When the skin on your elbows, knees and sometimes even ankles looks dark, it’s because a thick, dead skin has built up, which is then aggravated by friction and any pressure you place on those areas. Spend a lot of time sprawled on a carpeted floor watching television? Yep, that’ll do it. It’s easy to just say you won’t do that anymore, but also try to not lean on your elbows while sitting on a chair at work, typing away. And while dark elbows and knees can happen to anyone, regardless of skin color, it’s especially annoying for people with brown skin because the darker your skin tone, the darker your elbows or knees will look.

So what’s the deal?

Elbows and knees have folds in them that make it super convenient for them to get dark — and they can get dark as a result of wearing that sweater that you’ve washed so many times that not even a gallon of fabric softener keeps it from cutting into your elbows every time you lean on them. Not exfoliating enough and getting too much sun can also contribute to dark elbows and knees, as can having dry skin. And of course, leaning on them, pressing them on tables and the arms of a chair, and even flexing them can pile on the buildup of dead skin.

The lowdown

Treating dry skin is one thing. Dealing with dark elbows and knees is quite another, and even if you’re using the best of moisturizers on your dark elbows and knees and calling it a day, moisturizer alone is not going to cut it. Many people swear by lemon — which has been essential to skin care for ages and continues to be. Rubbing lemon halves on your problem areas and rinsing the juice after 10 or 15 minutes might start cutting through the dark spots. You can also mix some lemon juice and baking soda and apply the mixture to your problem areas for the same amount of time.

Follow it up with some gentle exfoliation and you might see a noticeable improvement. But do note the word “gentle” here. Going all Lady Macbeth while trying to out, out that damn spot might actually make things worse. Friction is friction, and if you’re sloughing away with a vengeance, you may as well be dragging them across the scratchiest carpet you can find.

After exfoliating — gently! — moisturize your problem areas with moisturizer that has at least 12% Glycolic AHA. Alpha hydrox might be easy to miss because it’s marketed as a foot cream, but if you look closely, it includes problem areas and actually does help cut through that dead skin. It makes sense, too, when you think about it: The skin on your elbows and knees goes through more wear and tear than other areas of your body, where skin is better protected. The dead skin that builds up in these areas is pretty much like getting calluses on your feet when you’re on them all day or have to walk around for long periods of time.

Of course, if you want to see results, whichever course of action you take — be it making your own scrubs or buying high-end bleaching powders — you’ll have to be consistent. And if you still see little to no improvement, it may be time to go to a dermatologist and discuss whether a combination of a topical steroid and urea cream is worth exploring.

What is cellulite?
Cellulite is the fatty deposits of dimpled skin that tends to show up on women’s thighs, hips and buttocks. Unlike the fat that appears on our bodies from eating too many burgers and fries, cellulite fat resides within the skin; the fat that affects our weight lies closer to our bones, according to WebMD.

This fat wouldn’t be a problem if it weren’t for septae, these verticals strips of tissue that tug on the skin and pull it downward, emphasizing the appearance of those fat pockets lying below it. Men usually aren’t affected by this unfortunate skin condition because their septae are arranged in a more diagonal, crosshatch pattern, according to dermatologist Bruce Katz in an MSN article.

Causes
Most doctors say that cellulite is a hereditary condition, though the National Library of Medicine also says that a poor diet, fad dieting, a slow metabolism, hormone changes and even dehydration may also play a role.

Cellulaze: The new cure for cellulite?
The Food and Drug Administration approved a new minimally invasive procedure known as Cellulaze back last year for the treatment of cellulite. Patients pay about $5,000 to $7,000, depending on the size of the area being treated, to go into the operating room for 45 to 90 minutes and have a doctor thread a laser fiber underneath the skin. The laser cuts the septae, releasing the skin it was pulling down; melts the patient’s fat pockets; and heats the skin from the inside out, which promotes skin elasticity, according to MSNBC.

Patients are fully awake for the procedure but are given anesthesia. While it may sound terrifying to be wide awake while someone pokes a laser under your skin, this isn’t unusual; patients are also awake for medical procedures like laser eye surgery. Most people go about their daily lives 24 hours later, though they’re required to wear something known as a compression garment, which somewhat resembles Spandex shorts, for a week or two afterward. Leakage, bruising and soreness are the commonly reported short-term side effects. The final results appear within about four to six months, and doctors swear it lasts, though this treatment hasn’t been around long enough to really find out if the cellulite returns or not in, say, 10 years.

Other treatments
Don’t have $5,000 to $7,000? There’s a huge industry of creams, devices and other products that exists to fill this niche. But do they work?

A 1999 study published in the journal Dermatologic Surgery claimed that the application of methylxanthine creams were effective after about eight weeks. However, it also stated that “much research must be undertaken before any of the treatments discussed can be validated as clinically effective. At present, it can be safely stated that there is no topical medication or manipulative process to which advanced cellulite visibly responds in a treatment period of less than 2 months.”

Muscle stimulators, iontophoresis devices and special massagers are also sold for the purpose of reducing cellulite. Muscle stimulators, according to Quackwatch, are only approved for such purposes as relaxing muscle spasms, increasing blood flow, preventing blood clots and rehabilitating muscle function after a stroke. And iontophoresis devices are only approved as a means to diagnose cystic fibrosis. “The FDA considers promotion of muscle stimulators or iontophoresis devices for any type of body shaping or contouring to be fraudulent,” Quackwatch said.

Massagers typically affect the appearance of cellulite by causing the tissue to swell, which temporarily hides the appearance of cellulite. But as soon as the swelling goes down, the skin returns to its original form, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Many people believe that if they lose enough weight or tone the affected areas enough, the cellulite will disappear. But Dr. Howard Murad, author of “The Cellulite Solution,” says otherwise: “Cellulite is not a fat problem; it’s a skin problem. It has nothing to do with what you weigh, or how much weight you lose.”

Research generally coincides with Dr. Murad’s statement. A study published in August 2006 in the journal Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery found that while some people’s cellulite did improve with weight loss, it worsened in others. The article concluded by stating: “Cellulite is a complex condition, and treatments such as weight loss have variable effects on the improvement or worsening of this condition. Additional studies are required to understand how the factors that influence and modulate cellulite severity, particularly those at the level of the subcutaneous tissue septa, can be manipulated to improve this condition.”

Unless you have money to spare, it’s probably easier, cheaper and safer to just accept your body’s natural age-related changes.

Photo: Alexis Wolfer

A beauty publication that doesn’t make you feel bad about yourself? Believe it or not, it does exist. Founder Alexis Wolfer and her editorial team at TheBeautyBean.com don’t use airbrushed models. Instead, they showcase real women of all shapes and sizes.

When readers look for, say, a beauty recipe for spot treating a pimple, they won’t see a photo of a model with impossibly flawless skin — which means readers won’t be put in that awkward position of drawing unfair comparisons between their reality and a perfect ideal. No unrealistic expectations, no feeling rotten about themselves, no bullshit.

“So many media outlets are predicated on the idea of making women feel shitty about themselves in order to sell them things,” Wolfer says. “Women don’t need to be told they’re terrible in order to get them to read content.”

Wolfer offers face masks to deal with acne-prone skin, scrubs to tackle cellulite and tips to relieve dry scalp, but the manner in which she disseminates information leaves women feeling good about themselves.

She encourages women to embrace natural beauty, but is not anti-makeup. She teaches women how to spot treat stubborn zits without making them feel like they can’t leave the house with a blemish. And she offers fitness advice but keeps the focus on living a healthy lifestyle rather than on losing weight and stressing over the number on the scale.

Wolfer does not merely offer DIY beauty recipes. She breaks down each recipe for her readers, explaining the function of each ingredient and identifying the vitamins and nutrients in each and how they work together to do what they aim to do — be it exfoliation, deep cleansing or moisturizing.

Some of Wolfer’s favorite tips:

• Greek yogurt, besides being a healthy replacement for high-calorie ingredients, is also an effective acne treatment, thanks in part to the lactic acid it contains. Less than 1 tablespoon is required to cover your entire face.
• Used coffee grounds make great exfoliators for the body, not face.
• The inside of an avocado peel can also be used as a body (not face) exfoliator.

TheBeautyBean.com isn’t just about making your own beauty products with stuff you already have in your pantry, either – though readers who want to save money are sure to find a wealth of information in the site. Wolfer loves products and says “it’s just about finding a balance between the two.”

Forbes Magazine named the online magazine “one of the Top 10 Women’s Lifestyle Websites.” Wolfer herself has shared her expertise in beauty, fashion and lifestyle on the “Today Show,” “E!,” “The Doctors,” NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX, as well as in such print outlets as WWD, AOL, CNN.com, Oprah.com, Teen Vogue and Star Magazine.

There are many different recipes for scrubs, all using ingredients that you may likely already have in your kitchen or can easily get at the grocery store. The following recipe uses lemon juice, which helps loosen dead skin and softens hair.

Recipe

Mix 1-1/4 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of virgin coconut oil  — baby oil, almond oil or olive oil will do in a pinch — and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice (bottled is fine) in a plastic container. Spread generously on your leg and rub the scrub into your skin in a circular motion, keeping your circles small and working your way up the leg from your top of your foot. Repeat with the other leg. Shave.

Don’t forget to moisturize afterward! If you are allergic to nuts and don’t want to take any chances, stick with baby oil, olive oil or canola oil, or get some Neutrogena Body Oil – Light Sesame Formula.

The coarse sugar gets rid of the dead skin that the lemon juice helped loosen, and the oil leaves a residue on your skin that helps prevent razor burn.

Some blogs making the rounds suggest you shave first, exfoliate with sugar scrub and shave again — and by all means, if you have the time and patience, do so. For some people, shaving is already time-consuming, not to mention a pretty tedious process that they endure only because they enjoy the results. Suggesting to them that they add an extra two steps to an already annoying routine may put them off.

Luckily, if you exfoliate thoroughly with a good scrub before you shave, you’ll slough all that dead skin off your legs and loosen up spots where you might get ingrown hairs. Skip the second round of shaving, and keep that razor from going dull as fast as it would if you were shaving twice every time.

This infographic from EffortlessSkin.com illustrates the surprising facts and statistics associated with sun protection and skin cancer, reminding us why we need to take sun care precautions not just in the summer but year round.

And in case you didn’t already realize how terrible tanning beds are for your skin: 84.5% of new cases of malignant melanoma in the U.K. in 2010 were directly attributed to exposure to sunlight or use of tanning beds.

The catch — if you can call it that — is that not all honey is created equal, and if you’re going to use it in masks to brighten your complexion or as a spot treatment for acne, you’ll probably have to shell out from $7 to $10 for some organic raw honey at your local gourmet or organic foods shop or at your local farmers market.

The good news is that you won’t have to shell out a couple of $20 bills on face wash, moisturizer and spot treatment containing benzoyl peroxide, which might certainly obliterate those annoying zits and pimples but might also strip your skin of its moisture, leaving it dry. And that’s just the stuff you can get at your local chain pharmacy. If you want higher end, top-shelf stuff, you’re looking at a $17 price tag on 1 ounce of acne spot treatment.

Despite raw honey’s higher ticket price than your average dollar-store honey bear bottle, it’s still a bargain in comparison, and you know exactly what you’re putting on your face, which is always a plus.

Recipe: Honey face mask for smooth skin

So you want to pamper yourself with a mask that gives your skin a healthy glow and makes it look bright and feel soft and smooth. In a bowl, mix 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice with 2 teaspoons of raw honey. Take a hot shower and cleanse your face as you typically do, while letting the steam from the shower open up your pores.

When you’re done showering and drying yourself off, apply the honey and lemon mixture on your clean skin, as you would any mask — which means steer clear of your eyes. Leave the mask on for 20 minutes and catch up on that book you should have finished ages ago. Rinse the mixture off with warm water. Splash a bit of cold water on your clean face to close up those pores. This is a good mask to use about once a week.

Recipe: Acne-fighting honey face mask

That’s great, you say, but you need something a bit stronger because you are battling a few pimples and a couple of annoying zits that are overstaying their welcome. No problem. In a bowl, crush two or three uncoated aspirin. If you can’t find uncoated aspirin, just rub the coating off beneath running water until the tablets feel rough. Add a tablespoon of water to the crushed aspirin and mix it until it forms a thick paste. Add 1 teaspoon of raw honey and mix well.

Cleanse your face as you normally do and run the hot water so the steam opens up your pores. Apply the honey and aspirin mixture to your face, and leave it on for 10 to 15 minutes. Rinse your face with warm water and splash some cold water to close up your pores. Since it does include aspirin and aspirin is a drug, don’t do this mask more than once a week.

IMPORTANT: If you’re allergic to aspirin, you can’t use this mask. Your skin won’t absorb the drug the same way your system absorbs it if you take aspirin orally, but there is still some absorption — so if you are not supposed to be taking aspirin because of heart or other health-related issues, do not ever use this mask.

Recipe: Honey-and-cinnamon acne treatment

Masks are great and all, but you don’t have the time and patience for pampering and you really just want to get rid of that one zit on your chin that’s been driving you crazy for three days. OK, no worries. Sprinkle about 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon onto the palm of your hand. Add a bit of honey — about 1/ 4 teaspoon — and mix into a paste. Dab it on that zit. Leave it for 15 minutes and rinse with warm water, or leave it on overnight and rinse it in the morning.

Acne exceptions

Just like all honey isn’t created equal, neither is all acne, unfortunately. Honey works so well because it targets bacteria. So if your pimples and zits are brought on by bacteria, honey is going to help wipe them off your face. But if your acne is triggered or aggravated by hormones, medication or diet, then honey won’t make it disappear for good. It will still help soothe breakouts and improve your complexion.

Lo and behold, it worked.

It wasn’t until I used it consistently through the mosquitoes-driving-Viv-crazy months that I discovered just how much of a multitasker virgin coconut oil is.

Because I cook on a cast iron skillet, use the oven lots and am outrageously clumsy, I tend to burn myself a lot. Even if you don’t burn yourself as often as I do, it’s good to have some virgin coconut oil on hand to spread on burns to help soothe them. Slather on some virgin coconut oil to help relieve aches and soreness — it makes for excellent massage oil. Got an angry baby with diaper rash? Grab that virgin coconut oil.

Not surprisingly, it makes for great hair conditioner for those with dry hair. It also makes for great lip balm when stubborn winter winds leave your lips chapped beyond recognition. And I was absolutely thrilled to discover that you can brush some onto your eyelashes and massage it into your nails and cuticles to help strengthen them all. Got dry or rough heels? Virgin coconut oil to the rescue.

I still don’t buy into it slowing the aging process (why are we so afraid of getting old?) or eliminating stubborn belly fat simply by taking a couple of pill supplements a day every day. And I’m still not sold on eating a spoonful a day, nor using it as replacement for oil in cooking or for shortening in some baking recipes. After all it is made up of more than 90% saturated fats.

To be fair, however, Len Piche, a nutritional scientist, registered dietitian and professor in the Foods and Nutrition program at Brescia University College at Western University in London points out that while no health professional will encourage people to increase the level of saturated fats in their diets, some of the saturated fats that make up virgin coconut oil are shorter-chain fatty acids that “aren’t implicated in some of the chronic diseases” associated with saturated fat.

While I’m not ready to try it out in my cooking and baking just yet, and certainly never long-term, what I have used it for is to season my cast iron pan and to condition my wooden cutting board. Overall, when used responsibly and not expected to cure diseases or make us flat-tummied Dorian Grays, virgin coconut oil still has a bunch of uses that are pretty darn neat.

Myth #1: Chocolate is bad for you

Eaten in moderation, chocolate can be good for you. Flavanols — antioxidants that have been linked to heart health — aren’t just found in tea and red wine. Chocolate has them too, along with dietary fiber and assorted minerals.

Dark chocolate in particular has been linked to health benefits, including lower blood sugar, decreased “bad” cholesterol and increased “good” cholesterol. Why dark chocolate? Because it has more cocoa solids (drawn from the cacao beans on the nutrient-filled cacao tree) than milk chocolate.

Myth #2: Chocolate is an aphrodisiac (we like to believe this one anyway)

Chocolate stands alongside oysters and asparagus as an alleged agent of sexual arousal. Research studies exploring whether two chemicals in chocolate — tryptophan and phenylethylamine — play a role in arousal have been inconclusive. But take a leap of faith and believe anyway — believers in the sensual benefits of chocolate may benefit psychologically, even if the physiology doesn’t provide a strong backup.

Myth #3: Chocolate causes acne

Even though mom said it for years, chocolate does not cause acne. The true culprit may be a chain of events that could happen to people who eat a lot of the good stuff: A high-fat/high-sugar diet can increase the body’s production of sebum, an oily matter that lubricates our hair and skin. This increase in sebum can cause an inflammatory reaction, which can lead to — you guessed it — acne.

So while chocolate doesn’t cause acne per se, overindulging could result in some Oh-my-god-it’s-middle-school-photo-day-and-I-have-a-huge-pimple-on-my-forehead-type incidents. As with everything, moderation is key.

Myth #4: Chocolate is loaded with caffeine

Unless you’re consuming it in large quantities, chocolate isn’t likely to keep you up at night. Milk chocolate has about 12 milligrams of caffeine per serving, with dark chocolate clocking in at 20 milligrams to 40 milligrams per serving. To put that in perspective, an 8-ounce cup of coffee contains anywhere from 65 milligrams to 120 milligrams of caffeine.

It’s recommended that adults consume no more than 200 milligrams to 300 milligrams of caffeine per day. So go ahead and have that extra square — you’ll be counting sheep before you know it.

People with oily skin and large pores are prone to getting blackheads. They seem to turn up mostly on your nose because the nose has a higher concentration of oil glands than the rest of your face. Those with oily T-zones might see a few blackheads crop up on their chins and foreheads as well.

You might be tempted to use special washes and masks to address your oily skin, or wash your face too often, but this only gets those glands producing more sebum. So while you will have to clean your pores to address the blackheads you already have, you will also have to stave off fresh outbreaks by taking a good look at what you’re eating.

But food doesn’t cause acne!

No, eating chocolate and greasy food does not directly cause blackheads. But hormones, certain medications and diet may either trigger acne, including blackheads, or aggravate an existing case.

Some studies have suggested that eating dairy products and carbohydrates, such as bread and chips, can trigger acne. But it’s not like slapping that extra pat of butter on that toasted everything bagel is going to give you blackheads. It’s that eating that buttered bagel may affect your blood sugar levels, which may lead to a hormonal reaction, which gets your oil glands working double time. And on a person who already has oily skin, it’s the perfect storm for blackheads a-brewing.

Cutting out fatty and processed foods, carbs and dairy alone won’t prevent the little pests from rearing their ugly heads again. But doing so in combination with keeping yourself hydrated, exfoliating regularly and not overdoing it with moisturizers that will clog your pores and washes that will overstimulate already hyper oil glands will help keep blackheads at bay.

Unsightly shaving bumps caused by ingrown hairs rear their ugly heads in areas we repeatedly shave: faces, underarms and bikini line. The bikini line, in particular, tends to be the bane of many’s existence; it is especially prone to ingrown hairs since hair in those nether areas tends to be coarser. Those who already have curly hair, therefore, may be staring at the hateful little map of bumps wondering if anything can be done to be rid of them once and for all.

You’ll hear and read about any number of pieces of advice that prevent you from getting bumps in the first place. Shaving in the direction in which the hair grows works, presumably, because the hair won’t curl up in the wrong direction and get trapped under your skin. Doing so doesn’t always guarantee a close shave, and while it’s great advice for those with straight, fine hair, it’s kind of moot for those with thicker, curly hair. The temptation to shave against the grain is great, but this just makes things worse. Follow these skin-friendly tips to a smoother bikini line:

Hit the showers

Try to deal with the ones you have, but also put in a bit more time to prevent further outbreaks. Taking a hot shower — as hot as you can stand it without burning yourself! — can help because the steam opens up your pores and will help you get at the trapped hairs. Whether you decide to soak the bikini line with a hot towel, hop into a hot bath or let stand under a hot shower, give your pores 15 minutes to open up.

Out, out damned bump

Massage the bikini line for a few minutes with a gentle exfoliant to scrub away dead skin and give your pores the chance to drain out and expose the trapped hair. Baking soda is ideal, cost-effective and probably already in your kitchen cupboard. Rinse the bikini line after you are done exfoliating, and grab a clean, fresh razor. Use a moisturizing cream or gel, preferably one that contains aloe, which helps heal bumps. Bikini Zone Anti-Bumps Shave Gel works nicely, but using it alone without doing some soaking and exfoliation first will only minimize bumps, not make them all go away. Dry the area thoroughly and keep it clean.

Preventive measures

Tend Skin, which runs from $17 to $20, is designed for use once you are done shaving your bikini line or any area prone to bumps. You simply soak a cotton ball and apply the product to the area. It contends that it eliminates bumps once and for all, which is fine, but it’s up to you to be consistent. At that ticket price, it can get expensive. Consider using acne creams that contain benzoyl peroxide or salycic acid instead, since ingrown hairs are similar to pimples. If you don’t already have some, you can find them at your local drug store without suffering from sticker shock.