Why is the skin on my knees dry?

What are the reasons for increased dry skin on the knees?

First of all, you need to find out what contributed to the increase in dry skin on your knees. Based on the source, the most effective treatment is selected.

The symptom accompanies many physiological disorders in the body, especially those of an endocrine nature. The dryness of the dermis increases not only on the knees, but also often on the elbows. Such clinical manifestations signal some kind of failure.

Possible reasons include:

  1. Dry skin on the knees and elbows can be a symptom of diabetes. The disease is characterized by disruption of the natural metabolism of fats, proteins and carbohydrates, increased blood glucose levels and decreased insulin. In most cases, the symptom occurs at the initial stage of diabetes development.
  2. On the knees and below, areas of peeling appear in hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. Pathologies have an endocrine etiology and are characterized by an increase or decrease in the release of thyroxine and triiodothyronine into the bloodstream. Associated symptoms include increased irritability and aggression.
  3. Skin diseases such as eczema and psoriasis occur with increased dryness of the skin. At the site of the lesion, dark scales appear on the legs and a red rash on the knees.
  4. With scleroderma, not only peeling occurs on the knees, but also swelling and pain on palpation of areas with damage to the epidermis.

Other reasons

  1. The development of iron deficiency anemia is accompanied by thinning of the skin, the appearance of areas with peeling and increased dryness.
  2. If a hormonal imbalance occurs, which often occurs during puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, menopause, not only problems with the skin arise, but also many others, including changes in the emotional background. Dry skin on the knees of women is more common.
  3. Insufficient levels of vitamins and beneficial microelements in the body are a common cause of thinning of the epidermis and increased dryness, in particular on the knees and elbows. This applies to deficiency of ascorbic acid, retinol, vitamin E.
  4. The reason why the skin on your knees is dry may be a change in atmospheric conditions. For example, in the autumn-winter period, during the heating season, when the dry air in the room increases, an exacerbation of the symptom occurs.

Knees often dry out in people who abuse water procedures and the pool. The culprits of increased dryness of the dermis are the chlorine contained in the water, its high temperature, gels and other care products.

Causes of a pathological nature

Unfortunately, not all problems can be solved with moisturizer. Sometimes peeling is a consequence of diseases of internal organs and their systems, as well as a sign of skin diseases, parasitic activity, etc. Possible reasons for this phenomenon include:

  • disorders of the adrenal glands;
  • thyroid diseases;
  • diabetes;
  • anemia;
  • avitaminosis;
  • bacterial and fungal infections;
  • dermatological diseases.

How to deal with the symptom

Treatment of areas with increased dryness on the knees is determined by taking into account the underlying cause of this condition. In any case, complex therapy is indicated, which consists in eliminating the source of pathology and disturbing symptoms, especially peeling.

First of all, you need to take care to thoroughly clean the affected area. It is recommended to avoid using regular soap, which further dries out the epidermis. To cleanse the dermis, but eliminate the risk of its hardening, special emollients are used in the form of foam, which is intended for sensitive skin types.

After you have cleansed the skin, you need to remove the stratum corneum. For this purpose, a bioscrub is used, which contains fruit acids and substances beneficial to the skin.

By removing dead cells, the appearance of the epidermis will immediately change. However, despite the effectiveness of such products, you should not abuse them, since the skin will simply “get used” to them, and the peeling will only intensify.

The third stage of getting rid of dryness is moisturizing, which is carried out using a high-quality nourishing cream. They use the product for the face, since specialized preparations for the knees are unlikely to be found. The nourishing product is alternated with a moisturizing one.

Home methods

  1. No less effective are folk remedies that well moisturize the dermis, nourish, and accelerate the recovery of the skin. For example, prepare the following composition: take vegetable oil (1 tbsp), lemon juice (10 tbsp), mix the components, apply as a mask to the affected areas. After 15-20 minutes, the composition is removed with a cotton swab or warm water.
  2. Another useful composition: take regular salt (2 tbsp), add honey (2 tbsp), mix, you can pour in a small amount of castor oil. The result is a therapeutic scrub that fights dead tissue and softens the epidermis. Prepare a product based on coffee grounds, cocoa powder, and any essential oil.

It is not recommended to abuse water procedures. Of course, spending 15-20 minutes in a warm bath with the addition of herbal decoctions or infusions is useful, but frequent use of such a procedure is harmful to the health of the skin, which causes it to become rough and dry.

If there are areas with peeling and redness, use lemon or grapefruit juice, which is used to wipe the skin throughout the day. This will help soften it and increase elasticity. Darkened and dry areas of the knees are lightened and softened by treating the area with cucumber juice or bearberry extract throughout the day.

If folk remedies do not help eliminate the unpleasant symptom, you can use ready-made pharmaceutical preparations, for example, Comage Corporel Exfoliant exfoliating scrub, Rich Renewal Pucker moisturizer, Nutri Extra Creme restorative nourishing cream.

Conclusion

In any case, consult a doctor to determine the cause of dry dermis on the knees. This is especially true in cases where local remedies, including pharmaceutical ones, do not help relieve the symptom. Perhaps the cause lies deeper in the body and requires oral medications.

Dry skin on knees

Every woman carefully takes care of her face and hands, trying to look attractive. But many people forget about their knees. Admit it: do you often pay attention to your own knees, take care of them, and buy special products? If so, then you’re just great: after all, very often it is the rough, “elephant” skin on the knees that reveals a woman’s true age and “gossips” about your negligence in self-care. Do you always want to look well-groomed and feminine? So, spend time on this important part of the body.


The skin on your knees will be soft and tender with proper care. 16809

In fact, the skin on your knees requires very simple care - it will take you no more time and effort than brushing your teeth every day. But if you neglect the beauty of your knees, you can forget about the admiring glances of men. Ungroomed knees sometimes let even Hollywood stars down and contrast unpleasantly with their eternally youthful faces.

The skin on the knees is peeling. Why?

The fact is that economical nature did not consider it necessary to place a large number of sebaceous glands on the knees. If a thin layer of fat covers the skin on the nose, cheeks, stomach, thighs and other areas, then the skin on the knees lacks such protection. This means that skin cells are intensively affected by a variety of external factors. Wind, temperature changes, sun rays - all this causes the skin on the knees to peel, become rough, and darken. The keratinized cells are layered, resulting in the formation of the notorious “elephant” skin.

Dry skin on knees: comprehensive care

If the skin on your knees is peeling, you will need a comprehensive solution to the problem.

The first stage is thorough cleansing. If the skin on your knees is peeling, forget about regular soap: it will dry out these areas even more. To clean dry skin on your knees without becoming rough, it is recommended to use special soft foams created for sensitive skin. Products for cleansing dry facial skin are quite suitable - this option is suitable if you do not find special products for the care of knees on sale (unfortunately, they are not so easy to find).

After cleansing, dead skin cells should be removed. A bioscrub containing fruit acids, rice and milk thistle is best suited for this purpose. By getting rid of dead cells, you will provide your knees with an attractive appearance, and in addition, regular use of scrubs will help speed up cell growth. True, we don’t recommend getting too carried away with scrubs: the skin on your knees will “get used” to them, and peeling may intensify. The optimal frequency is once a week.

Now it's time to pamper the skin on your knees with a quality nourishing cream. It will be very good if you manage to buy a special cream for your knees. If not, any good nourishing face cream will do. It can be alternated with moisturizing creams. You can do the same thing if the skin on your elbows is peeling.

We repeat once again - try to find specialized modeling creams for knees. They contain special complexes of components, thanks to which the skin on the knees will become softer and more elastic, and its texture will significantly improve.

Skin on the knees: folk remedies

If the skin on your knees is peeling, you can successfully combat this with the help of folk (home) remedies. Try this recipe: take 1 part vegetable oil and 10 parts lemon juice, mix and apply on your knees. After 20 minutes, wash off the mask with warm water and lubricate your knees with nourishing cream.


If the skin on your knees is dry and flaky, it will ruin your entire look. 16667

Mix table salt with the same amount of honey and add a teaspoon of castor oil. You will get an effective and gentle knee scrub that will help get rid of dead skin cells and soften the skin. You can add coffee grounds, cocoa powder or an essential oil that you like to your scrub. After using such a scrub, as you understand, you should apply a rich cream to your knees.

A few more tips for those whose dry, flaky skin on their knees

Don't get carried away with baths! Of course, lying in fragrant hot water is very pleasant, but the skin on your knees becomes even rougher after this procedure.

If the skin on your knees is red, wipe it with lemon, grapefruit or sauerkraut juice.

Darkened and dry skin on the knees will become lighter and softer if pampered with cucumber juice or bearberry extract.

If you follow these simple recommendations, your knees will always shine with beauty and attract the admiring glances of others.

To care for dry skin on your knees, the following will be useful:

  • Exfoliating scrub Comage Corporel Exfoliant, Argaline (Morocco)
  • Ultra-moisturizing cream Papaya, red grapefruit Rich Renewal Pucker, Orly (USA)
  • Restoring nourishing cream Nutri Extra Creme, Vichy (France)

Causes of dry elbows and knees

The most difficult and sad case is hormonal problems. Dysfunction of the thyroid gland or adrenal cortex often leads to darkening of the knees and elbows, to the formation of thick growths in these places that resemble rough elephant skin. Such changes have their own name - Behr's symptom, or the symptom of dirty knees and elbows.

If such problems suddenly appear, then you should consult a doctor at least to rule out the presence of a serious pathology.

  • With type 2 diabetes mellitus, changes in skin pigmentation also occur. In diabetes, the nutrition of skin cells occurs; the skin becomes thin and more susceptible to external influences. In this case, the skin also becomes rough on the feet and palms.
  • When the level of hemoglobin in the blood decreases (anemia), the skin also does not receive the nutrition it needs, so it peels off and becomes covered with cracks. Since the skin on the elbows and knees is initially drier than, for example, on the back, the lack of nutrition on the elbows and knees is more noticeable.
  • Another reason for the possible appearance of excessive dryness of the knees and elbows is vitamin deficiency, often seasonal. In spring, when the body is exhausted after a long winter, problems with dry skin on the elbows and knees appear more often than at other times of the year. Seasonal temperature fluctuations aggravate the problem, which provokes accelerated keratinization of the skin.

Very often bad habits lead to such problems. For example, the habit of sitting at a table with your elbows on the surface. If there is a sleeve of a thick, rough-knit sweater between your elbows and the table, you can be sure that very soon your elbows will be covered with ugly gray wrinkles.

Inappropriate or incorrect skin care leads to the same effect. The habit of often soaking in a hot bath for a long time dries out the skin. Chlorinated water in public swimming pools also has a negative effect on the skin. The condition of the skin also worsens in winter, if the indoor air is too dry, or in summer, under the hot southern sun.

Dry elbows and knees. What to do?

  • Most often, during the heating season, the indoor air is dry. Therefore, humidify the indoor air.
  • Drink enough water daily. It is recommended to drink at least 2 liters of clean water per day.
  • Don't forget to take vitamins during the winter and spring.
  • Too hot water and soap are the “enemy” of dry skin, which dry out the skin even more.
  • Lubricate dry skin of elbows and knees with natural oils and nourishing cream.
  • Don’t forget to apply the oil or cream at night.

Take care of your health, moisturize your skin with nourishing cream or oil. The skin on your elbows will become even, smooth and beautiful.

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