What should i do to get rid of dark pigmentation around my mouth ?

[WinglessOne]

@sowjiii  What's your current skincare routine (brands + product names)? Just wondering what you currently use, before I start recommending certain products that might not fit well into your routine. 

This might also depend on what's causing your hyperpigmentation. If you have melasma, I recommend seeing a dermatologist or other medical doctor for recommendations. Melasma's tricky to treat without a doc's help. 

Otherwise, here are some ingredients that can reduce melanin production (overproduction of melanin results in hyperpigmentation): 

• Alpha arbutin 
• Licorice root 
• Vitamin C 
• Azelaic acid - this one can make your skin itchy, depending on your sensitivity, so you might wanna patch test it first 
• Kojic acid 
• Niacinamide 

A few others, like vitamin A (the retinoid family), might be less tolerated around the mouth—but that really depends on your skin's sensitivity level. 

Also, a gentle chemical exfoliant applied 1-3 times a week can help by lifting dead hyperpigmented skin cells to reveal newer skin. Key word there is "gentle": a low % of either lactic acid, mandelic acid, or PHA (poly hydroxy acid). 

EDIT: can't believe I forgot sunscreen. Do you currently wear a broad spectrum sunscreen (at least SPF 30) whenever skin's exposed to sunlight, all year long, regardless of weather or season? There's no point trying to reverse hyperpigmentation if you're not going to stop the sun from causing more damage. 🙂 

[bakeamuffin]

I don’t have a deep complexion but I did notice the skin around my mouth, especially around the corners of my lips, becoming a darker shade than the rest of my skin. Using a chemical exfoliating solution has helped,

as well as wearing sunscreen @sowjiii. Try to wear at least spf 30 but the closer you can get to 50 the better. 
my fav exfoliant is the Kate Somerville Liquid ExfoliKate® Triple Acid Resurfacing Treatment 4 oz/ 120 mL used about once a week, which speeds up cell turnover, sloughing off old and dead skin cells and encourage growth of fresh new skin to help your complexion look even toned. Applying sunscreen protects your skin through this process and beyond, as sun exposure can increase hyperpigmentation and dark spots on the skin. 
best of luck!! ☺️

[PicktheSiren]

I am not tryna bf to be rude… but why are you in the deeper skin forums if you are not apart of the community? 

I am just genuinely asking. Because if there was a thread for bearded men only, would you join there group? 

[bakeamuffin]

@PicktheSiren I see what you’re saying, and where you’re coming from. I apologize that I stepped into a conversation that wasn’t meant for me. I hope you and others will be able to get some guidance from other BIC members. 

[PicktheSiren]

@flywingless  

it absolutely is that deep. If it isn’t that deep to you that is fine. 

but you don’t get to tell everyone else who does care, that they shouldn’t. 

specially when the reality is people with deeper skin face many issues, that people with fairer skin don’t. And even for the times they have the same issues, they will need different colors at minimum. 

for example, if I ask about a great highlighter, in a group not for deeper skin they may reccommend Jaclyn hilll, or hourglass. And, if you bring up the fact that Jaclyn is known for not releaseing products for deeper shades till months after, and hour glass claims they go to the deep range but really they get to about a deeper tan at best. 

thise are things that another person with deeper skin would usually already know, before telling you to use those products. 

and it does change your experience because 9.99/10 when they are made aware those brands don’t take any considerations for deeper skin. The people who recommended them without deeper skin will say  something along the “ I love them so much, that is horrible, hopefully they will expand soon” but then continue to support those brands hand over fist. 

[WinglessOne]

@PicktheSiren  Like I said, I get where you're coming from. I didn't say you shouldn't care. I'm not here to police your personal feelings. 

I said in this instance, I don't see a need to gatekeep. This thread is about hyperpigmentation. You may not like that this is an issue that affects folks of all skin tones, but it does. Those of us with deeper skin tones seem to be more prone to hyperpigmentation, especially after our skin's irritated. That's the key difference. But this thread didn't get into that. The question was simply about treating hyperpigmentation around the mouth. The main difference between a lighter and deeper skin tone there is trying not to cause more irritation around the mouth with treatment products, because irritation can lead to more hyperpigmentation for us. I still don't see a need to block anyone whose skin's not brown enough from trying to answer the OP's question. If you do, that's on you. But as you put it, you don't get to tell everyone else they should see it the way you do. 

Funny you mentioned Hourglass: some folks on BIC have seen me ding that brand many (many, many) times. 🤣 HG is finally starting to catch on. I don't care about Jacklyn Hill; her products are never on my radar for various reasons. 

And see, if this thread was about needing to see swatches of Hourglass blushes for deeper skin tones, and someone posted swatches on their light skin tone, that'd be a case where I'd question the helpfulness. I'm pretty good at mentally adjusting swatches to my own skin tone (I can tell how a shade seen on fair skin will most likely look on my skin tone), but I realize not everyone is. I'd also probably jump in and post my own swatches of my HG blushes. They do make a few shades that work for at least the "medium-deep to deep" skin tone range. But then maybe someone whose skin is deeper than mine would jump all over me for not having a deep enough skin tone 🙄, and this thread would devolve into an ugly case of "who among the brown skinned people are even allowed to represent deeper skin tones." That's where some of this gatekeeping can lead. 

Again, I hear you. I'm not policing you. I'm not telling you how to think. I was just pointing out that anyone can post to any group they want on BIC, and I don't think it's necessary to exclude folks from BIC conversations on the basis of skin tone, gender, etc. 🤷‍♀️ 

[WinglessOne]

@PicktheSiren  With very few exceptions*, BIC groups are not exclusive. Anyone can post to any group they want, whether or not they’ve clicked the “Join” button for that group. Example: you don’t have to be male to post in the Men Who Makeup group if you want to discuss a topic or offer advice to folks there. You also don't have to join that group to participate in it. 

Suppose there was a group for bearded men. Maybe you, as someone who is not a bearded man, happen to know one or more bearded men in your life and have helped them with beard care and related skincare. Let’s even pretend you're a male beardless barber, or perhaps a female barber, who’s groomed/trimmed many men’s beards. Why shouldn’t you be allowed to post in the bearded men group and share your knowledge, despite not being a bearded man? 

Also, when you visit the Community homepage, you’ll see a feed of posts from ALL unhidden groups, whether or not you’ve actually joined all those groups. I assume many folks pay attention to the thread title, not necessarily the group it’s in, when they click on threads from that homepage feed. I might reply to a thread in the K-Beauty or Parents Only group (neither of which I've joined) without realizing it’s in that group—because I might have hopefully helpful info to share on the thread topic. 

I do kinda get where you’re coming from. I also understand why someone without a deeper skin tone might wanna offer a suggestion for hyperpigmentation, a condition that affects all skin tones. In this instance, I don’t think group gatekeeping is warranted. Heck, sometimes people post threads in one group that are a better fit for a different group. I see people post skincare questions in the reward tier groups all the time, instead of the Skincare Aware group. Questions about K-beauty aren't always posted in the K-Beauty group. Questions about teen/preteen skincare and makeup are posted all over the place, and I'm not sure which group's best for those to be honest. 😂 

tl;dr: eh, no need to gatekeep. It's not that deep. 

*Exceptions include groups just for admins and ambassadors. Those groups are hidden from regular BIC members.