Skin surface patterns of xerotic legs: the flexural and accretive types.

The dry skin appearance of the legs is a common complaint in winter. We studied such a condition using a multi-pronged approach combining video recording under ultraviolet light, cyanoacrylate skin surface stripping and squamometry X. Two main distinct patterns of alteration of the skin surface were identified. Flexural xerosis corresponded to cracking in parallel primary lines of the stratum corneum. Accretive xerosis referred to hyperkeratosis of the plateaux delineated by the criss-cross pattern of the skin surface creases. Two distinct commercially available formulations aiming to treat dry skin yielded almost similar efficacy. For both products, flexural xerosis responded more rapidly than accretive xerosis.