If you are considering using glycolic acid to get rid of your underarm darkness, here is what you should be aware of:
How does glycolic acid work?
Glycolic acid is a chemical exfoliant.
Exfoliation is the process of getting rid of old cells from the visible layer of skin so that younger cells can replace them. Old cells in the visible layer of skin have to fall off regularly to make way for the younger cells. Some of these old cells don’t fall off easily. These old cells join together and form a thin layer on the visible layer of the skin. This thin layer of old cells gives the skin a dull appearance and a rough feel.
A chemical exfoliant, like glycolic acid, nudges these old cells and makes them fall off, brightening the skin.
Glycolic acid cannot eliminate the darkness if your underarm area is dark. But it does help with the darkness indirectly – the old cells, which don’t fall off regularly, make the darkness in the underarm area more noticeable. Once the old cells fall off, the darkness doesn’t go away, but the rough and dull look goes away to some extent.
Not all glycolic acid skincare products are suitable for the underarm area. Some can darken the underarm area even more. Keep reading to find out what type of glycolic acid products you can use for the underarm area.
Does glycolic acid whiten, lighten or brighten?
Glycolic acid brightens the skin. It cannot whiten. It cannot lighten.
In the underarm area, glycolic acid can darken the area if misused.
Can glycolic acid end up darkening underarms?
Yes, it can.
Glycolic acid, as the name suggests, is an acid. If you use leave-on glycolic acid products, these can darken your underarms. Leave-on products are the ones you leave on your skin; you don’t wash them away. These work well on the face but not in the underarm area.
As we go about our day, the acid rubs against the folds in the underarm area, creating friction and heat. This heat makes glycolic acid very potent (heat on an acid increases potency). This highly potent glycolic acid will irritate the skin.
The skin in the underarm area is very delicate. It is as thin as the skin in the eyelid region. The irritation level on this delicate skin will be pretty high.
The folds in the skin in the underarm area make it more susceptible to irritation.
Irritation will lead to inflammation, and inflammation on the skin will eventually lead to pigmentation.
Pigmentation is when an area on the skin is darker than its surrounding areas.
Underarm darkness is mostly pigmentation.
Should you or shouldn’t you use glycolic acid in the underarm area?
You can use glycolic acid in the underarm area – but not all glycolic acid products.
Use glycolic acid washes.
Glycolic acid washes, exfoliate, and then you wash them away. They don’t stay on the delicate underarm area for long, so they don’t irritate the skin like leave-on glycolic acid products would.
Glycolic acid washes are safer for the delicate underarm area than leave-on glycolic acid products.
Leave-on glycolic acid products will darken the underarm area.
Skin colour and glycolic acid
Glycolic acid can be more irritating than other exfoliating acids.
People with darker skin tones should be cautious about glycolic acid.
How does glycolic acid affect darker skin tones?
Melanin is a pigment in the skin that protects it. As a defence mechanism, the skin produces more melanin when it is irritated.
People with darker skin tones produce more melanin than others – even a slight irritation translates into lots of melanin production.
Some of this additional melanin produced will be excess. The excess melanin travels up to the visible layer of skin and deposits itself there. These deposits show up as dark spots and patches (pigmentation).
By darker skin tones, here we mean all skin tones that are non-white.
So, if you have a darker skin tone, be aware that glycolic acid can irritate. This irritation can be much more in the underarm area as the skin is delicate in this region.
~~ If you have sensitive skin and a darker skin tone, Avoid glycolic acid in the underarm area
~~ If you don’t have sensitive skin and a darker skin tone, Be aware it can be irritating, especially in the underarm area. After using a glycolic acid wash, use some calming ingredients on the skin.
Glycolic acid as deodorant
There is a huge trend on social media of using glycolic acid as a deodorant.
It works well as a deodorant but has substantial side effects. It will lead to irritation, which will lead to underarm darkness (pigmentation).
Using glycolic acid as a deodorant will lead to more underarm darkness. Hence, it is not worth it at all.