does anything ever work for very dark feet and hands?

by Ano
(USA)

OK, i am a black woman and i have a very sensitive and extremely dry skin on my hands and feet. I have tried everything in the world, had a patch test to determine the cause but nothing seem to work for me. i am distressed.

i can not wear shorts during summer time, have to always hide my hands and feet under long pants and socks, and afraid to shake hands with people because when i do they stare at them in a way that makes me very uncomfortable.

I have tried most moisturizing oils (olive oil, argan oil, Jim crack oils etc...), creams w/o fragrance, use sensitive skin soaps, skin lightening products but still no satisfying results. Please help me solve this problem for i will be forever grateful.

I do not know how to scan the picture of my feet and hands for you to see, but let me tell you that the skin tone difference between my feet and hands and the rest of legs, is like when you have in one hand a light brown shirt and in the other hand a black shirt. that is how bad it is and i am not kidding. Help me find the answer forever to my problem.

Thank you for your time.

ps: right now i have been using 55H plus for tree months but still not working. My feet and hands are drier and darker than ever.

Answer:

Hi Ano, I'm not sure if this can help, but let me try suggesting some tips to prevent skin dryness -

1. After shower, before toweling off while skin is wet, apply and massage bath oil (BEST RECOMMENDED: extra virgin coconul oil) on affected area, then while skin is still damp, apply a rich moisturizing lotion (maybe 100% shea butter?).

2. Avoid hot water when bathing or washing ANYTHING through the faucet. Hot water is torture to dry skin, and worsens the problem. So use only lukewarm water. Right after washing, massage skin with oil.

3. At bedtime, after applying and massaging the oil and lotion on hands and feet, cover them up with gloves and socks overnight. You should wake up to a smoother and softer skin.

4. Exfoliate skin with bath scrub (St. Ives Apricot Scrub perhaps) just gently and not vigorously for about 15-20 seconds only, 1x a week. Do not do more than that. Over-scrubbing can actually darken skin. So after scrubbing, while skin is damp, apply and massage oil onto it.

Dryness of skin significantly contributes to making skin darker. And that's the reason why you have dark hands and feet.

For now, apply the above mositurizing tips to get rid of too much dryness. After this has been taken care of, you can start to lighten the hands and feet, if they're still discolored.

You can try a combination of Dermaline Papaya Soap and Whitening Lotion.

Why do a skin whitening regimen later?

Because the skin lightening process will involve skin peeling, that induces dryness as well. When this happens, you will be armed with the knowledge of how to combat dryness better. :)

Maria