A young woman appears in a TikTok video lip-syncing to the following audio: So I said, 'Yes, but my armpits are white,'” she concludes, showing off her bald white armpits. There are many comments below. The first one said in English, “I wish I could, I've tried everything.”
Well, in addition to life's thousands of aesthetic obligations, it appears there's one new one. Well, actually not that much. We now know that standards of beauty are capricious impositions given a false patina of objectivity, and as artificial constructs they have a contextual character. It's just another interpersonal pain.
Yes, it's impossible to pretend that your skin, your body's largest organ, is free of pimples, spots, scars, and hair after a certain age, no matter how young you are. Either it's an effort or it's impossible. It takes money.
Additionally, skin irritation from repeated hair removal is one of the causes of hyperpigmentation, and it can occur in other areas as well, so hair and age spots may go hand in hand. However, that's not the only reason. Hyperpigmentation can also appear as a result of diabetes or insulin resistance. Aesthetician Dr. Andres F. Córdoba Gómez points out that people with dark skin are more likely to develop pigmentation in friction areas, which can be exacerbated by metabolic disorders.
Therefore, before starting treatment, whether at home or away, it is always best to see a doctor to determine the cause. That's exactly what Sille Tatis Arzuza, an Afro-Colombian digital content creator known in social media circles as Silleperbueno, recommends. She was accompanied by dermatologist Cindy Renteria, and when she decided to touch on the topic, she opened a can of worms on her Instagram profile and called it the racist reality that exists in her home country. associated with this way of thinking. In other words, some people believe that black women's skin becomes darker because it is impregnated with dirt. It's embedded in their skin.
Beyond bleach ads, the distinction between white people as clean and black people as unsanitary has a long tradition. For example, take this poem by the 17th century Spanish poet Francisco de Quevedo:
“They finished their meal.
A Guinean pastor came there,
to give them a jug of water
Comes with coconut and cauldron.because of the towel he put on his shoulders
Burial cloth.
They washed but the water remained
It will defile the entire kingdom. ”
black boda [Black Wedding] Name of the poem to which the excerpt belongs. It is from the famous Spanish Golden Age. A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since those days, but prejudice still persists not only against armpits, but also against other parts of the body that tend to have darker tones, such as the groin. . His elbows and knees due to the hyperpigmentation that Dr. Cordova alluded to.
The problem is, what seemed like just a post went viral, and it became a golden opportunity for many black women who haven't taken off their long sleeves or gone to the pool or beach in all weathers for years due to embarrassment. That's what happened. They feel when others see their pigmented armpits. In fact, Seal herself admitted that she wore extensions and very long braids to hide her appearance in photos.
Her videos have had sequels, a second, third, and even a fourth, and they all did very well online. In her last article, she revealed some secrets that helped her thin her own armpits. Reduce the frequency of hair removal, use scissors instead of wax or razors, reduce or eliminate the use of deodorants and sprays containing aluminum and alcohol from your daily routine, and choose other types of alternatives. Finally, she advised her followers to be patient as there is no quick fix. She admits it took her four years.
Dr. Cordova laments that social media is changing perceptions of hair, weight, and skin by using filters that display completely unrealistic models. He points out that although laser treatment can be an option for depigmentation, there is a risk of post-treatment inflammation and there is no guarantee of desired results, so he does not want to treat such cases. . In his opinion, mechanical or chemical hair removal can cause post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, especially in dark skin, so it is better to avoid it and take precautions.
Apply our weekly newsletter Get more news coverage in English from EL PAÍS USA Edition