your arms, and the only ways I know to do this are; go sleevless as often as you can. If no fabric is touching your underarms, they will heal up and return to natural color, or wear baggy sleeves that don’t put fabric under your arms, if this fashion choice can work in your daily life, and lastly, my own personal solution to this problem (as it happens to me as well) wear a gusseted sleeved item as underwear.
One of the best companies for the gusseted underarm wear is O’Neill which makes what they call “RashGuard Clothing”. If you check out this long sleeve version in the link, you will see the pink fabric highlights why there is no seam roughing up your underarm. This would limit, or eliminate the friction now causing this darkness to occur, and allow the skin to heal and lighten up if this type of shirt were worn as outer wear, or underneath other clothes. The bonus is, they keep you warm when it is cold, and cool when it is hot, and the UV protection is rated at 50.
Once all the dopey flash animation finishes loading and you can actually see the shirt, make sure you click on the second picture to see the rear view, as it gives a better look at the gusset, as you see where the pink fabric ends going down the arm. They make the same type shirt with one color fabric, but this was a great way to show what is different about the construction. Some gussets are just a diamond shape that puts corners on the arm, the ribs, and the two sides of the shoulders.
What about organic deodorant instead of making ones own? Like Tom’s and other? They seem not to have any aluminum? Or making ones own still better?
Thank you!
Making your own is still better. If you read the ingredients, you will see things like Alum, which is still aluminum. Even milk of magnesia has bleach in it, but at least it is a small amount, and it dissipates if you leave the bottle open and let it dry out some.
Hi James.
Please i have a question concerning electrolysis.I am 21 and black british although i have olive skin.I have undergone laser treatment on my legs which were succesful but wen i did it on my chin,it caused induced growth.
I have been so depressed since because i don’t like the way my beard looks now.It is not too coarse but fine and noticeable.
However,i went to an electrologist today and she told me i should go back to the laser and that she doesnt believe laser causes induced growth.I became so demoralised.Later on she said i should go to the doctor and get my hormone level tested and then get back to her next week to be sure my hormones are ok and the test patch is ok.
I had a test patch with her and she uses diatherma.At first i was scared because i read blend is the most effective and diatherma is not appropraite for every one.
So i have been booked in for another hormone test on monday with my gp although the blood test i had last year said my hormones where normal.
Please after the hormone level test has been confirmed and its still normal should i go ahead with the electrolysis cos the lady seems scared although she has been practising for 16years and worked wth lots of people.Though my mind tells me that she is scared because of my olive skin complexion.
Please is diarthema appropriate for olive skin tone?She told me blend is not appropriate for me because it could scar me and she has used it before.She also said thermolysis is very dangerous and so she does not use it.However the test patch i had with her today was fine and just a sting and did not really have swelling on the two follicles she removed hairs.
Please i need your advice.
Thanks.
In addition she also said thermolysis uses electric tweezers.Is that true?I have a feeling she is confused even after years of experience.
mamy - you need to look in the BIAE register for more electrologist’s in your area and go for some more consultations.
Uhh… I would run… far away… from that electrologist.
lol.exactly my conclusion after misinterpreting thermolysis(as if thermolysis isnt diathermy) and also saying laser doesn’t cause induced hair growth.I was shocked.Thank God for this forum that educated me before embarking on todays journey.
Thanks stoppit i would so run miles away.
I just contacted a BIAE in sheffield and she uses diathermy too.She also said have i heard of laser.I still find it surprising that some doctors don’t know laser induces hair growth and she said i could use laser on my face (which am so not going to try because it induced hair growth on my neck)Please what do you think about this BIAE memeber and what do you think of diathermy on olive skin.Am freaking out.
Hi Dime,
My hair is just dark and abundant, not thick.
It’s a good thing you didn’t laser them. They do not sound like good laser candidates. That would have been wasted money.
One of the other issues I have is acne […] especially my back.
I have that problem too. My doctor prescribed a 1 month course of (what I think was) antibiotics a long time ago. This reduced the problem to about a third of what it was. In time the acne decreased further but never stopped completely.
These days I control the problem either with tea tree oil or Tend Skin (particularly when the smell of tea tree oil won’t do.) Tend Skin also helps fade the hyperpigmentation.
By the way, do not mechanically exfoliate/scrub your back, it makes the problem worst. 100% cotton blouses help a lot as well as swimming whenever possible. (Preferably in sea water.)
Hello:
As you have already figured out, you don’t need to put that practitioner high on your list. I would get more consultations and sample treatments.
It is a shame that some people still don’t know that all forms of electrolysis are superior to LASER for individual hair removal, and the only way LASER makes sense is the idea that you MAY get more hairs in less time IF YOU DON’T lose your gamble and get negative side effects like induced growth, pigmentation, and scarring.
I have done lots of clients with Olive Skin, and they are very happy.
Update on my visit.
After visiting the BIAE member who said she had lectured some BIAE member,she explained to me why she cannot use Diathermy because my hair is curly not straight even though it is fine.And she recommends IPL laser.I then told her i use Soprano XL laser and it induced growth.She told me that the light from Diode lasers isnt strong enough to kill the cells supplying blood to hair and then IPL kills the cells.However,with the fear of not been a victim of induced growth again,i asked her what about blend.And she said blend is very good because it is a chemical and heat reaction and that the latest Apilus technology is also very good.She then adviced i go home and do more research and then I told her i would get back to her.
Well am looking forward to my next appointmnet with another BIAE member that has blend and Diatherma.If she does not have Blend i would have to postpone my treatment till i find oone with the newest technology or blend.
Thanks alot James.
Thanks everyone.
In this case, a meetup would be a real life get-together with people from this forum.
I’ll see if I can try the aloe vera gel, and the milk concoction you recommended. I use baking soda and cornstarch sometimes and I have found that it works a lot better than my regular deodorant.
I used Certain Dri, an antiperspirant, for sometime in the past due to having a minor sweat problem (my armpits would frequently get sweaty, even in cold temperatures. This problem gradually came about when I was 11 or so. I discovered the aforementioned antiperspirant at age 17, which I think I used it for 3 years). I am sure the excess sweating contributed to the darkening of my armpits, as well as the antiperspirant.
Clothing, I do tend to wear tops with fitted sleeves when I go out. I mostly wear baggy clothing when I am at home.
I’ll look into the gusseted underarm stuff.
You know what is the biggest culprit though? Shaving. I know shaving has ruined my skin. And I get ingrown hair in my underarms. That is another thing that keeps me from going sleeveless…
Hello.
So if laser isn’t for me, what can I do? Electrolysis?
What kind of antibiotics?
I’ve heard a lot about tea tree oil and Tend Skin but have never used them myself.
I wasn’t aware about the swimming in sea water deal. Very interesting.
I’ll keep your suggestions in mind.
So if laser isn’t for me, what can I do? Electrolysis?
Electrolysis is the only thing I know that works if done well but then again I haven’t tried everything. 
What kind of antibiotics?
I’ve no idea what antibiotic it was but it explains why the skin responds to Tend Skin and tea tree oil treatments. They work well for bacterial issues.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that certain soaps exacerbate back acne, so you have to try out and see which soap works for you. Sometimes the cheapest soaps are the best.
Dove Soft Peeling soaps are great too but that’s as much scrubbing as my back will allow.
Anything more than that and it goes into oil producing overdrive which causes tons of acne.
This is garbage! Ugh I am annoyed. Mam, you need to find an electrologist who is up for treating your hairs.
loool @ Stoopit.This is the problem with so many electrologists around here.I have finally decided to visit Newton clinic in liverpool.A friend of mine recommended there to me because she was treated there and is still been treated but the lady knows what she doing.So i booked 2hours already with her sometime in June.You can imagine how pissed i was.
Hey daer.I have started using the frican black soap and my God!it is so good.it dries up my acne an dmy back is getting clearer.So i ave decided to use it for 1year(I have only used it for a week) and then go for microdermabrasion sometime so as to take off the pigmnetation and help with it apperance. I recommend akoma black soap.
Okay. Thanks again.
Is this in response to my post? Well, I decided to buy some African black soap from etsy. Hopefully it works!
wow!!! it’s been soo long since I was this sad person! I will post a new update soon