As soon as the mercury starts to creep up, we all start stripping off. But after spending the winter under wraps, are your elbows ready to face up to summer?
Here are three keys to soft, smooth elbows:
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Exfoliate. There's absolutely no excuse for missing out on this essential, but simple, beauty routine. So, in your morning shower, simply rub the rough and flaking skin with an exfoliating sponge, (either a natural fibre loofah or a massage glove). When your skin is wet, trace circles around the offending area, both with your arm straight out and with it bent at right angles. If the skin is particularly rough, you can use a pumice stone. Remember, though, gentle exfoliation is good as it removes dead skin, but if you get too rough about it, you just may produce the opposite effect.
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Moisturise. After exfoliation, you need to put moisture back into the skin. So, after showering, apply a good quality moisturiser. Hand creams – usually more oily than body lotions – are an excellent option for softening elbows. Once a day is good, but twice – or three or four times – is even better.
- The answer's a lemon. Finally, a traditional treatment that you can do a couple of times a week: cut a lemon in half and rub the cut surface on each elbow – or sit for a while with your elbows pushed into the half 'shells'. The citric acid acts as a natural exfoliant and helps to lighten dingy and discoloured skin. Don't forget to apply moisturised afterwards.
If you follow these tips you should begin to notice your skin is softer and smoother after just a couple of weeks. And within a month or so, you'll be proud to have given rough elbows the big E!
