What can I do to lighten the skin in vaginal area or even out the skin color on my upper thighs?

Hi All, I am 22 yrs old and of African descent. Even since I hit puberty or since I developed vaginal pubic hair, I have noticed that my "bush" was covers a larger area that my sisters and even my mum. Before as a child I never paid attention to it really, however felt ashamed because my sisters and mum used to look at my vagina in disgust and I obs felt bad. My bush covers the full pelvic region,extends roughly 1 and a half inches down my upper thigh. As a result I never felt comfortable with any one seeing my in my underwear, even my family. I know some others may have this same problem because I have seen complaints on other sites. However my biggest issue is when ever I shave or wax the skin, underneath is dark in that area, and lets say the more I wax or shave the darker it gets. I tired talking to friends about it because I cant talk to my family without feeling like a freak and when ever I do they don't understand my issue/problem. Because of the dark-skin (which is vastly darker than my regular skin tone) which is visible if i wear a bikini or regular underwear it looks unsightly and disgusting to some people. What can I do to lighten the skin in this area or even out the skin colour on my upper thighs ???? Is there some sorta of cream I could use? I exfoliate the area every 2 days, stopped wearing tight close and don't wear underwear at night or when home doing nothing. I even tired lime and potato on the area to lighten the skin there but no success. I am currently using a skin lightening cream for the past 4 moths but there has been no change. Before I just accepted that, that was how my vagina/ pubic region was but now I started to get a active social life. I want to go to the beach and wear a bikini, I want to even experience sex, as before I didn't want anyone to see my private area and be disgusted by it so I abstained . I have seen models posed in underwear and lingerie that reveal a large portion of their pelvic area, that i know they waxed the hair off (because no one is that hairless) and their pelvic skin looks even, just like the rest of their bodies. Do they do something special to that area? If anyone knows the answer to my questions or can help in any way please let me know...PLEASE! I am really nervous and embarrassed about this, any solutions and suggesting given is welcomed!