Forgotten Areas – Tips on Exfoliating Your Knees and Elbows.

Knees and elbows can possibly be forgotten areas. A few months ago I asked my mom “if you had a chance to turn back the clock, what would you have paid more attention to with regards to your skincare regimen”. And surprising enough she answered, “I wish I took care of my elbows and knees better”. She spent all her efforts on trying to keep her youth in her face and chest area – she did a pretty good job of it too. But looking back, she really wished that she prevented her elbows and knees from the elephant-like, dry and patchy skin she has now.

Dry, dark patches on elbows and knees can be caused by heavy use, leaning on elbows, kneeling all the time, and neglect. You can prevent dry and dark patches by exfoliating and moisturizing your knees and elbows 2 times a week. By doing so you smooth away roughness and dramatically improve skin texture.

Note: You may already be exfoliating your body on a regular basis and know you have to pay more attention to your knees and elbows. (I definitely fall into this category!)

Why Exfoliate?
Exfoliation is an essential step in skin care. When you exfoliate, you’re sloughing off dead skin and exposing the fresher, brighter, younger cells beneath, as well as helping in its natural renewal process. It accelerates the skin renewal process.

Why Moisturize?
Moisturizer helps to form a fine, protective layer that enables the skin to retain the moisture it requires. There can be many damaging side effects of lack of moisture or a dehydrated skin such as; premature wrinkles, fine lines, increased sensitivity, also many skin conditions develop overtime as a result of chronically dehydrated skin.

Basic Tips on Knee and Elbow Care Technique:

• Exfoliate your knees and elbows at least 2 time week, with a loofah and/or scrub. Use a washcloth for mild exfoliation.
• Exfoliate while skin is wet with gentle circular motions.
  Choose exfoliating cleansers that contain ingredients such as apricot micro-particles, cane sugar, ground almonds, pumice, glycolic acid and sea salt.
• Make your own exfoliating cleanser, if you don’t have one on hand (see the home remedies below)
• If your skin is very sensitive, use as little friction as possible and stick to the least abrasive products.
• The milder and more gentle your exfoliating product, the more frequently you can use it.
• Be careful not to over exfoliate, you can run the risk of bursting delicate blood vessels under the skin.
• Never exfoliate your skin if it is sunburned or has open wounds. If you have chronic dry cracked skin on elbows and knees, please see you doctor.
• Apply moisturizing lotion after you exfoliate. Look for moisturizers that have alpha hydroxy – they will continue the exfoliating process because the acids further exfoliate and remove dead skin cells.
• Choose moisturizers that contain ingredients such as alpha hydroxy, sweet almond oil, urea, shea butter, and jojoba oil.
• The best time to moisturize is right after a bathing while the skin is damp, usually within 3 minutes of bathing.

Recommended Product for Elbow and Knee Care:
A great product to use specifically for your elbows and knees is Whish Body Products Almond Three Whishes Sugar Scrub  which deeply nourishes and leaves your skin feeling renewed.

If you don’t have a body exfoliator or products at home, you can most likely whip up a homemade product in your kitchen today.

Homemade Remedies for Your Knees and Elbows:

• Brown Sugar Scrub (for normal skin):
  3 tablespoon brown sugar
  1-1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• Mix ingredients in a bowl. Massage the scrub into elbows and knees. Wash off and moisturize.

• Lemon Salt Scrub (for normal skin):
  1 fresh lemon
  3 tablespoon sea salt
  ½ teaspoon olive oil
• Squeeze the juice out of four quarter wedges of a lemon and add sea salt. Scrub into your elbows and knees gently, trying to slough away the dead skin. Then massage each of lemon wedges onto elbows or knees (one each for elbow and knee). Wash off and moisturize.
• Lemon Soft Scrub (for sensitive skin):
  1 fresh lemon
  1 teaspoon baking soda
• Mix fresh lemon juice and baking soda to make a thick paste, apply to dry elbows. Gently rub in to exfoliate the knees and elbows for 5 minutes. Wash off and apply a moisturizer.

Beauty Alert: It is not recommended to use any body exfoliator on your face, as it is usually too abrasive.

We would love to hear your thoughts on the topic of this blog!  Feel free to post your comments or questions below.  As always, just for being a follower of our blog, enter coupon code BLOG10 for 10% off your next purchase! Also, remember to follow us @spaboutique on Twitter, like our Facebook  page, and check out our boards on Pinterest! You could be the lucky winner of one of our many contests!

Tags: B. Kamins, beauty skin tips, dry skin, dry skin tips, exfoliation, glowing skin tips, whish

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.