What Ingredients are Good for Dark Knees?

To tackle dark knees, we must tackle three problems in the knee area…

Dehydrated skin

Accumulation of old cells

Irritation from high-impact

The darkness in the knee area is pigmentation. Pigmentation occurs when a pigment called melanin accumulates in a section of the skin. This accumulation occurs when that section of the skin is irritated for long periods. If irritation is reduced, pigmentation is reduced/removed.

Let me explain more...

The knee area is easily dehydrated. Dehydrated skin can become irritated quickly. Irritated skin always eventually leads to pigmentation.

Old cells in the skin fall off regularly and make way for new cells, but unfortunately, some old cells cling to each other and don't fall off. This clinging of old cells is a common problem in the knee area. This accumulation of old cells causes the area to become rough and irritated, leading to pigmentation.

The knee area experiences high impact, which can irritate. Irritation leads to pigmentation (darkness) in the skin.

So, we can effectively reduce pigmentation by hydrating the area, regularly removing old cells, and minimising the irritation fromimpact.

Below, I will elaborate on the ingredients we must use to tackle these three problems...

To add hydration, look for products with one or more of these ingredients:

Hyaluronic acid (adds hydration)

Glycerin (adds hydration)

Panthenol (adds hydration)

Ceramides (helps retain hydration)

Niacinamide (helps retain hydration)

Urea (adds hydration and helps retain hydration)

Mineral oil (helps retain hydration)

Shea butter (helps retain hydration)

Petrolatum (helps retain hydration)

Colloidal oatmeal (helps retain hydration)

Notice how some of the above ingredients add hydration and some retain hydration. We need both sets because one is not effective without the other.

Exfoliate regularly to tackle the accumulation of old cells in the area. Look for exfoliants with one of the following ingredients:

Glycolic acid

Urea

Lactic acid

Ammonium lactate

To tackle irritation, look for products with one or more of these ingredients:

Niacinamide

Panthenol

Allantoin

Calendula

Centella Asiatica

Green tea

Colloidal oatmeal

Even if we regularly use some or more of the above three sets of ingredients, the knee area will still be prone to some pigmentation. To tackle pigmentation, look for products with one or more of these ingredients:

Niacinamide

Vitamin C

Kojic acid

Alpha arbutin

Licorice root extract

Azelaic acid

Retinol

Glycolic acid

So many ingredients have been mentioned above. It can all be a bit overwhelming. So here is a simple trick... The best way to incorporate ingredients that tackle all these problems every day is to use a moisturiser with 1 or 2 ingredients in each of the below categories:

hydrating

retain hydration

exfoliate

reduce irritation

reduce pigmentation

If you can't find one moisturiser that covers all the categories, have a couple of moisturisers, and between them, they should cover all the categories.

In addition to moisturiser, an exfoliating serum and anti-pigmentation serum should also be used once or twice a week.

DIVE EVEN DEEPER

Glycolic acid for Dark Knees?

What does Niacinamide do for Dry Skin?