Question of the month Januari 2012: Dry legs

Dear Paula,

I have very dry legs, and have not found anything to make my legs not feel dry and tight. I am currently using a homemade recipe of coconut oil, olive oil, and a few drops of vitamin E oil, but it does not seem to absorb into my skin.I am concerned about what I use, because what goes on our skin is absorbed into our body. Can you recommend anything? I am 50, but have “crepey,” dry legs.

Robin, via email

Dear Robin,

Dry legs are a common issue for many women, so you’re not alone with this concern! Before I discuss causes and treatments for dry skin on the legs, I want to address your comment that “what goes on our skin is absorbed into our body.” That’s a common misconception that is not universally true. For an ingredient applied to skin to get through the skin’s layers and into the body itself, it must be below a certain molecular size. It also must be able to get past the skin’s natural defense systems (such as certain enzymes), which are designed to neutralize “foreign” substances before they can penetrate too far into the skin. Almost without exception, cosmetic ingredients do not enter the body itself, despite being able to penetrate several layers of skin and influence healthy production of substances (like collagen) in the skin’s lower layer.

What’s certain is that the oils you’re using aren’t going to get into the body because their molecular size is too large. Moreover, oils supply only one part of what dry skin needs to improve. It’s like eating a diet of fat instead of adding protein and carbohydrates to the mix. I recommend mixing one or more of those oils with a well-formulated body moisturizer that you apply right after showering, when your skin is your still damp. Paula’s Choice Beautiful Body Butter can work wonderfully, or you can consider CeraVe Moisturizing Cream, or a urea-based moisturizer such as Nutraplus Therapeutic Cream

.A suggestion: Before applying moisturizer to your legs, apply an AHA (alpha hydroxy acid) exfoliant. This will help remove the layers of dead, dry skin that prevent your moisturizer from working as well as it could.

One more comment: Be sure you are not cleansing your skin with a bar soap or bar cleanser. Even those labeled “moisturizing” can exacerbate dryness and leave a residue that keeps moisturizers and exfoliants from working efficiently. Instead, try a moisturizing body wash such as those from Olay, Dove, Aveeno, or Eucerin. If you’ve been using bar soaps, switching to a creamy body wash will make a HUGE difference!