Question: I have always had black spots on the bottom of my feet, as a child. I am now 32 years old and they are still there. How can I get rid of them?
Answer: Dark spots on bottom of feet may have several causes. Some of them are harmless as it seems in your case as they are since childhood. However, there are many other reasons such as fungus infection, internal bleeding, skin growth such as plantar warts, excessive exposure to sunlight, hormonal changes etc. Often dry skin may lead to dark spots on foot.
In your case these dark spots on bottom of feet appear to be due to hyper pigmentation. In our skin there are cells called melanocytes. They produce a substance called melanin. It is a pigment which gives color to the skin. When color giving cells become concentrated on one spot, the skin in that area becomes darker than the adjacent skin. It turns into a dark spot.
Natural Ways To Lighten Dark Spots On Skin
Dark / black discolorations on the skin occur due to increased skin pigmentation in that area. Are the spots dark or faint? Have they changed in appearance, size, or color? Are there any associated symptoms?
- Application of neat lime on the spots will help lighten them.Lime or lemon has citric acid. Citric acid is powerful natural bleach, which can lighten the skin’s shade by up to 2 tones. Apply neat lime juice 3 to 4 times a day, for about a month. You shall see noticeable improvement in the skin’s color.
- Potent bleach is yogurt. Yogurt is a natural skin lightener. Apply yogurt at night. Wear socks, so that you do not spoil the bed sheets. The effect of the yogurt will last for a minimum of 8 hours and will speed up whitening process. Stay away from artificial bleaches and whiteners. They are not recommended.
- Strawberries are found useful to lighten darker skin color. Use it as foot scrub. Take few strawberries and crush it to form a paste. Add olive oil or any other oil that keeps the skin moisturized. Add one teaspoon of sea salt. Massage the prepared strawberry foot scrub all over the foot. Wash your foot with tepid water after 10 minutes. Regular application or at least applying it two times will eventually fade the spots.
- Rubbing the area with pumice stone also serves the purpose. However, while rubbing be gentle as rubbing it too vigorously may irritate the skin. You can apply olive oil on the foot before rubbing with pumice stone.
- Shea butter has natural quality to lighten the spots. Apply it generously on your foot and let it remain overnight. Wash your foot early in the morning with warm water. Instead of Shea butter you can also try vitamin E oil.
- Apply milk on the dark spots. Milk has chemicals that act as natural bleaching agents. Over a period of time its application will fade these spots. Application of milk will not only fade the spots but it will also keep the foot smooth and moisturized.