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by Julie Anderson on June 22nd, 2006

Julie Anderson

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I'm African American. I have this line on my skin that goes from my belly button all the way down. It's darker than the rest of the skin on my stomach. Can I get rid of it or make it less noticeable?

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Answers. 4 helpful answers below.

  • by aceress376 on January 6th, 2007

    aceress376

    whoa, I have that same line, except I've never had a child or anything and I've had it since I can remember. I don't know how exactly to get rid of it but apparently lemon juice could be the answer, it's suppose to help even out the skin tone(or something like that)... so try just rubbing some lemon juice on it and maybe it'll fade. I like mine though, lol.

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  • by Anonymous on May 1st, 2009

    Anonymous

    Try eating more calcium. A lot of malnutrioned people (no matter what racial background) get this, and it is common among pregnant women, since many of the nutrients in a pregnant woman's intake goes to the baby.

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  • by ol.nomad on July 3rd, 2006

    ol.nomad

    I don't know its cause or anything, but it's not uncommon among women of other racial-ethnic origins either. It's a guess, but I think it may occur in some women following childbirth... anyway, as a guy, I see no problem with it-- it's kinda fun to follow it down with the tip of my tongue. But, yes, I do think there may be a cream that can lighten the lower-belly highway to... well, you know. Just don't go asking Michael J. for suggestions! You'll end up looking like a panda bear or something...

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  • by onzanzabarsands on January 6th, 2007

    onzanzabarsands

    Regardless of your ethnic background or skin color, eventually most of us will struggle with some kind of pigmentation problem. Skin will either appear lighter or darker than normal, or you may notice blotchy uneven areas, patches of brown to gray discoloration or freckling. Skin pigmentation disorders occur because the body produces either too much or too little melanin. Melanin is the pigment produced by specific cells (melanocytes). It is triggered by an enzyme called tyrosinase, which creates the color of our skin, eyes, and hair shades. (Melanin actually has two major forms that combine to create varying skin tones. Eumelanin produces a range of brown skin and hair color, while pheomelanin imparts a yellow to reddish hue.)

    As far as skin is concerned, depending on how much is present, melanin does provide some amount of sun protection by absorbing the sun's ultraviolet light. This explains why darker skin colors are less susceptible to sunburn and the overall effects of sun damage. But less susceptible doesn't mean immune from problems.

    Increased melanin production —also known as hyperpigmentation —is often referred to as melasma, chloasma or solar lentigenes. Melasma is a general term describing darkening of the skin. Chloasma is generally used to describe skin discolorations caused by hormones. These hormonal changes are usually the result of pregnancy, birth control pills or estrogen replacement therapy. Solar lentigenes is the technical term for darkened spots on the skin caused by the sun. Solar refers to sunlight and lentigene describes a darkened area of skin. These spots are quite common in adults with a long history of unprotected sun exposure.

    Aside from sun exposure and hormones, hyperpigmentation can be caused by skin damage, such as remnants of blemishes, wounds or rashes (Source: Cutis, August 2005, pages 19-23). This is especially true for those with darker skin tones.

    By far, for all skin colors, the most typical cause of darkened areas of skin, brown spots or areas of discoloration is unprotected sun exposure. Once incorrectly referred to as liver spots, these pigment problems have nothing to do whatsoever with the liver. In fact, these discolorations wouldn't have appeared in the first place if skin was diligently protected from the sun over the years.

    On lighter to medium skin tones, solar lentigenes emerge as small- to medium-sized brown patches of freckling that can grow and accumulate over time on areas of the body that receive the most unprotected sun exposure, such as the back of the hands, forearms, chest, and face. For those with darker skin colors, these discolorations can appear as patches or areas of ashen-gray skin. Regardless of how or why these benign discolorations occur, the thought is the same worldwide: this is something women want to get rid of and prevent from recurring (or ever taking place).
    Aside from sunscreen, topical hydroquinone is considered the next step in reducing or eliminating skin discolorations. In fact, topical application of hydroquinone is considered by many dermatologists to be a safer, as effective (if not more so), and far less expensive option than lasers or deep peel treatments. Topical hydroquinone in 2% (available in cosmetics) to 4% concentrations (available from a physician or by prescription), alone or in combination with tretinoin 0.05% to 0.1%, has an impressive track record. Research has repeatedly shown hydroquinone and tretinoin to be powerful tools against sun- or hormone-induced melasma
    Some research has shown topical azelaic acid in 15% to 20% concentrations to be as efficacious as hydroquinone with a decreased risk of irritation. Tretinoin by itself has also been shown to be especially useful in treating hyperpigmentation of sun-damaged skin. Kojic acid, alone or in combination with glycolic acid or hydroquinone, also has shown good results due to its inhibitory action on tyrosinase (though kojic acid has had its share of problems in terms of stability and potential negative effects on the skin and is rarely being used nowadays). Several plant extracts and vitamin C also have some research showing them to be effective for inhibiting melanin production.

    If this is something that is really disturbing you, then talk to your physician. He can prescribe other oral treatments for this as well. I had the same problem after I had my daughter. The doctor prescribed hydroquinone for me in a higher dose. Good luck, hope this gives you a little insight.

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You're reading I'm African American. I have this line on my skin that goes from my belly button all the way down. It's darker than the rest of the skin on my stomach. Can I get rid of it or make it less noticeable?

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