Exfoliating Rough Skin

Products That Smooth Rough Skin

Hello! Good day!

I just have a question.

Some rough areas of my body such as my knees have an uneven tone or complexion compared to my legs.

Is everyday exfoliating and moisturizing enough to fix this problem? Do you have any suggestion or recommended products to use?

Thanks and your help is greatly appreciated!

More power to you!

Emm

Unless there is some underlying medical condition, you are doing exactly what you should be doing: exfoliating and moisturizing. If the uneven tone is noticeable enough to bother you, you could add skin clarifiers.

If exfoliating and moisturizing don�t seem to help, be sure to have your dermatologist take a look the next time you see him or her.

You don't mention what you use to exfoliate.

Some aestheticians warn against manual exfoliation with a rough cloth or coarse scrubbing grains. The act of vigorously scrubbing may be more damaging than the benefit of removing dull, dry cells.

If you can get a prescription, tretinoin (a.k.a. retinoic acid) creams like Retin-A or Renova (Retin-A in a moisturizing base for dry skin) are still the strongest chemical exfoliating creams available.

If you prefer a gentler approach or cannot get a prescription, OTC ingredients to look for are vitamin A derivatives called retinoids and including retinal and retinyl palmitate; AHAs like glycolic, lactic, tartaric, malic, alpha-hydroxyethanoic or alpha-hydroxycaprylic acid and sugar cane extract; or the BHA salicylic acid (less irritating than AHAs).

My favorite moisturizing ingredients are Hyaluronic Acid and Urea. You may also find occlusive ingredients like Glycerin, Petrolatum or Siloxanes (like Dimethicone or Cyclomethicone ) applied over moist skin to be helpful.

As for products designed to even out skin tone, here is an article I wrote for another reader which includes information on effective skin clarifying ingredient.

More power to you too!

Thank you very much for your reply, now I've started looking at the ingredients label of what I use for my skin.

I usually use body wash that advertise "exfloliate beads" or so.

Do you have any recommendations? Thanks so much again! I am looking forward for your reply.

Best regards,

Emm

I already mentioned prescription-strength Tretinoic Acid (Retin A or Renova).

As for OTC products, I recommend M.D. Forte Hand and Body Cream with 20% Glycolic Acid or SkinCeutical with 1% Retinol.

Since your skin is not conditioned to these ingredients, be sure to follow label instructions. For most people, that means start slowly. Use once or, at most twice, a week to start.

Until mid-2007, your dermatologist would likely have told you that only the Retin-A form of vitamin A was an effective chemical exfoliator.

That�s no longer the case thanks to a study reported in May 2007 issue of The Archives of Dermatology. Read more here..

Have a smooth day!