At this time of year, the skin on one’s limbs can start to resemble a plucked gressingham duck – pasty, pimply, dry and rough. On the one hand, hooray for winter with its opaque tights and long sleeves, but on the other, we suddenly have nothing better to do than sit in front of the telly eating poppadoms, so why not spend some time nursing skin back to health?
Those goose-pimply bits are called keratosis pilaris, an extremely common and harmless condition caused by a buildup of keratin in the hair follicles. If you’re prone, they’re unlikely to leave you completely, but can be drastically improved by regular exfoliation. Scrubs are fine, but my preferred method is using an exfoliating body lotion containing alpha or beta hydroxy acids. It just works better and is less likely to cause blotches.
Ameliorate, £27.50, is an excellent new one that has proven very effective on my upper arms (a goose-bump hotspot). It’s very expensive, but you need only apply it on specific areas while slapping on cheap moisturiser elsewhere, so should last you an age.
Bargainous and extremely effective is Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Anti-Aging Smoothing Lotion, £4.09. It has a needlessly elaborate name and quite a revolting smell, but it works so brilliantly I just apply it at bedtime when it doesn’t matter so much.
Less stinky, but dearer, is Priori Advanced AHA Hand & Body Revitalizing Lotion, £20, which contains an impressive 15% acid concentration and works a treat.
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