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What Are the Causes of Flakey Skin?

The body constantly renews the skin, making more skin cells as the top layer dies and sloughs off. It's normal to have a few flakes of skin on the scalp, face or other parts of the body. However, excessively flaky skin may be a sign of dehydration or an underlying medical problem.

  1. Dry conditions

    • Living in an arid environment can make it hard to stay hydrated and can lead to dry, flaky skin. This can occur in hot, arid climates such as deserts, but colder climates are often low in humidity, too, especially in the winter. Drinking plenty of water and using a home humidifier can help.

    Swimming or Excessive Bathing

    • Hot showers or baths or the chemicals in swimming pools strip the naturally occurring moisturizing oils from the skin. Showering more than once a day, or taking long, hot baths and using harsh soap can cause skin to dry out and become flaky. Athletes and others who spend a lot of time in chlorinated pools may also experience dry, flaky skin. To reduce the problem, shower no more than once a day with warm--not hot--water, and use mild cleansers. Swimmers should rinse chlorine from their hair and skin with warm water only or with a mild cleanser.

    Diabetes or hypothyroidism

    • People with diabetes tend to have poor circulation, causing skin to become dry, flaky or scaly. Diabetes can also change your blood vessels, causing a condition called "diabetic dermopathy" which causes brown patches of flaky skin, often on the legs. Having an under-active thyroid also can cause dry skin that can become rough or flaky.

    Eczema

    • Eczema is not one condition but rather a term that covers several skin conditions. Eczema is thought to be an issue of the immune system. An overactive immune system can make the body react strongly to allergens, leading to outbreaks of dry, itchy skin, which can also become scaly or flaky.

    Psoriasis

    • Psoriasis is an autoimmune condition, meaning that the body's immune system turns against its own tissue. Those with the condition experience a buildup of excessive skin tissue, which can cause scaly, flaky patches on any area of the body.

    Medication Side Effect

    • Flaky skin is a side effect of some medications. Perhaps the most common drugs to cause flaky skin are medications meant to control chronic acne, such as isotretinoin, often found under the brand name Accutane, or tretinoin, sold under the brand name Airol.

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