No one wants to spend time fretting over dry, itchy elbows. Yet, that sandpaper feel, the unsightly scaly patches of skin and those snags along the sleeves of some of your favorite shirts and sweaters leave you doing just that. Face it, the problem is probably not going to go away on its own. Fortunately, you can solve your elbow woes by following a few simple skin care steps.
The skin's moisture supply is naturally compromised by age, weather, hormones, and in some cases, heredity. If your grandfather or mother had severely dry skin such as flaky psoriasis or stubborn redness and itchiness caused by dermatitis, chances are high that you're next in line [source: Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists]. But even if there is no family history of excessive dryness of the skin, tougher skin areas such as elbows are par for the parched-skin course.
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Elbows can sometimes be the first place dryness appears. And they can be a repeat source of frustration, if you're predisposed to flaky skin. Elbows, like heels, can dry out faster than any other part of your body due to how we use them and their location on our bodies.
Your body can't always work fast enough to slough off dry skin that collects on your elbows. It needs some help -- meaning you need to put a little, well, elbow grease into your elbows. But what exactly do you need to do? That's easy - exfoliate and moisturize. To do this, you don't necessarily have to leave your home - remedies might be as close as your kitchen. But a trip to the local pharmacy might be in order, too, depending on the severity of your situation [source: Mayo Clinic].
Keep reading and get ready to attend to these hard-to-tackle spots with tips and household tricks that can repair and turn around your toughest skin challenge.
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