40-Day Honest Review After 2 Sessions for Axillary Pigmentation I Noticed at the Gym

Hello. I had been worried about axillary pigmentation, and I am now being treated at a clinic with a 3-session program. I have finished 2 sessions so far, so I wanted to leave a review. It was actually much darker than in the photos now, but after the second session the tone felt much more even, so I thought it might help others with similar concerns. The first time I really noticed the axillary pigmentation was at the gym. I was getting PT, and the trainer kept looking back and forth between my armpit and their own armpit. At first I thought I must have seen it wrong, but later when I asked what was going on, they said my armpit looked a bit dark so they checked to see if theirs was like that too. After hearing that, I came home and raised my arms in front of the mirror, and I was honestly shocked because it looked much darker than I expected. From then on I became very self-conscious, so I started looking for a place near my office that managed axillary pigmentation and first went to a shop. After the treatment there, about 3 days later the dead skin peeled off, and the peeled area seemed a little lighter. The problem was the cream they gave me to apply afterward. I was told it would last about a month, but since both areas were wide, after about 5 days it was almost gone. When I called the shop, they said I might have used too much and recommended buying more, so I ended up paying 150,000 won for another one. But from then on, something felt off. Since the amount of cream was not generous, I ended up using it sparingly, but if I used it sparingly, it felt like I wasn't actually applying enough to the wide area. So even though I used it diligently, I started wondering whether it was really changing anything.. When I asked again, they said a touch-up was possible but I would have to buy the cream again, and I started wondering whether this method was really right. If the cream cost keeps piling up, it would eventually feel like the body and the bow are reversed, so from that point on I started looking for another method. I searched this community and Yeouya cafe, and also looked into a few clinics that manage axillary pigmentation. One place said I should expect 5 to 10 laser sessions, and another place said they use a method combining laser with stem cell culture medium, usually running it as a 2- to 3-session program. Just calculating the time alone, if I got laser once a month for at least 5 sessions, that would be almost 5 months, while a 2-session program would be about 6 weeks, so from my perspective the time burden felt much lighter. So I made a reservation just to get a consultation first. Honestly, at first I found the idea of using stem cell culture medium on the armpits a little unfamiliar and also interesting. After the visit, the consultation took quite a long time. It felt like almost 40 minutes, and rather than just saying that this procedure would work, they explained why pigmentation appears in the first place, and why friction, irritation, hair removal, UV exposure, and the skin's recovery state are important. As I understood it, axillary pigmentation is not something that ends just by stripping away the surface color, but something that needs to be approached by reducing the environment where melanin keeps rising again and by helping the skin recover. In other words, it is important to suppress the cause and create the right environment. So the procedure was not just simple laser treatment either; they checked the tone first, used laser to tidy up the necessary areas, and then guided me through stem cell culture medium, ultrasound, ampoules, and soothing care step by step. Personally, that gave me some trust. What I especially liked was that after the treatment they separately organized a 1-week, 2-week, and 3-week home-care routine matched to my tone and skin condition. It was not just a case of handing me one cream and saying to apply it well~~, but they also explained when I should be careful about what, when to start using which products, and they specifically told me not to use scrubs. What surprised me was that the armpits can also be affected by UV exposure when you wear clothes that expose them outdoors, so they said it would be good to apply sunscreen. I had thought sunscreen was only for the face and neck, but they told me elbows and armpits can be affected by UV too, so after that I have been trying to pay close attention. I will upload the photos in order. For reference, I could not take a photo on my first visit, meaning before the first session. In reality, the pigmentation was darker at that time than in the first photo, which was before the second session, and there was some tone improvement after the first session too, but it did not feel as significant as after the second session. The first photo is before the second session, the second photo is when dead skin came up after the second session, and the third photo is from day 40 after the second session. A few days after the procedure, there was a period where dead skin rose up, and after that the overall tone seemed to gradually even out. Right now I have completed 2 of the 3 sessions, and I plan to go for the third session next week, which will be day 45 after the procedure. There is still some pigmentation left around the central area, but when I sent photos and mentioned it to the manager, they said that during the third session they would focus more on that area. Of course, results can differ because the degree of pigmentation and skin condition are different for each person. I also worked quite hard on home care, paid attention to clothing to reduce friction, and tried to remember to apply sunscreen. Still, compared with before, when I did not know anything and just used scrubs and left it alone, now that I understand why pigmentation appears and manage it, I definitely feel less lost. The last session is still left, so I can't call this the final result yet, but based on the 2 sessions so far, I am quite satisfied. I wrote this as detailed as possible because I think there may be others who are worried about axillary pigmentation like me. If you have any questions, leave a comment. I will answer honestly from what I know.