Why is the skin on my feet very dry?

A woman should be well-groomed from head to toe. Many people make a big mistake by focusing only on their facial skin. Meanwhile, beautiful, smooth and tanned skin on such a part of the body as the legs makes its owner an object of universal admiration. Often, due to an insufficient level of moisture, including lack of care, the skin becomes dry and often flakes. Regular hair removal procedures worsen the situation. Lack of moisture reduces the elasticity of the skin and makes it defenseless against the negative effects of environmental factors.

Causes of dry skin on feet.
If dry skin appears on the legs, one should talk about either an insufficient level of lipids or moisture in the stratum corneum, or a slow process of replacing old epithelial cells with new ones. Against this background, the protective functions of the skin are disrupted, resulting in dryness. The causes of dry feet can be different. These include:

1. Clothes made from non-natural fabrics. Synthetic clothing (tights, leggings) often become a source of skin irritation, which manifests itself, among other things, in the form of dryness and flaking.
2. Cosmetics. Incorrectly selected cosmetics or those that are not suitable for a particular person dry out the skin. When choosing skin care products for the body (including legs), be sure to pay attention to the composition; they must include natural oils or ceramides.
3. Insufficient care or lack thereof. Not many women care for the skin of their legs as carefully as they do their facial skin. Meanwhile, this part of the body requires the same careful care. Be sure to use a body (foot) scrub once a week to remove dead skin particles and prevent flaking.
4. Presence of diseases. Very often, dry skin is one of the symptomatic manifestations of a disease. This could be psoriasis, eczema, diabetes. In addition, dryness may be a consequence of a lack of vitamins in the body and the presence of fungal infections.
5. Age. Dry skin is a consequence of age-related changes. Over the years (after forty years), the skin becomes drier, which requires more careful and regular care. It is also important to drink clean water (mostly women replace the daily fluid intake with juice, tea and coffee, forgetting about plain water, which is fundamentally wrong), include more fruits and vegetables, fish in the diet, and take vitamin complexes. During this period, it is also important to abandon hygiene products containing alkali (as is known, it dries the skin very much).
6. Impaired blood circulation. Dry skin is also a symptom of problems in the cardiovascular system, namely in pumping blood through the blood vessels. At the same time, the sweat and sebaceous glands do not cope with their function, as a result, the skin loses its natural lubrication, becoming dry. In this case, it is recommended to carry out hardening activities, do exercises, play sports, in general, strengthen and train blood vessels. If your professional activity involves staying in one position for a long time (working at a computer) or standing on your feet for a long time (teachers, hairdressers, etc.), you need to periodically take breaks (walk, stand up) so as not to disturb blood flow.

Proper hydration of the skin on the legs.
It is necessary to apply any cosmetics to the skin of the feet (and not only) when the pores are open. This can be achieved by taking a bath, shower, or foot bath (if you have dry heel skin). If you apply the cream without such a preliminary “steaming” procedure, the skin will not be able to absorb to the maximum all the nutritional components included in its composition. Never use soap; it dries out the skin and removes its protective natural oils. When taking a shower, avoid perfumed gels, just expose your body to a good stream of warm water. This water massage is an excellent way to improve vascular tone. After the procedure, apply a fat-based cosmetic or natural oil (linseed, olive, almond) to still damp skin, wait a couple of minutes to absorb, then remove excess with a paper napkin.

To prevent dry skin on your heels and cracking, it is important to regularly remove the stratum corneum using a pumice stone. Just be sure to do this on dry heels, and never steam them, otherwise you can only worsen the situation. After the procedure, you should definitely moisturize the skin of your heels, for which it is ideal to use a special cream containing urea, as well as make masks. It's good to make homemade masks.

Combating dry skin on your feet.
To properly and sufficiently provide the skin with moisture and nutrients, it is important to choose a set of procedures for caring for very dry skin of the feet. For this purpose, it is not at all necessary to spend fabulous sums; you can make do with available funds (only when choosing, be sure to look at the composition). Systematic care will restore lost smoothness and elasticity to the skin.

If dry skin is a constant phenomenon, then first of all you need to pay attention to your diet, enriching it with seafood, vegetable oils, cereals, fruits and vegetables, vitamins A (for smoothness and elasticity), E (eliminates itching). In autumn and closer to spring, courses of taking multivitamin complexes (monthly) are recommended. Drinking regime is also important (at least a liter per day).

If the cause of dryness is a disease (which one will be determined by the doctor), it is necessary to eliminate it. In this case, it is useless to eliminate dry skin, since it is just a symptom and not the disease itself.

Preference should be given only to clothing made from natural materials.

Additional home treatments to eliminate dry skin on your feet.

Paraffin therapy for feet.
The paraffin therapy procedure can be carried out in a beauty salon, but it is quite acceptable to do it at home. To do this, you need to buy cosmetic wax, melt it and apply a thin layer to your feet. After hardening, apply a couple more layers. Wrap the top with plastic wrap and a thick towel for extra warming. After thirty minutes, remove the wax film and remove the rough skin with a pumice stone. The procedure helps to further soften and moisturize the skin.

Foot baths.
Foot baths based on chamomile and hops, sage and oak bark, bran and oats (in the same ratio, two tablespoons per liter of boiling water, leave for twenty to thirty minutes) are useful. Such baths should be done regularly twice a week for fifteen minutes, after which a cream with a moisturizing or nourishing effect should be applied to the skin.

How to get rid of dry shins?
Dry skin in this area is the result of improper depilation. In this case, after shaving, you need to use special products or vegetable oil. The problem will quickly disappear.

Foot masks.
The simplest and most accessible is to rub vitamin A and E or coconut oil, cream (sour cream) into the skin of your legs (feet). It's better to do this at night. Remove excess with a paper napkin.

You can add a few drops of essential oil to your regular foot cream (it is ideal to use patchouli, sandalwood or tea tree oil for your feet).

If the skin of the feet is too dry, such procedures should be done daily; after its condition improves, it can be done twice a week as a preventative measure.

Or here is a recipe for a mask for dry feet: cut apples into slices, boil them in milk until mushy. Apply the mixture while warm to the skin of your feet, wrap it in gauze and leave for half an hour. Next, you don’t need to wash off the mask, but simply wipe it with a cotton cloth after removing the slurry. After the procedure, put on socks.

The mask prevents heels from cracking.
To soften the skin of your feet, the following mask is suitable: grind a teaspoon of butter with a raw egg yolk, add two teaspoons of raw potato pulp (grated on a fine grater) and four teaspoons of baby cream. Apply the mixture to your feet, wrap them in food grade polyethylene and put on warm socks. After twenty minutes, wash everything off. The procedure perfectly softens the skin of the heels. Carry out twice a week.

Prevention of dry skin on the legs.

1. Use a humidifier in your apartment, office, or room where you work.
2. Do not use soap.
3. Regularly cleanse and moisturize the skin of your legs and feet.
4. Change your diet, enriching it with vitamins and beneficial microelements.

By following these simple rules, you will maintain or restore your legs to their former attractiveness.

Skin problems manifest themselves with various symptoms: the skin of the legs becomes dry, there is irritation, peeling, tightness and roughness. Dry epidermis is more susceptible to the harmful effects of natural and household factors, as a result of which inflammatory processes develop. The objective sensations of those with dry skin are far from pleasant, which significantly reduces the quality of life and causes psychological discomfort. The problem cannot be ignored, since a cosmetic defect can indicate serious illness.

Main external reasons