Darkness or hyperpigmentation around Mouth and lips
Read the same article in Telugu here
Due to excess production of melanin in some areas, the skin patches turn dark causing hyperpigmentation mostly. So, what could be the other reasons causing the darkness? And how can we treat the darkness?
Drooling of Saliva: Sometimes drooling causes vertical lines and when the skin comes in contact with the saliva, it can causes irritation and redness later leading to darkness.
Treatment: Try applying vaseline around your mouth before sleep to avoid getting in contact with saliva.
Habitual rubbing and Licking your lips: The habit of licking lips and rubbing your mouth may cause the lips and surrounding areas to get darkened due to repetitive friction. The other problem with licking lips is the more you lick, the drier they get.
Treatment: Avoiding the above practices is the only solution to avoid the darkness.
Condition of Perioral dermatitis: Perioral dermatitis is a kind of rash involving the skin around the mouth. This is a common condition that occurs in middle-aged women and looks like small papules around the mouth area.
Treatment: Few antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications can be used in the form of medicines or creams.
Using Steroid creams: using steroid creams can cause irritation and redness leading to black patches around the mouth and lips.
Treatment: Avoid using steroid creams and apply sunscreen as a replacement.
Contact dermatitis: This is a condition where you can be allergic to any cosmetics or substances triggering an allergy.
Treatment: Avoid offending agents and use non-fluorinated toothpaste.
Constitutional factors: In this case, there can be no underlying cause, but you will notice uneven skin tone around the mouth and lips.
Treatment: It is hard to treat constitutional cases. Try using skin lightening agents to help in lightening. It may not be treated completely, but can be improved to an extent.
What creams help in reducing the darkness:
- The creams containing kojic acid, Niacinamide, and vitamin c helps in reducing the darkness.
- Using clear z, Biluma, Kojivit ultra, and demelan for 6-8 weeks leads to better results
- If there is redness along with darkness around your mouth, you may have to choose a cream containing tacrolimus which calms your skin and reduces inflammation. It is better to contact a dermatologist if the redness still exists.
- In case of darkening around the mouth and lips, apply sunscreen in a way the entire face is covered and apply a liberal amount around the mouth. For sensitive skin, try selecting sunscreen with a zinc oxide combination.
FAQ :
- What if none of these work?
If none of the above tips work, then try using concealer. Apply a small amount of concealer covering the darkness or dark spots. Choosing a color corrector concealer can be helpful
Home Remedies:
- Sliced tomato: The lycopene in tomato tends to reduce the darkness. Apply for 15-20mins and wash it off with cold water. Then moisturize and later apply sunscreen.
- Potato juice: Squeeze the juice and apply before going to bed. Continue for 4-6 weeks.
- Curd and honey: Curd lightens the darkness and honey smoothen the skin. Apply the mixture for 20-25mins and wash off with cold water. Now moisturize the skin.
*Note: It takes a lot of time for darkening to get treated. You may not observe immediate results. So be patient and try using for 2months.