I read recently this that is called "skin thickening." I have the same ordeal. It doesn't bother me much, except for my neck. Like you, I feel that I am dirty. I have it where my skin touches. My dad and aunt have it as well, so I figure that it is hereditary, also. In my family, we call it "rust." I am currently looking for a cheap, inexpensive, and effective way to lighten up this area. Have you found any more info about "skin thickening?" Hope this helps a little for you.... -m-

My son has a dark ring on the back of his neck, and it looks like "dirt" as well. Our doctor told us that it is a sign of diabetes. I would suggest you be tested, just in case, before you spend any money on creams or ointments, that may not be what you really need. Good luck and I hope all is well with you!

I have this same problem and have found that there really is no way to get these areas back to the "normal" color. The best way to help the discoloration is to eat right. Most of the time the discoloration (in my situation) is worse when I am not eating healthy foods. I am a diabetic and when I eat all of the correct food groups and monitor my blood sugar closely, and excersise you cannot tell that I have these skin problems.

I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM I'M 26 YRS OLD AND ARE 50 LBS OVERWEIGHT I THINK THAT IT'S CAUSED BY BEING OVERWEIGHT IF YOU'RE NOT DIABETIC I STARTED WALKING BECAUSE I HEARD THATS THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN GET RID OF IT IS BY LOSING WEIGHT THEY DO GO AWAY I DONT KNOW ABOUT FOR DIABETICS THOUGH AT THE SAME TIME YOU'RE BRINGING YOUR WEIGTH DOWN YOU CAN USE LEMON JUICE AND RUB FIRMLY WITH TOWEL THAT HAS BEEN SOAKING IN HOT WATER IT DOES WORK GOOD LUCK HEY I THINK ITS A WAY OF GOD MAKING US GO IN THE RIGHT TRACK

It is not a sign of diabetes!! Thats stupid! You can use somthing called faid cream by palmers they sale at cvs. Or a mexican bleching cream called Concha Nacar. That is sold at any mexican market and its cheap. The bleaching cream has been around since the 1920s and i belive is made in england. Mexican and idian girls have this problem! If you can belive this. I live in Cali and all my friends get their area down their bleached. Its a place called pinks.... Its for dark inner thighs, vagina and the crack of the bottom.... so hollywood I know =)... Any ways you can do all of this yourself and for cheap!... I have started using the creams and bleach and my neck is almost clear... The thigh bleaching I havent started yet...

In dark or olive skinned people the discoloration is more apparent. There are retinoids like Retin-A combined with lotions that may help. Consult a doctor since Retin-A is prescribed. It is natural for your skin to darken, but in people of color, the melanocytes are larger and get irrated easily by rubbing, or bumping and a rough dark skin forms usually at the joints. There are lotions that use light hyrdro acids that will peel away the dead skin and lighten these darker area sometimes completely. Kneeling, resting on your elbows, or rubbing can again irritate the melanocytes and cause a redarkening. The darkening can be hereditary but in many cases is caused by irritating these areas. Scrubbing them may make the area darker since its irritation in many cases that cause it.

i've been told by my daughters physician that happens because she is a borderline diabetic and needs to lose weight

THE REAL ANSWER IS: ACANTHOSIS NIGRICANS AKA Too much insulin (sugar) in your body. Only real solution is to healthy up and ONLY then if it doesn't completely clear up you can resort to bleaching creams. Go to the Indians for that.

I too have the same issue and i just went to da doctor he said it is a hereditary problem .. with sugar in our bodies which leads us to gain weight. He told stop eating dairy products instead use soy products and did a special blood test and will be giving me a special medicine i will lose up to 50 lbs in 2 months. Lets see how it works then i will tell you guys about it..................... by kamal

i have the same problem. i am a diabetic (genetic) and have been told that i am a "healthy weight". i dont tink its to do with your weight but to do with your diet and the possibility that you might be diabetic. either way i suggest you get it checked out. i never have but am hopefully going to in the next week or two so if its anything serious i shall inform you!

i have the exact problem but i also have acne on my back and on the back of my legs. i feel really embaressed by all this. ive been to the doctor and tried different creams but nothing has worked as yet. can someone please help me and give me a way to get rid of this skin problem. i think i have unbalanced hormones, had a check up but everything seems to be fine. please help!!!

This is ABSOLUTELY a sign of diabetes. You may not have it yet but you will if you don't lose weight and I am assuming that you are overweight. It is due to an overproduction of insulin and the insulin gathers in those areas which causes the skin to darken. There is a name for the condition but I do not recall what. Using bleaching cream WILL NOT HELP. Bleaching cream will clear up the dark spots temporarily. If you stop using the cream the darkness will come back because you have not solved the internal problem that is causing the darkness. Also the cream can make it worse if you do not shield the sun from the areas that you are putting the bleaching cream on. If you read the cream it will tell you that the area can get darker from sunlight. The only remedy is to get healthy and/or lose weight. Good Luck.

Ask your doctor about a condition called PCOS. It is known to cause symptoms like yours and is related to insulin problems in your body. I strugle with similar skin issues and so far my research has pointed to it.

i have the same proble...and my weight is fine..i have no weight problem -thank god-and still donno what the problem...and my hormones are fine as i checked it .......i hearded that it's some vitamin less in our bodies but i'm not sure..i wish we all have a solution to these bad problem ..it make me feel depression all the time and i will never make a sex with these body problems :'(

I have dark neck,arm pit, & between my leg. I don't know how that would happen. So i think it was my weight thing. I started to lose weight,but it got worse. I was 170. And now i at 110.

hi, i am a dermatologist in new jersey (usa) and this problem is called hypopigmentosis this usually happens with asian people and mexican people. this is a common thing so you don't have to worry about it. for my patients i give "Kerol", this is a cream that you rub it on the dark spots(make sure you rub it well so it goes into your skin). Use this in the morning after taking a bath and at night. after atleast 25 day of using it properly you will see white peeling of skin,don't be shocked, the medicine is supposed to do this. after you see the peeling off skin,rub that area with a cloth, when you take a bath. in couple of months the dark spots will be done. if your asking yourself where your find this cream don't get tensed. this is actually a prescribed medicine, i give couple of samples to my patients so they don't have to worry about it, but you should go to your family doctor and ask a prescription, and then get it from a pharmacy store. this helps and i am confidently sure because i am a dermatologist.

The dermatology website below shows two cases where rubbing the dark areas with isopropyl alcohol really helped: http://dermatology.cdlib.org/112/case_reports/dirtydermatoses/rosen.html I tried it this morning on my neck, and the patches seem lighter.

I struggled for 30 yrs with this condition. Finally i did some research online. Every dr. i went to said, i'm young and i'm fine. My case got worse. The back of my neck has always been darker. Sure, i could mask it with bleaching creams, but the problem is INTERNAL. My dr. refused to allow me to get a vaginal ultrasound. I went back and she finally said okay. Turns out i have PCOS. A diseas that dr.'s do NOT know how to deal with. Your a step away from becoming a DIABETIC. So, i got several blood tests. Everything is normal. i'm not a diabetic. True. Dr. convinces me again i'm normal. But I researched more about PCOS because i know my hormones are not acting normal, and i 'diagnosed myself' as insulin resistant. I asked the dr. to put me on Metformin even though i'm not a diabetic, and what do you know....30yrs of struggling i solved my HUGE problem. My insulin was not functioning right, and it caused increased testosterone, skin darkening on back of neck, irregular periods, oily skin, large pores.....and now i'm normal. I know diet and exercise can help this condition without the drug, but at the moment its a like a bandage that helps me live a normal life. It's up to you to ignore the signs and symptoms, but it's definately an indicator of PCOS, insulin resistant....leading to diabetes. I should have known better, i have a family hx of diabetes.

Hi, i am facing the same problem as (Answer 4 out of 18). for years, im having darkening of skin on neck, below lips, arm-pit, between thighs, massive hair loss, facial hair growth,irregular menstruation (painful & blood clot), tremendous weight gain, stomach blotting, swellings and etc. I have seen many dr, but in vain. They dont even bother to do a proper check-up, no blood test, nothing. this is depressing me very much. I have tried various type of creams, diets, none helped. Recently a dr told me this might be a insulin-deficiency, which leads to many other problem. i am now diagnosed as pre-diabetic & hormonal-imbalance as well. If any of you knw any particular medication or methods to overcome this problem, kindly advice. I will be visiting a dr again. thanks

Thank you Allexa the dermatoigilst im gonna ask my GP and ask about PCOS

can we do laser treatment?

Beware of chemical bleaches, many can be harmful. +2

You know, I've noticed that on the back of my neck, as i would rub my hands on the bakc of my neck, I would feel some roughness going on back there. SO, what I did for the first time in years, was take a soapy towel and just rub on it servral times, and what a surprise. I had lots and lots of dirt come off onto a white towel. It's not that I don't take bathes, but this area of the body tends to inadvertantly get overlooked. SO Just bath Good!

appreciate your skin. stop messing with it. I bet you i can sell you my pee in a bottle if I told you "my product" can get rid of those dark areas.