Our knees are naturally prone to darkening, but that doesn’t mean they’re doomed to stay in the dark forever! Below, we run down some body care tricks for brighter-looking caps:
#1 Avoid friction
When our skin is exposed to a lot of friction, like rubbing and stretching, it reacts by growing a thicker layer of skin to help protect the area. This usually causes that part to darken, which explains why our knees, elbows, and armpits are most prone to darkening. To reduce stress in your knees specifically, avoid wearing tight clothes and try to stay away from strenuous workouts that apply too much pressure on the knee area.
#2 Exfoliate regularly
Dead skin cells accumulate faster on our joints than on our face, and if we don’t exfoliate, the buildup will cause darkening. Using body soaps or scrubs with exfoliating acids like AHA will slough off those dead skin cells in a jiffy. For best results, do this at least once or twice a week!
#3 Always moisturize
After exfoliating or cleansing, apply a hydrating body cream or oil to protect your knees from irritation and to keep them soft and supple. Moisturizing helps prevent your skin from cracking, too!
#4 Use body sunscreen
If you love wearing above-the-knee bottoms, don’t forget to protect your legs from the sun to avoid pigmentation. Look for body moisturizers with SPF or apply sunscreen on top of your favorite body lotion. Don’t forget to re-apply throughout the day, too!
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