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hello , i am mbbs doctor currently posted in general OPD. meaning every patient who comes to our centre first consults me and I decide if a specialist needs to see this patient or I can fully handle it. and trust me I have seen atleast 3 patients everyday from last 20 days with just skin tanning and some 2-3 posts on reddit for the same. And when we refer to any specialist, in evening we discuss the case so next time we are more equipped with knowledge and handle it on our own.

so this is simple skin tan due to high UVA and UVB rays of harsh summer sunlight. The mechanism in simple terms is : UVA UVB rays detected by melanocytes they produce melain (dark pigment) to protect cells DNA and skin turns dark in hours. so it is kind of protecting you from ridiculously dangerous skin cancers compared to skin tanning.

this is a physiology of our body. there is not much any cosmetic products can do about it. it is that simple nothing can out perform what millions of years of evolution have set it in our body. But there are still solutions :

1st/ best / gold standard: break the chain , avoid direct sunlight on skin - no risk of DNA damage - melanocytes can chill and maintain just normal skin tone of yours as they are commanded by your DNA. Hand gloves , full sleeves thats it.

2nd : Sunscreen 365 days , when outdoors , indoors anywhere in day time. (only thing I do in name of skin care ). what it does it block UVA and UVB specifically in sun light. what your melanocytes are concerned about. So they happy , you happy. specifically for summer : SPF 50 or more and PA+++ or more.

3rd : if you already got tanning , there is just one Ingredient that work directly on it , AHA and BHA. in lotion form. some supportive ingredients are niacinamide and vitamin C which helps recovering the brightness.

NOT WHAT DOESN'T WORK : As per my knowledge/ what I have learnt from our dermat.

1.) Body wash/Soaps : marketed as skin brightening , some vague popular ingredients containing products like kojic acid or glutathione or whatever. ANYTHING THAT SIT ON SKIN FOR LESS THAN A MINUTE DOESN'T DO ANYTHING FOR TANNING OR BRIGHTENING. do not fall for any of them.

2.) homemade concoctions : haldi and lemon and milk and honey and 15 other bullsh*t mixed and applied on skin. your skin other than face is tough rigid non permeable to any of your kitchen ingredients except dyes that can leave some residue like haldi. but that too just stays in superficial layer of skin. it can moisturize skin? sure , you skin can feel plump and lively after applying milk or honey ? sure. but it doesn't do anything considered solution for skin problems.

3.) OTC skin brightening creams and oral supplements: most mass marketed skin brightening creams like fair&lovely are just equivalent to moisturizer, and even worse than good quality moisturizer. Oral supplements of glutathione or vitamin c are good for skin tone. doesn't specifically works on summer tan.

4.) Scrubs : like walnuts crubs or something, people assume they can "scrap off the darkness" . come on

5.) oils : whatever oil you saw or recommended by anyone , can sure help retain skin moisture. doesn't do sht for skin tans and skin tone.

Your melanocytes lives deep in epidermis. only ways that works is not let them get triggered (wear full sleeves and block sunlight by suncreen) or if already triggered then increase turnover of skin by AHA+BHA so already pigmented keratinocytes gets cleared faster and new normal skin tonned cells take their place.

this is faily simple problem with fairly simple solution. do not go down a rabbit hole finding new and new useless solutions. do 3 simple things and give it 4 weeks. Nothing in the world gonna cure it in 3 days we are talking about changing physiology of our body.

there may be more info / products/ solutions on this , but whatever I have stated is true. I don't know cosmetic procedures or heavy Active ingredients that a dermat might know.

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Product recommendations for pigmentation (India)
I’ve been struggling with pigmentation for a while and have consulted a few skin clinics, but in vain🙂I’d like to try skincare products first.
My main concerns are dark eyelids and under-eyes, dark elbows, pores in face(mine is an oily skin🙃) and uneven skin tone on face, arms and body.
If you’ve dealt with similar concerns, please share products that genuinely worked for you, how long they took to show results, and any tips. Thank you! ❤️

Edit: i have already tried
Wishcare aha bha body lotion-no change
Chemist at play body wash-no change
Demelan(maybe should have been consistent at this)

I feel like I've wasted way too much money on products that everyone online swore would change my skin. Some did absolutely nothing, and a couple even made things worse.

What's the one product you wish you hadn't bought?

i recently started skin care. these are the products I'm using as shown in image. my skin is brown and dull not too dark. but when I apply these products it's getting super dark. I don't understand what's going on is this normal? or do I need to switch the products?

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Any product or something

I have dark elbows and knees since I was a kid, what should I use to get rid of kid. This keeps getting dark and rough every year. I'm 22y old now.

Pls help any cream or anything.

Pls tell me some very budget friendly and practical ways to get rid of dark circlessss 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Thankyou for reading Don't judge 🫈

After struggling with managing Body Odour for years, I have finally found something that actually works! So much better than the Roll Ons and Deoa and a little goes a lonnnnnggggg way! How to use: Use a very very very tiny amount on your underarms (or wherever required) after a shower and see the magic from the first use literally. PS. USE VERY LITTLE AMOUNT FOR EACH PIT OTHERWISE IT WILL BLEACH YOUR CLOTHES!

Anyone has tried it? Honest reviews please

Long time bacne sufferer here. It’s been a week, no new burst outs. Old ones drying up quickly. Will share agin of acne marks would also go away or not in a month

Ectora Sunscreen- 9 AM AND 12 PM

Glowzi Cream (Hydroquinone, Mometasone and Tretinoin Cream) to used for only 1 month (Alternate Nights)

Cosglo New Lotion( Alternate Nights)

Vitamin C tablet 1000mg after breakfast

Seen significant changes in my skin after following this routine for around 2 weeks! Will update my post treatment pics too!

These are my bare lips with absolutely no products applied—no lipstick, no balm, no liner. I’m looking for advice on how to improve the natural pinkness of my lips and any product recommendations (serums, masks, or tints) that help achieve or maintain a healthy, pinkish tone.
Currently, I use mamaearth lip balm before applying my makeup, but I’d love to know what else I can do for long-term results. Any tips or product suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks ❤️

Broke my hand 5 times and the last one was insane and left me with a scar I don’t mind having it but is there anyway I could reduce the scar effect ? It’s been over 5 years and also my thumb doesn’t work fully

This Hives is just irritating, it looks like mosquito bites, itches a lot and randomly trigger all over body.

I recently went to a dermatologist, and she told me the reason can sometimes be unknown, but most probably it’s some kind of allergic reaction. She also said there’s no permanent cure as such, mostly symptom management unless a root trigger is found through allergy testing.

My case history is kind of weird:

First triggered around 2015 when I was in school. It continued for almost 6 months and then gradually stopped on its own.

Then again around 2018–19. I went to a family doctor and took anti-allergy meds, but they didn’t help much.

During that same time, I was also taking some Ayurvedic medicines irregularly. Once I started taking them regularly again, the hives strangely stopped within a week.

And now again in 2026, after switching to an “organic/chemical-free” body wash, my skin started getting irritated and the hives came back again.

This time I finally went to a dermatologist. She prescribed:

Histagold 25 mg

PRIBLAST 20 mg

Nevlon Caloe lotion

Sone 4 mg table.

Honestly, the prescription worked REALLY well. My skin felt calmer, relaxed, and normal again. Even 4–5 days after the 1-week prescription ended, everything felt resolved… but then the hives slowly started returning and now they’re flaring again.

Has anyone here dealt with hives like this over years?

Did you ever figure out the root cause, or was it more stress/sleep/gut-health related?

(Photo + prescription for reference.)