Cracked skin: why it peels and what to do to repair it

Chapped skin is not a skin type. It is a stage: the stratum corneum has cracked, loses water much faster than it can retain it, and the surface lifts into fine scales or splits into microfissures.

That is why the first step is not to add a richer cream, but to remove whatever is continuing to damage the barrier. As long as the cause remains in the routine, any repairing product is working against the current.

Article written by Elisa Avalle, founder of LeLang Skin Care and dermocosmetics specialist. Cover image generated with the support of artificial intelligence.

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Chapped, dry, or dehydrated: they are not the same thing

These are three words that are used as synonyms, but they are not, and confusing the categories means choosing the wrong product.

Dry skin produces little sebum: it is a constitutional characteristic, tends to be dull and thin, and lacks the oily component. Dehydrated skin has little water in the stratum corneum, and this can happen to anyone, even people with oily skin. The difference between the two is explained in full in dry or dehydrated skin.

Chapped skin is the point at which one of the two, or both together, has crossed a threshold. It is no longer just a matter of comfort: the surface has lost its continuity. You can see it with the naked eye, feel its roughness to the touch, and products that previously caused no discomfort begin to sting.

That tingling is the most useful diagnostic signal there is. It means that substances that normally remain on the surface are reaching places they should not, because the skin barrier no longer acts as a filter.

What exactly has broken down

The stratum corneum works like a wall: corneocytes are the bricks, and between one brick and the next there is a mortar made of ceramides, cholesterol, and free fatty acids. That mortar is what prevents water from evaporating.

When the lipid component becomes depleted, transepidermal water loss increases. The skin contracts, and at a certain point the surface mechanically gives way: scales and fissures form. From that moment, a self-perpetuating cycle begins, because a cracked barrier loses even more water and becomes inflamed more easily.

pH also matters. Healthy skin has a slightly acidic surface, between 4.7 and 5.7, and the enzymes that produce barrier lipids work properly only at that pH. A cleanser that is too alkaline raises it for hours, and during all those hours repair is slowed down. The mechanism is described in the article on skin pH.

The causes found most often

In practice, one or more of these factors are almost always behind chapped skin.

• Cleansing that is too harsh or too frequent. It is the number one cause. Strong foaming cleansers, very hot water, and double cleansing even when it is not needed.
• Over-exfoliation. Acids, scrubs, and retinoids combined or used too often. None of the three is inherently wrong: the problem is using them together.
• Temperature fluctuations and dry air. Heating, air conditioning, cold wind. Low relative humidity accelerates evaporation from the surface.
• Poorly managed seasonal change. Continuing with July's lightweight routine in October is one of the most common seasonal change mistakes.
• The result of intense sun exposure. After summer, the stratum corneum is thicker but more disorganized, and retains moisture less effectively.

If, on the other hand, the cracking is always localized in the same spot, around the sides of the nose or on the eyebrows, and is accompanied by redness and yellowish scales, the picture may be different: see dry skin around the nose and facial seborrheic dermatitis.

Cracks that keep coming back, intense itching, fissures that bleed, or symptoms that do not improve after two weeks of a proper routine are not a cosmetic issue. Atopic dermatitis, eczema, and psoriasis are dermatological conditions and should be assessed by a doctor: a cosmetic product can improve the skin's comfort and appearance, but cannot treat them.

The first seventy-two hours: what to remove

With chapped skin, simplify the routine before enriching it. For at least three days, and generally for two weeks:

1. Stop using all exfoliants, both chemical and physical, including retinoids.
2. Replace the cleanser with a formula without harsh surfactants, and reduce cleansing to once a day, in the evening. In the morning, lukewarm water is enough.
3. Eliminate stinging actives, including high-concentration vitamin C, until the skin can tolerate them again.
4. Lower the water temperature. Use lukewarm water, never hot: heat dissolves the lipid residues that remain.

It may not seem like much, but removing these four elements is what breaks the cycle. Adding a rich cream without removing them is like topping up a leaky bucket.

“Chapped skin does not ask for more products. It asks someone to stop taking away what it has.”

What to put back, and in what order

Repair requires three categories of ingredients, and all three are needed. Using only one is why so many creams seem not to be enough.

Humectants. They attract and retain water: glycerin, hyaluronic acid, urea at low concentrations. On their own, however, they are not enough: in a very dry environment, a humectant without an occlusive layer on top can actually worsen water loss.

Emollients. They fill the spaces between corneocytes and restore softness: vegetable oils, esters, shea butter. They are the ones that eliminate the rough feeling from the very first application.

Occlusives and barrier lipids. They slow evaporation and replenish the mortar: ceramides, cholesterol, fatty acids. They are the slowest to produce a visible result and the most important in the medium term.

The order of application matters: go from the lightest texture to the richest, and apply to skin that is still slightly damp, within one minute of cleansing. It is the most underestimated step of all: the same cream retains significantly more moisture on damp skin than on dry skin.

Hands, lips, and body: the areas that give way first

The backs of the hands have very few sebaceous glands and are washed dozens of times a day: they are the first area to chap and the last to heal, because they are constantly being stressed. Cream should be reapplied after every wash, not just once in the evening.

The lips have neither a complete stratum corneum nor their own sebaceous glands, so they lose water much faster than the rest of the face. The most damaging habit is moistening them with saliva, which, as it evaporates, removes more water and leaves digestive enzymes on the surface.

On the body, the critical areas are the legs, elbows, and hips. Here, the shower temperature and duration matter: more than the hot water itself, the problem is the length of exposure. And body cream should be applied to freshly patted-dry skin, not half an hour later.

How to prevent it from returning

Repair generally takes two or three weeks, because that is how long it takes barrier lipid synthesis to catch up. Prevention, on the other hand, requires a seasonal change in habits.

Switching to richer textures should happen before the problem appears, not afterward: when the outdoor temperature starts to drop steadily and the heating comes on. If you wait until you see flakes, you already have two weeks of repair ahead of you. This is the reasoning explained in preparing your skin for winter.

Exfoliants should be reintroduced last, one at a time, and at half the previous frequency. Don't return to your previous routine all at once: rebuild it.