VAThomas

Hi, like many other women who have to pluck or shave their facial hair (I am a plucker) I just wanted to know if any of you have had darker skin in those particular areas?? I am not talking about the "5 o'clock shaddow" but like you got hit in the chin and have a faint bruise?? I noticed that I do on the sides of my chin....where I pluck most and wanted to know if there was anything that could be done about this or how to hide it without looking like I have 2 inches of makeup on. Thank you!!!

fat&anxious

Hi VAThomas - yes, I definitely have darkened areas where I have to pluck facial hairs - mainly along the very-lower jawline (and underneath), and under my chin (I guess the same areas as you). Years of hirsutism has wrecked havoc on my complexion in this regard. And I think I add to the problem by my "compulsive" habit of pulling the hairs out by hand. I could be surfing the Internet or watching t.v. - and I'll just start pulling at hairs, and the urge to continue overtakes me. It's sort of like trictotillomania (sp.) of my facial hairs. And the thing about pulling them out by hand (and w/o the help of the mirror) is that it often takes many attempts of grabbing and pulling before I get the hair out. So I'm "fussing with" my skin more - sometimes I even "nick" the skin with my fingernails. So I need to stop this little habit of mine.

Another thing that adds to the problem is when hairs become ingrown - and a bump develops where the ingrown hair is. When the bump "heals" - it leaves a scar.

I'm kind-of familiar with ways you can fade away this discoloration - but I've been so unmotivated that I haven't really done these things myself. (Maybe someday I'll get motivated enough to really "fix up" myself.) But I've heard of a lot of people singing the praises of plain ol' lemon juice to lighten up those discolored marks (a lot of people use the fresh juice squeezed from a lemon, but IIRC, the bottled kind also works). They just dab the juice on the discolored areas and see big improvements in a short time. Then there are the commercial skin lighteners on the market that have hydroquinone (IIRC) in them. Look for these in the areas of stores that have African American haircare/beauty products - or in those beauty-supply stores that are often owned/operated by Asians. Sally's might have these products also.

HTH!