SHOP ALL SKIN CARE

Treatment for Crepey Skin on Legs, Arms and Body

treatment for crepey skin on legs arms and body

Treatment for crepey skin on your legs, arms and body becomes urgently important the moment you see 'the crepe' on your own skin! The good news is that using the best body lotion and routine to reverse crepey skin can really work wonders. 

Dermatologist's tips for crepey skin on the arms, legs, hands and chest.

Why do you get crepey skin on the body?

The two main causes of crepey skin are,

  1. excessive skin dryness,
  2. thinning of the skin’s two living layers due to sun damage and age.

Crepey skin happens to both men and women but is more common in women. Women often start to see crepey skin on their arms and legs in their 30s and it worsens as they approach perimenopause and menopause. With age, your skin becomes more at risk for thinning, dryness and crepey skin texture that shows easily by gravitational wrinkling.

best lotion for crepey skin on arms and legs with this

I fix crepey skin on the body with my Ultra-Fast Triple Action Body Smoothing Kit. I have people use it at least twice a week alternating with another rich moisturizer (such as my Natural Body Lotion) applied after all of the other times that they take a bath or shower. 

Crepey skin - be gone! It WORKS! As I rounded into my late 30's I noticed that my body skin was suddenly getting crepey. Parts of my body skin were getting drier and drier, and one day, under my arms, there was suddenly a saggy accumulation of skin. The crepe. No bueno.

(I started using Dr. Bailey's Kit) and the crepe was gone! Glycolic Acid 15% body lotion applies PERFECTLY! The Triple action exfoliating cleanser doubles as my facial cleaner of choice. I heartily recommend this product for anyone over the age of 35. Shoot, I wish I had known about this in my early 30's because I'd have the skin of a babe if I had been using it preventatively. But as it is, I'll count my blessing and keep using this product religiously, because IT WORKS! - Lori

What does crepey skin mean?

what is crepey skin

The term 'crepey skin' refers to skin texture that is thin, wrinkled, crinkled, dull and even flakey. Patients often demonstrate their crepey skin to me by squeezing the skin to enhance the wrinkling and crinkling of their skin texture. 

What is the best treatment for crepey skin on the arms, hands, legs and chest?

There is a fast fix and a longer more sustained fix for crepey skin and I recommend both for best results:

  1. Use products that help to build and renew skin collagen production to improve skin thickness.
  2. Combine these with ingredients for skin hydration and stimulation of deeper skin hydration by inducing skin hyaluronic acid production to really plump up skin.

For non-facial skin, glycolic acid is the best skin care ingredient to fight crepey skin. That's because, thick body skin does not absorb ingredients such as retinoids and antioxidants as well as thinner facial skin does. Glycolic acid, however, is well proven to improve body skin texture.

In my dermatology practice, I combine glycolic acid with physical exfoliation and deeply hydrating moisturizers to fight crepey skin on the arms, legs and body.

Why is glycolic acid the best ingredient to fight crepey arm, leg and body skin?

  • Glycolic acid helps to stimulate skin collagen renewal.
  • Glycolic acid also stimulates the skin's production of hyaluronic acid within the deeper layers to plump crepey skin from the inside out.
  • Glycolic acid also brightens and polishes skin texture to create a youthful and dewy luster to reverse a dull and crinkled skin appearance.

how to fix crepey skin

Know that you need a strong professional glycolic acid product formulated to an acid pH - like mine is!

I've used glycolic acid lotions in my practice since they first became available in the mid-1990s. I've also used them on my own skin since that time and nothing else compares. - Dr. Bailey

I'm a testament to the effectiveness of glycolic acid for body skin care. At 63, my fair and genetically thin skin wants to be crepey and I'm not having it! Nope, I depend on glycolic acid to fend off 'the crepe'.

Yes, this is my skin at 63 and I work hard to keep the crepe from creeping over my chest, arms and legs. Nope, just not having it!! 

Additional tips to fight crepey skin from a pro:

  1. Moisturize your skin after every time you bathe to help lock in skin moisture to plump crepey skin.
  2. Don't forget that you must use good sun protection for crepey skin since UV rays cause most of the structural skin changes that lead to crepey skin such as skin thinning.
  3. On your chest and hands, the skin is thin enough to absorb additional ingredients such as Retinol, antioxidants and topical hyaluronic acid.  I apply these products to my chest and hands when I apply them to my face. 

Best products for crepey skin

crepey skin on legs treatment

Remember, you always get the best results to treat crepey skin with Complete Skin Care to create a routine that works synergistically. Dr. Bailey's Complete Skin Care includes the 4 essential skin care steps of,

  1. Cleanse
  2. Correct
  3. Hydrate
  4. Protect.

Build your complete skin care routine to target creping anywhere on your arms, legs, hands, neck and trunk using this 4-step process.

Dermatologist's 4 Step Treatment for Crepey Skin

best product for crepey skin
how to get rid of crepey skin

CLEANSE using only non-drying soaps and skin cleansers. Exfoliate when you cleanse to begin the CORRECT step. Use an exfoliating shower cloth such as the Salux Cloth, or a shower mitt or sponge and an exfoliating cleanser such as my Triple Action Exfoliating Cleanser in the Kit. The Triple Action Cleanser starts the correcting process for crepey skin by brightening and exfoliating.

how to get rid of crepey skin naturally

CORRECT the appearance of crepey skin using glycolic acid, which will restructure the outer dead skin to give it more luster. Strong glycolic acid also will help to promote more natural skin production of hyaluronic acid in the dermis (the second living layer of your skin) to plump crepey skin.

Pro-tips to treat crepey arm, leg and body skin:

  • Use my Glycolic Acid Body Lotion at least twice a week.
  • Apply it within the magic 3 minutes after toweling skin dry following your bath or shower.
  • Adding the physical exfoliation in the shower with the Salux Cloth makes the Glycolic Acid Lotion work faster by instantly removing dry scale that makes crepey skin look worse.

best lotion for crepey skin on arms and legs with this

Get everything you need in my Ultra-Fast Body Smoothing Triple Action Kit. I made this kit to take the guesswork out of fixing body skin problems like crepey skin.  

Pro-tip for crepey neck, chest and hand skin:

On these areas, you can add your face care products because the skin here is thin enough to obtain some benefit. I discussed this in my article on Crepey Skin of the Face. The Instantly Luminous Multi-Action Serum and Green Tea Antioxidant Skin Therapy contain glycerin, hyaluronic acid and the Luminous Serum contains sodium PCA to deeply hydrate and plump crepey skin. I use these products on my own neck and chest. I also use a retinoid product like my Retinol Night Cream  at night when I apply it to my face. You can top Retinol with my Glycolic Acid Lotion. 

best body lotion for crepey skin
best body lotion for crepey skin

HYDRATE with the Glycolic Acid Body Lotion at least twice a week. All other days that you shower or bathe, apply a deeply hydrating moisturizer that does NOT contain water as a first ingredient! I recommend my hypoallergenic Natural Lotion made with organic botanical oils rich in vitamins, antioxidants and hydrating natural ingredients. Alternate these with the Glycolic Acid Body Lotion. 

how to fix crepey skin on arms and legs

PROTECT creping skin from the sun to prevent further skin thinning, and to help your skin reverse what has occurred. Don’t underestimate the importance of sun protection as a cause of your skin creping, because we know that most skin thinning happens due to sun damage -- not the aging of your skin.

fix crepey skin

Use UPF 50 clothing or an invisible and non-greasy mineral sunscreen every day such as my Sheer Strength Pure Physical Liquid SPF 50. Wear it 365 days a year on exposed body skin to fight collagen loss that leads to crepey skin! 

The bottom line for crepey skin on the arms, legs and body:

There's hope and a strong glycolic acid body lotion is the most effective product to fix crepey skin. It may sound like the routine I just described is a lot but it becomes easy as you develop a routine. This is patient-proven, dermatologist-approved skin care to fix crepey skin on the arms, legs and body. 

best lotion for crepey skin on arms and legs with this
Click here
to see my body skin care routine to fight crepey skin.