Exfoliation is the removal of dead skin cells from the surface of the skin to make way for new cells. Although the body naturally sheds these cells, sometimes it needs some extra help. This is where physical or chemical exfoliation comes in.Exfoliating products and treatments can help your skin go from dull, congested and rough to bright, clear and rejuvenated.
Your skin goes through a natural renewal cycle every month. The upper skin cells die and fall off. The new middle layer replaced it. Exfoliation is important for removing dead skin; however, our legs are often overlooked.
What Causes Excessive Dead Skin?
The skin is our largest organ, and the sebaceous glands release natural oils to moisturize our skin and prevent it from drying out. Our skin also follows a renewal process that sheds dead skin cells in the top layer (epidermis) and replaces them with skin cells in the middle layer (dermis). This is also a process of metabolism.
Skin cells, also called keratinocytes in medicine, are composed of a protein called keratin. During their life cycle, they move from the dermis to the epidermis and then to the outer layer of the skin.
The outer layer of the skin is called the stratum corneum, which is where skin cells die and fall off the body through a process called desquamation. Approximately 40,000 dead skin cells fall off the surface of the skin every hour. That is a lot of skin cells! This process repeats approximately every 30 days.
It is important to exfoliate at least once a month to remove any remaining dead skin that has not fallen off naturally. The accumulation of dead skin is a sign of not exfoliating properly or not exfoliating at all.
How Do I Get Rid of Dead Skin On My Legs?
Some of the best methods for removing dead skin on legs are as follows:
Foot scrub
Oatmeal scrub
Sugar scrub — create a gentle sugar scrub for your skin with 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 3 tablespoons of coconut oil or olive oil.
Pumice stone
Vinegar — use 1 part warm water to 2 parts vinegar
Paraffin wax treatment
Epsom salt bath
Now I want to share with you my own experience with finding patches of dead skin on my legs and how to remove dead skin.
When I realized I had all this dead skin on my legs a few years ago, I thought I should get a really abrasive scrub or maybe a face brush to buff that stuff off, but it’s actually the wrong thing to do.
I was really surprised at the dry, flaky, dehydrated bits hanging off my legs. So I thought I’d commit to doing the research to correct the issue. I wanted to make the skin looking smoother, conditioned, hydrated, and moisturized so that my legs look flawless and great all day.
When I don’t drink enough water, I notice that my skin starts to feel tight. When I’m in an air-conditioned environment, it’s going to also feel tight and start flaking. The dead cells on the surface of the skin become loose and then fall off. So what does one do when they are, you know, met or faced with this annoying skin situation?
One thing you don’t want to do is take a super abrasive scrub and start rubbing or scrubbing at your skin. This is actually going to exacerbate your skin problems.
You’re just going to start lifting up more dry patches of skin, and after you’ve washed off, you’re going to find that your skin is super red. So not only are you going to have texture to deal with, but you’re going to have to conceal and color correct the red bits of skin, especially if you need to apply makeup straight away.
First, shower or bathe as you normally do to remove all dirt, grime, sweat, and other nasty things. Use a good cleanser to spot treat the troubled areas, even if it is a face cleanser. You can use the same for your legs. See our posts reviewing our favorite cleansers and also our post on our favorite Image brand cleansers for removing dead skin cells.
I highly recommend you invest in a few really good face cloths or washcloths. I use my washcloth to scrub and polish my face with good results, so I started doing the same for my legs. It’s my dermatologist who got me onto using a washcloth many years ago.
What you want to do is take a bowl of warm water or hot water, dip your washcloth into it, and then just massage your legs with the washcloth in circular motions. Buff it all over to dislodge and remove those dry, flaky bits of skin.
I love this method and swear by it because it removes those really dry and loose patches of skin so quickly and so effectively. It doesn’t disturb the other bits of skin that are just semi-dry, and not sure what it’s doing. It just smooths out the skin and polishes it without causing more problems. It also doesn’t leave your skin super red.
Once you’re done buffing your skin, use essential oil to spot treat the parts of your legs that have the most build-up of dead skin. You can also apply the oil all over your legs. I use coconut oil, almond oil, or sometimes a blend. They are very light and quick absorbing.
I only apply a few drops to the problem areas, and I pat it in. Sometimes I’ll do a light swipe. I might also roll my hands over the skin.
I’m not going to rub or tug at my skin, and the reason for that is I don’t want to cause any redness. When my skin is discolored or red, I tend to use more and more products to fix the redness. This can cause more issues, more texture, and discoloration issues, so just be gentle, even with your leg skin.
Another alternative if you have super dry skin is to soak the washcloth in oil instead of warm water or hot water. Olive oil works great for soaking in and removing dead skin.
This will help your washcloth move easily over your skin, and the oil is also going to help condition your skin while you’re scrubbing and polishing. Olive oil is a very slippy product, so your washcloth is just going to glide over your skin.
It’s going to remove all those dead pieces of skin on your legs and reveal smooth skin that isn’t irritated, red, or raised. I do the same with crusty, old pimples — the pimples at the end of their life. I take a little bit of oil on my cloth, and I just polish around the dry blemish, and it removes it soon after.
After you’ve used the essential oil, follow up with a good-quality moisturizer. This is especially important for anyone with sensitive skin as sensitive skin can become irritated easily if it is not moisturized. See our post on our recommended moisturizers for every skin type or our favorite Mario Badescu moisturizers to find the right moisturizer for your skin.