I’m really bad and never put lotion or exfoliated my legs for the longest time. I know. I’m so embarrassed. I have ADHD and all kinds of mental illness so I just neglected my skin. How do I fix this? I’ve tried exfoliating it won’t go away. These dry cracked patches of skin are darker than the cracks. Help!
by Active_Ad3087
28 Comments
I think coconut oil will save you.
[deleted]
Exfoliating an already dried up scaled skin will just worsen your case .instead use oils and hydrating moisturiser on damp skin to heal it .use Shea butter
You don’t need snail mucin you need a derm ☠️
I have had this. It’s just severe dehydration + dry skin. Moisturise with many oils and occlusives, do not exfoliate (harshly)
This looks like a form of ichthyosis. It’s basically a layer of super dry skin. You should apply a good thick moisturizer soon after bathing when your skin is damp. Also try amlactin twice a week to help exfoliate
I find my skin gets suuuper dry on my legs when I use harsh soaps. I switched and started using summers Eve (a feminine wash but whatever) and now my legs are soft and pretty. The PH level of summers Eve is like 5.5 compared to normal soaps which was way higher. I personally didn’t even have to put lotion on, the switch alone helped.
Also make sure you’re getting enough healthy fats in your diet!
Something with urea would be super helpful
I had this once…. even i got blood ….
Not Asian beauty, but I advice my patients (not derm, community nurse) one of the following: cetomacrogol cream, urea cream (from brands like Eucerin) and coconot oil. Always use a wash cloth and exfolliate gently, avoid products with irritants like parfum and moisturize at least 2x a day, perfect for 3x a day. When you shower (not lava heat): exfolliate, dry off and moisturize immedialty before putting on clothes. Your skin is damp and that helps with hydration. Also stay out of the sun with your skin. Sometimes I see people recommend that, but it won’t do anything good. Aside from damage ofcourse.
For my patients who even had it worse or sometimes myself when I feel like it: I use one of the above thickly and use a plastic wrapper to make a mask for ca 30-60 minutes.
Also nothing to be ashamed off! As a follow ADHD’er my legs and arm did once look like that. I see many people with this issue as well. It happends and our bodies (or minds) suck sometimes. Remember this is something that won’t be solved in a very short notice, but give it time. It can be better after a couple of days already. Be kind to yourself and don’t beat yourself up when you miss a moment.
#
Please contact your dermatologist, I don’t think an over the counter skincare can properly take care of it, may even make it worse.
Anything with shea butter is super moisturizing for dry skin, I have seborrheic dermatitis so sometimes I get dry scaly patches and it works really quickly!
Its a mild form of ichthyosis, probably ichthyosis vulgaris. its a genetic condition so it won’t “go away” but you can improve the appearance and feeling of the skin with hydration. Try amlactin and eucerin adv repair lotion after you get out of the shower. If you need stronger stuff see a dermatologist
I have this and using a heavy cream with high lipid percentage helps me get rid of it. The one I’m using right now is the Locobase protect cream with 70% lipids (not AB) but I’m sure you can find others that work just as well. In general, I think non-AB, pharmacy stuff works best for very dry skin. Good luck :))
Oh goodness. This is precisely what my skin looked like when I was younger, and I struggled with dry skin and eczema. This won’t be an AB recommendations, but it works. And my dermatologist recommended this to me.
If you haven’t already, make sure you use a body wash/soap that is for sensitive skin. I like Vanicream bar soap.
Then, buy a jug of Cerave moisturizing cream and slap it on as soon as you get out of the shower. Don’t even dry off, and try not to wait more than 10 seconds. If needed, you can seal it with some cerave healing ointment, but it is greasy and thick but helps so much.
No physician exfoliation – your skin will be so raw and red. Avoid hot showers and use lukewarm water.
I hope this helps. I moisturized daily with Cerave immediately after showering for the past ten years, and I’ve been good since.
Petroleum jelly for a few days you’ll be ok
Urea lotion may help, too..
Well the answer is definitely to moisturize them, but if you say you struggle to do that, I would try using an in-shower lotion like Nivea that you apply and then rinse off. Honestly, it won’t be moisturizing enough on its own, but it has to be better than nothing. Do you drink water often, OP?
My mom had this when she had hypothyroidism. She consulted an endocrinologist for some other hypothyroid related issue, and found about it.
Urea cream from either eucerin, avene or eubos would help you. My father had it to when he neglected putting on moisturiser, dubbing it as “girly”. Now he puts it on immediately after showering
This looks like a condition, ichthyosis or eczema not normal dryness..probably should go to a derm.
I would recommend seeing an endocrinologist.
Hi, pitching in as someone in the medical field. Like everyone else is saying, this does look like ichthyosis vulgaris. I want to point out, if you’ve had this your whole life ever since you were a kid and this is your normal skin, that’s fine.
Alternatively, if you’re well into adulthood and this is a new thing that you’ve gotten in the past year, I would point it out to a dermatologist and say it is a new development. If it’s new, it isn’t considered ichthyosis vulgaris, it would be categorized instead as “aquired ichthyosis” and can be a red flag that there is some kind of underlying inflammatory disorder occuring that isn’t readily obvious yet. It’s a pretty rare thing, so most likely it’s completely fine, but it’s something to double check with a dermatologist.
> How do I fix this?
A trip to a dermatologist.
this is called ichthyosis. i had this for years ever since i was a child until about 2 years ago, when i started using this [lotion](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073WJZLHS?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share) from amazon. it has changed my life, i have always also had dry skin, now my skin is soft for 24hours without having to re-lotion. please try it out, it fixed my ichthyosis in like 2 days.
I don’t use AB products on my body but sometimes my skin looks like this. The most important part of my routine is to make sure my skin doesn’t dry completely without any lotion after a shower. That’s would guarantee a dry, itchy, scaly result. I use an in shower exfoliating scrub from a nice lady on [Etsy](https://www.etsy.com/market/mad_city_sue) and Natural body lotion, if that’s helpful. With my ADHD, it helps if the products are scented because scent ties to memory. So when I step out of the shower, my brain remembers it’s supposed to be smelling something.
This is beyond AB imo. Bioderma gel cream will help hydrate instead of just softening like with an oil or lotion. I’ve never found a product similar to it. Use it on wet skin and then top with an emollient. Only thing helping my accutane dryness.
As someone with eczema, I highly recommend using aveeno (during the day) and at night “slug” aquaphor on it to create a moisturizing barrier. As a combo, you will notice the difference asap! But overtime aquaphor use might just be maintenance/ used when you’re experiencing an extra dry skin day.