Hyperpigmentation due to friction: what to know

Rubbing from tight clothing, skin-on-skin contact, exercise, pads, footwear, or repeated hair removal can irritate the outer skin. Healing inflammation may leave brown or grey-brown colour after the redness has settled. Pigment can persist while the trigger continues, and a rough, itchy, scaly, or painful surface suggests there may be an active skin problem as well.

Identify the contact point and switch to looser, breathable clothing. Keep folds dry, use a bland fragrance-free moisturiser, and avoid scrubbing, picking, and harsh deodorants. Treating an underlying rash is more useful than repeatedly exfoliating it. If colour remains, a dermatologist may consider Skin Brightening Treatment, Chemical Peel, IPL Photofacial, Picosecond Laser Treatment, or Hydroquinone Treatment according to the site and your skin response.

Get assessed if the patch spreads despite removing friction, becomes thick or velvety, cracks, bleeds, forms an ulcer, or comes with persistent itch or pain. A rash with warmth, pus, swelling, or fever needs prompt care. A clinician can distinguish post-inflammatory pigment from infection, eczema, contact dermatitis, or another cause.

Ask what is rubbing the area, whether you have an active dermatitis, and which moisturiser or treatment fits the body site. Ask how to modify exercise, shaving, or clothing and how to recognise a reaction to a prescribed product.