Skincare for your armpits? Why underarm whitening is a beauty treatment in Southeast Asia
- For celebrities and socialites in the Philippines and Thailand, dark armpits are not sexy, and they’ll pay up to US$479 to get rid of them
- Procedure involves using laser treatment, exfoliation and whitening creams to remove underarm hair and skin pigmentation
Skin whitening to make facial complexion more fair has been popular for years. It involves applying creams with glycolic acid or AHA (alpha hydroxy acids) to gently bleach the skin and over time it appears lighter.
“For the Philippines it’s really more cultural. When I ask [my] male patients what turns them off in women, they would say dark armpits,” she says. “As for female patients, they would look at other women’s [underarms]. I guess in our culture it’s related to hygiene.”
Belo, who has been practising for 29 years with 14 clinics in the Philippines, explains the procedure first involves permanently removing underarm hair with laser treatment. The next issue is dealing with the skin pigmentation of the underarm that typically looks darker.
Lasers are used to treat the dark coloration, followed by a gentle exfoliation that is usually done in the clinic because the skin is quite sensitive after laser treatment. Finally whitening creams are given to patients to continue applying on their underarms at home. The laser treatment and exfoliation may require several visits over a few months. The price can range from 5,000 Philippine pesos to 25,000 pesos (US$96-US$479).