Strawberry Skin: Causes, Prevention & How to Get Rid of It!
Do you often witness strawberry skin on your legs? Do you face this issue frequently? Check this write-up to find what causes black spots or bumps on the leg, prevention and the steps to get rid of it.
What Is Strawberry Skin?
Strawberry skin is popularly known as strawberry legs because it generally appears on the upper thighs. It is a non-painful, harmless skin condition wherein dark spots appear in hair follicles. There can be several reasons for causing dark spots.
The natural byproduct or waste accumulates around the follicles and pores, generally a side-effect of shaving. It causes raised bumps. People having strawberry skin legs don't witness any pain or discomfort.
However, consult the dermatologist if it hurts or causes pain or discomfort. One often misleads strawberry legs with other skin conditions like keratosis pilaris, ingrown hair, or folliculitis, which accompanies itchiness, pain, redness and inflammation.
What Causes Strawberry Skin?
Does the question of what causes strawberry skin often strikes you? If yes, check out the popular reasons:
- Waxing or Shaving: Not every waxing or shave causes strawberry skin. When shaving with a dull razor or without shaving foam, bumps are obvious. It causes razor burn burn and may infect hair follicles, further darkening the pores. It also leads to ingrown hair due to shaving against the direction of hair growth, giving strawberry skin arms.
- Dry Skin: Leaving your skin extremely dry for an extended period causes irritation and folliculitis, causing the skin to appear dark.
- Clogged Pores: Arms and legs contain numerous pores, which often get piled up due to debris, dead skin, and bacteria. Even oil from the clogged pores oxidises on air exposure, turning dark. The accumulated dirt often bumps out, giving a strawberry skin texture.
- Keratosis pilaris: It looks like a rough and small cluster of bumps throughout the upper thighs and arms. The small bumps look like tiny pimples, giving a goosebump-like look. The rough bump is the accumulation of dead skin (epithelial) cells and keratin. It turns dry, causing itchiness. Generally, it appears in dry weather, viz, the summer and winter months.
- Tight clothes: Wearing tight clothes inhibit airflow, giving the perfect ambience for bacteria to clog the pores. Moreover, when bacteria interact with the already clogged pores or hair follicles, it causes pimples and bumps. If it worsens, it leads to infection and causes folliculitis.
How Do You Prevent Strawberry Skin?
Prevention of strawberry skin is all about managing clogged pores and hair follicles with accumulated dirt and bacteria. Are you fetching a solution for how to get rid of strawberry skin? Here are some tips to prevent it:
- Ensure physical exfoliation: Doing the physical exfoliation before shaving makes the skin surface free of dead cells. It further prevents clogging and does not make the razor dull. Using body mitts, scrubs, or dry brushing ensures better physical exfoliation.
- Ensure a safe shave: Use fresh razors and shaving solution (hydrating). The latter helps condition the hair and skin. Moreover, it helps smooth razor gliding without causing any bumps. Safe shave means gliding the razor in one specific direction, in the direction of hair growth. Repetitive glide or gliding in the opposite direction stretches out the follicles, looking like a strawberry seed.
- Avoid too hot water to bathe: Bathing with hot water may feel good, but it leaves the skin dry. When the shower temperature is near the body temperature, it prevents the natural oils from oozing or drying. One should also avoid scrubbing the water after bathing with a rough towel. Instead, use soft and breathable cotton and gently pat dry. Over-drying or stripping may rob the natural oil from the skin, leaving the area dry and making it prone to strawberry skin.
- Keep skin moisturised: Applying moisturisers on mildly wet skin ensures better absorption. Hence, one should not strip the towel to remove water after bathing throughout the body. Moisturise your skin soon after taking a shower. One can use OTC products containing salicylic acid, lactic acid, or glycolic acid. They act as a chemical exfoliant, helping keep the dry skin away and pores clear.
How to Use Makeup to Conceal Strawberry Skin
Do you want to hide strawberry skin arms and flaunt confidently at that cocktail party? Using the correct formula and shade of concealer conceals or masks the red or black spots. Follow these steps to use makeup to hide strawberry skin:
- Use a colour corrector or green-tinted primer to neutralise the blackness or redness.
- Use full-coverage concealer shade, depending on your skin tone. Apply the concealer in the target areas with a brush.
- Blend the concealer well with the damp beauty blender or sponge.
- Apply yellow-toned powder to set the concealer.
- Finish off the skin tone with a light foundation layer and powder.
Strawberry Skin Treatment
Generally, home remedies are sufficient for strawberry skin treatment. It is all about curing the conditions that may cause strawberry skin legs. Here are some treatment options:
- Use OTC products containing salicylic acid: Salicylic acid in over-the-counter (OTC) products helps make dry skin soft and loose. It even helps remove clogged skin pores.
- Chemical exfoliation: Chemical exfoliation helps treat dry skin, the major reason for strawberry legs. It deals with the excessive dead epithelial cells that combine with the dry skin and get clogged with the skin's natural oil. However, removing dead skin cells entirely after chemical exfoliation is quite tricky.
Hence, hydrating and exfoliating the skin's surface using a cleanser is essential. It helps prepare the skin to accept hydration and retain moisture better. - Moisturisers: Use moisturisers just after bathing before the water from the entire body evaporates. It allows deeper and better penetration into the skin and keeps it hydrated for an optimum period. Choose those moisturisers which contain ceramides. These act like lipids or fats that occur naturally at high concentrations in the skin. Hence, it seals the skin layer with extra oil allowing the skin to hold the moisture for long hours.
- Laser hair removal: Laser hair removal is effective if the hydration and moisturisation technique does not work for your strawberry skin arms. It helps in its treatment while reducing the hair follicles' density. Lesser hair follicle density leads to lower clogging dirt, oil and dry skin.
A study says the safe and effective removal of complete hair requires at least two to six laser therapy. It helps target various hair follicles, ensuring perfect hair removal. However, consult the dermatologist for such therapy, especially if you have sensitive skin. - Electrolysis: Electrolysis is a medical condition that helps target irritated hair follicles. As the name suggests, it uses electricity to treat the underlying or ingrown hair. It helps inhibit the ingrown hair from occurring again, reducing the chance of getting strawberry skin.
How to Get Rid of Strawberry Skin Arms?
It is not easy to get rid of strawberry skin arms. However, dealing with the condition or causes of strawberry arms can help prevent it from recurring. Follow these steps to get rid of strawberry skin:
- Use a mild cleanser: The first step involves cleaning your hand with a mild cleanser. It helps remove bacteria from the pores without turning your skin dry.
- Use exfoliating scrubber: Exfoliating scrubber helps remove dead skin cells and clogged pores. Scrub gently for 1-2 minutes and rinse it off with water.
- Take cool showers: Turn down the temperature while taking a shower. It helps calm down the skin and prevent the skin from drying.
- Ensure pat drying: One should gently pat dry after bathing instead of scrubbing the skin with a rough towel. It helps reduce redness and inflammation.
- Use Vitamin A cream: If clogged pores cause strawberry skin, Vitamin A or retinol cream helps promote the growth of new cells.
How to Get Rid of Strawberry Skin Legs?
Generally, one can opt for home remedies or seek medical aid, depending on the cause and seriousness of the issue. Some home-based treatments include:
- Use an epilator, a hand-based electrical device, to remove hair from the roots.
- Exfoliate and moisturise the legs regularly, especially during dry winters and hot summers.
- Use OTC products containing glycolic acid or salicylic acid.
Some professional treatment methods include laser therapy and electrolysis. It helps in permanent hair removal, which reduces the consequence of getting strawberry legs through ingrown hair.
How to Get Rid of Strawberry Skin on Bum?
One can choose the already-mentioned tips and treatment options for getting rid of strawberry skin on the bum. Here are some more things to keep in mind:
- Wear loose cotton clothes: Tight clothes trap sweat, provoking bacterial growth. Moreover, it causes heat and friction, leading to inflammation, irritation and clogging. Hence, opt. for the breathable fabric to reduce such circumstances.
- Saltwater treatment: Saltwater helps treat minor infections by sterilising the area. Sitz baths help clear clogged skin naturally.
- Natural alternatives: Use turmeric, vinegar or tea tree oil. The essential oils (tea tree oil) contain antimicrobial properties that help kill the bacteria causing folliculitis. Similarly, turmeric has antibacterial properties, and vinegar contains acetic acid which reduces bacterial growth and formation, providing clear skin.
When to See a Professional?
Sometimes despite following home-based treatments, the curing result may be hidden. Hence, it would be ideal to consult a dermatologist. If an infection is a reason behind the strawberry skin, consult the doctor, and they prescribe essential medication for strawberry legs.
FAQs
Does Strawberry Skin Go Away?
Yes, strawberry skin goes away, and it does not leave a permanent spot over the body and fades off with time with appropriate treatment.
Is It Normal to Have Strawberry Skin?
Yes, it is normal to have strawberry skin, which is just a black spot, either elevated or flattened, opposite to the colour of the strawberry seeds. Generally, it is a harmless condition but needs expert consultation if it accompanies itchiness and irritation.
Can Coconut Oil Remove Strawberry Legs?
Coconut oil acts as a natural moisturiser that prevents the skin from drying. It may not remove strawberry legs but it helps prevent them from recurring.
Does Strawberry Skin Go Away With Age?
Yes, the correct treatment and remedies help fade the strawberry legs with age.
Is Strawberry Skin Genetic?
Strawberry legs can be genetic or hereditary if their prime cause is keratosis pilaris. The clogging of keratin and dead skin cells may lead to rough bumps, typically dark in colour.
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