I WAS giving way to
traffic at a T-junction close to our house the other day when I couldn’t help
noticing a young lady in red hot shorts, a white blouse and red heels jumping
out of a kombi. She looked really nice
to be honest. I wished I could lose a kg or two to be able to pull of her look
in public. But there was one thing wrong with the picture as she started
walking closer towards me.
She had pitch black
spots on her knees! It was quite bad. She wasn’t a “yellow bone” so skin
bleaching couldn’t have been the reason she had such dark spots on her knees. I
thought maybe years of doing house chores while on her knees had started to
take a toll on her. I mean, we’re
Zimbabwean girls; we’ve had to go down on our knees and put our backs into it
at one point or the other. I felt it was quite sad that her skin had been that
badly affected. And to think this was such a vibe kill to an otherwise hot look
was rather a train smash!
I know quite a lot of
women have to deal with such dark spots but do we know what causes them and how
they can be dealt with? Black knees and elbows
occur when there is a build-up of thick, dead skin caused by friction. In some cases, it may
just be dirt, but in others, it may be brought on by medication, hormone
imbalance, or hyper-pigmentation of the skin.
However, dirt is a
major cause of dark knees and elbows. Often during a shower, we overlook the
hard to reach places like knees and elbows. Over time, the dirt build up can
penetrate into layers of dead skin cells that actually grow to protect your
knees and elbows from friction and chaffing. The layer of dead skin
cells become even darker from the dirt stain, therefore it appears much darker
than the healthy skin around the knees and elbows. Be sure to scrub your knees
and elbows thoroughly to remove dirt particles that may be hiding on the outer
layer.
If your clothes rub or
cause friction on your knees and elbows, moisturise those areas daily to keep
skin from drying out. Sunlight can cause dark
knees and elbows to get even darker. Even though the skin cells are dead, the
outer layer can still absorb sunlight. The dead skin cells are already dark and
with exposure to the sun they will get darker. An even skin tone adds to your
beauty and having dark knees and elbows can detract from it. This is a common
issue that can make one self-conscious about wearing short-sleeve dresses and
tops as well as skirts and shorts.
If you’re trying to get
rid of dark spots on your knees and elbows, a sugar and olive oil scrub is a
great way to both exfoliate and moisturise. Mix equal parts of sugar and olive
oil to make a paste. Rub this paste on the affected areas for about five
minutes. Rinse off and you’ll notice a big difference in the black skin on your
knees and elbows. The combination of lemon
and honey is used in many home remedies and it will greatly help with dark
knees and elbows. Lemon juice has natural bleaching properties, and the honey
will moisturise the skin helping to prevent further blackening of the knees and
elbows.
The juice of one lemon
and one tablespoon of honey should be mixed together and left on the skin for
at least 20 minutes. Wash off this mixture and you’ll immediately notice your
skin become lighter. We know that lemons are
a great bleaching agent. Tomatoes and grapes also contain bleaching properties
that will help remove unsightly black spots from the knees and elbows. Rub the
juices from these fruits regularly on black spots and you’ll notice them begin
to fade with time.
Vinegar and yogurt also
work wonders. Mix a few tablespoons of vinegar with plain yogurt and leave the
paste to dry on the dark spots. When the paste dries up, rub it in a circular
motion for a few minutes and then wash off. It works and will leave your skin
soft, supple, and considerably lighter. Baking soda also pops
up in a lot of home remedies and black knees and elbows are no exception. To
use baking soda for this condition, simply take one tablespoon of baking soda
and mix it with some milk to make a paste. Scrub this onto the knees and elbows
in a circular motion every other day until you see an improvement. The baking
soda will work to exfoliate and the milk will moisturise the skin.
