Axillary hyperpigmentation is usually post-inflammatory, driven by friction, shaving and irritation — not by lack of washing.
Repeated mechanical and chemical irritation produces low-grade inflammation, which stimulates melanocytes. Acanthosis nigricans is a separate, thicker, velvety change with different implications.
Post-inflammatory darkening is flat. Acanthosis nigricans is thickened and velvety, and is associated with insulin resistance — so the texture, not just the colour, is what is assessed.
Texture as well as colour, hair removal method, deodorant and product history, friction from clothing, and BMI or metabolic history where acanthosis is suspected.
Removing the source of irritation is the part that lasts. Where treatment is appropriate, gentle pigment-directed approaches are used, with settings adjusted for a thin, frequently irritated site.
If the change is velvety and thickened rather than flat, the metabolic question is raised before any cosmetic treatment.
Axillary hyperpigmentation is usually post-inflammatory, driven by friction, shaving and irritation — not by lack of washing.
Post-inflammatory darkening is flat. Acanthosis nigricans is thickened and velvety, and is associated with insulin resistance — so the texture, not just the colour, is what is assessed.
Texture as well as colour, hair removal method, deodorant and product history, friction from clothing, and BMI or metabolic history where acanthosis is suspected.
If the change is velvety and thickened rather than flat, the metabolic question is raised before any cosmetic treatment.
Every assessment is carried out personally by Dr Sin Yong, Medical Director. 9 Scotts Road, #12-01 Pacific Plaza.
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