Many of you already know what blackheads are. These are small black-headed bumps that may occur on various body parts, including shoulders, back, neck, nose, underarms, arms, and back other body parts.
The appearance of these bumps is attributed to clogged hair follicles. This makes blackheads on underarms common since the place is hairy. However, they are not as common in this area as they are on the nose, chin and mouth area.
How to get rid of armpit blackheads
Although blackheads are small bumps, they can be bigger lumps and even form pimples and other forms of acne if they get infected. Sometimes, they also form big bumps on armpits even without them being infected.
Blackheads anywhere including on armpits are a form or type of acne. This is a common skin disease that is likely to get you when your hair follicles are clogged but remains open (open comedones). Although acne is common on the face, it can also affect other parts such as:
All these body parts have a high number of oil glands that produce a lot of oil (sebum). The hair follicles are mainly clogged by:
When the hair follicles get clogged, the skin around the underarms develops a bump that is initially is initially white or yellowish but later turns black due to oxidation by air.
According to healthline.com, symptoms of blackheads are easy to identify. However, some people can’t tell whether what they are having is a pimple or this open comedone. What would be your conclusion if you note a painful bump on armpit?
Below are some of the distinct features of all blackheads:
If you note one or a few of the above symptoms, then know that your armpits are having blackheads.
Blackheads or open comedones are caused by many factors, most of which are associated with our lifestyle. However, at times they can be because of a disease or a change in hormones.
Basically, those on underarms are attributed to the following:
Diabetes
When you are having diabetes type 2, there is increased sweating. As usual, this sweating is more on your underarms. Because of this sweating, hair follicles get clogged. What follows is a breakout of blackheads.
Change in hormones
Some people complain of blackheads on underarms during specific periods of life such as periods, puberty, menopause and perimenopause. During these times, the body is stimulated to produce a lot of sebum. They can appear anywhere on the body including your armpits.
Hygiene Issues
Like earlier noted hair follicles get clogged by dirt. If you don’t clean your underarms regularly, there is an accumulation of sweat, oil, and dirt. The result is this kind of acne. However, dirt alone cannot cause them.
Stress, depression, and anxiety
When you are stressed or depressed, the stress hormones produced encourages excessive production of sebum hence you may end up with blackheads, whiteheads, pimples and other forms of acne.
Also, if you are ever anxious or nervous, you will tend to sweat a lot. This excessive sweating together with other factors may contribute to the formation of plugs on hair follicles.
Fabrics
Some types of fabric will irritate your underarms. For example, wearing polyester and rayon fabrics inhibits the free flow of air into your skin. As a result, you develop you may increase the chance of getting this form of acne. Friction from the fabrics can also cause acne mechanica.
Armpit hair
People with underarm hair are at a higher risk of getting blackheads than those who don’t have. Long underarm hair creates a favorable environment for the hair follicles to get clogged due to the accumulation of dirt and sweat.
Shaving
Some people like shaving their underarms. Wrong shaving techniques irritate hair follicles. As a result, it may get irritated, develop ingrown hairs as well as blackheads and whiteheads.
Crutches
As you all know, crutches usually touch with your underarms always. This is likely to cause an irritation. The condition is made worse if the crutches have dirty handles. You may end up with acne mechanica which may include these open comedones.
Skin Products
Some oil-based products are likely to clog the hair follicles and encourage the development of the various types of acne including blackheads, whiteheads, pimples and so on.
To help you get rid of blackheads underarms fast, we can consider some of the recommendations by Livestrong.com which notes that one can easily manage and heal this mild form of acne. The healing/management involve a couple of Dos and Don’ts.
Below are some of the most effective ways of managing blackheads on underarms:
Armpit Hygiene – This is the primary way of ensuring that your hair follicles don’t get clogged. From what is discussed above, sebum, dirt, and sweat are the leading causes of clogged hair follicles.
Warm water compression – All you need is warm water and a clean piece of cloth. Dip the piece of cloth in warm water and massage your underarms. This is effective in unclogging hair follicles.
Apply some ointments – In case of severe blackheads; some over-the-counter ointments can be of some help. Any ointment or cream containing ingredients such as benzoyl peroxide salicylic acid works perfectly well on this type of acne.
Chemical peels – This is an effective way of eliminating dead skin cells in your armpits. Chemical peeling involves the application of a chemical of the affected area to peel the other skin layer.
Remove them manually- You can’t do this on your own. You will need a dermatologist to do this. In most cases, a loop extractor effectively removes the blackheads. This is not a permanent solution.
Exfoliation – Any product that acts as an exfoliation agent can help in opening the clogged hair follicles. However, take care that you don’t use any product that is likely to irritate your already affected underarms.
Laser Therapy – Laser beams are directed on your underarms. The beams work on the oil glands in treating any infection and reduce overproduction of sebum.
Keep calm and relaxed – Try as much as you can to keep calm. Avoid stress and anxiety. Keeping calm and relaxed is one of the best ways of having a healthy skin. As earlier noted, your emotional state is likely to trigger hormones that may irritate increase production of sebum.
Check your diet – Check what you take. Avoid alcohol, smoking, and fatty foods. Furthermore, avoid sugary substances. Instead, take a lot of water, eat fruits and greens.
Don’t touch the blackheads – just leave them alone. Some people just like squeezing them. This will only make things worse. Even when they become itchy, resist the temptation of picking on them as it may make it swell and cause infections.
Change your body care products – Don’t use any makeup or cosmetic that comes your way. Avoid oil-based products while embracing the water-based ones.
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