They’re not the first places you think about when it comes to skincare, but once you notice them, they’re hard to unsee. The delicate skin around the elbows and knees is especially prone to becoming dry, wrinkled, and sagging over time. While it’s a completely normal part of aging, many people feel self-conscious about the appearance of these areas.
Whether it’s crepey texture, deep lines, or sagging skin, these changes can impact how comfortable you feel in sleeveless tops or shorts. Fortunately, there are safe and effective ways to help improve the appearance of this skin—both at home and in clinic.
Let’s take a closer look at why these changes happen and what can support healthier-looking skin in these areas.
Why Do Elbow and Knee Wrinkles Appear?
It’s easy to overlook the elbows and knees in a daily skincare routine—until the skin in these areas starts to feel thinner, rougher, or visibly more wrinkled. These changes don’t happen overnight, but they can become more noticeable with age. Here’s why:
- Natural aging: As collagen and elastin levels decline over time, the skin gradually loses its firmness and flexibility. In high-movement areas like the elbows and knees, this shows up faster in the form of sagging skin and creases.
- Repetitive motion: These joints are in constant motion, which means the skin is always bending and stretching. This repetitive folding weakens the skin’s structure and encourages lines to form.
- Thinner, drier skin: Unlike areas like the face or chest, the skin on the elbows and knees contains fewer oil glands. As a result, it dries out more quickly, which makes fine lines and rough texture more visible.
- Sun exposure: In warmer months especially, these areas are often exposed to the sun without protection. Over time, UV rays break down collagen and can cause premature skin aging, pigmentation, and wrinkling.
- Environmental and mechanical stress: Friction from clothing, pressure from leaning or kneeling, and even harsh weather can all contribute to skin thickening, uneven tone, and crepey texture.
While these changes are completely normal, they don’t have to be permanent. With the right approach, starting with thoughtful at-home care, it’s possible to support healthier, smoother-looking skin.
At-Home Tips to Support Skin Health
Caring for the skin on your elbows and knees doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does require consistency. These areas often go untreated in everyday routines, yet with a few simple habits, you can help maintain smoother, more supple skin from the comfort of your home.
- Hydration is essential: Because the skin in these areas tends to be drier, daily moisturizing is key. Use a rich, nourishing cream that targets dehydration and reinforces the skin barrier. Applying moisturizer right after a shower, when the skin is still slightly damp, can help lock in moisture more effectively.
- Gentle exfoliation makes a difference: Dead skin can build up more easily on elbows and knees, leaving them rough and dull. Using a mild exfoliant once or twice a week helps smooth the texture and allows your hydrating products to work better. Avoid harsh scrubs or aggressive tools, as friction can actually worsen irritation and darken the skin over time.
- Look for targeted ingredients: Incorporating products with active ingredients can support skin renewal and elasticity. Retinol can help improve texture and firmness over time, peptides support collagen production, and hyaluronic acid boosts hydration from within the skin. Choose formulas designed for sensitive or body-specific use to avoid irritation.
With regular care and the right ingredients, these simple habits can gradually improve the tone and texture of the skin and create the perfect foundation for more advanced in-clinic treatments if needed.
In-Clinic Treatments for Wrinkled Knees and Elbows
When at-home care isn’t enough to address sagging skin or deeper lines around the elbows and knees, in-clinic treatments can offer significant improvement. At Dermapure, we focus on non-surgical, technology-driven options that help restore smoother, firmer skin safely and gradually without overpromising results. Here are some of the most effective treatments available:
Fractional Laser: Resurfacing and Collagen Boost
Fractional laser resurfacing offers a clinically proven solution for improving skin texture and firmness in these zones. The treatment uses focused light energy to create controlled micro-channels in the skin. These tiny “injuries” aren’t visible on the surface, but they activate your body’s natural healing response deep within the dermis.
As the skin regenerates, collagen and elastin production increase to gradually restore volume, resilience, and a smoother appearance. This is especially helpful for addressing concerns like fine lines, crepey skin, roughness, and sun-induced damage.
The treatment is generally well-tolerated. Most patients describe a mild tingling or warming sensation during the procedure, and a topical anesthetic may be applied beforehand to keep you comfortable. Mild redness, tightness, or flaking may follow in the days after, but downtime is minimal and manageable.
What makes fractional laser particularly effective for elbows and knees is its precision. It allows us to treat small, stubborn areas without harming surrounding tissue.
Radiofrequency (RF): Tightening Through Heat and Stimulation
Radiofrequency (RF) is a non-invasive treatment that uses thermal energy to heat the deeper layers of the skin, triggering a natural regeneration process. The controlled heat stimulates collagen remodeling and promotes tissue tightening, making it an ideal option for sagging skin on the elbows and knees.
During the treatment, patients typically feel a comfortable warming sensation as the device glides over the skin. There are no needles, no skin breakage, and no recovery time—just a gradual improvement in skin tone and firmness over a series of sessions.
RF is especially well-suited for areas that have lost definition due to age or repetitive movement. As new collagen forms, the skin becomes more elastic and resilient, helping reduce the appearance of loose folds or soft wrinkling. It’s a gentle but effective way to achieve a smoother, more supported skin surface without downtime.
Biostimulators: Restoring Volume and Firmness
Injectable treatments can do more than just fill; they can rebuild and rejuvenate the skin from within. At Dermapure, two key options stand out for improving the appearance of thin, crepey skin on the elbows and knees: Radiesse and Skinvive by Juvéderm.
Radiesse is a biostimulator that provides both immediate volume and long-term collagen stimulation. Injected into deeper layers of the skin, it acts as a supportive framework, helping to restore density and firmness. This is ideal for visibly lax or hollowed skin, especially when the goal is to rebuild underlying structure and smooth out deep surface lines. Patients often notice initial improvement right after the session, with continued skin strengthening over the following months.
Skinvive, on the other hand, is a skin-quality injectable designed to deeply hydrate and improve texture without adding volume. Made of hyaluronic acid and injected superficially, it works by enhancing skin hydration and elasticity from within. For knees and elbows that appear dull, dehydrated, or crepey—but don’t necessarily need volume—Skinvive offers a refined and subtle solution. It leaves the skin looking healthier, smoother, and more luminous.
Both options can be used alone or combined with energy-based treatments for a more global rejuvenation approach. Your Dermapure expert will help determine the best combination for your skin’s needs, ensuring results that are both natural-looking and long-lasting.
Ready to Smooth Out Wrinkles on Your Knees and Elbows?
Improving the appearance of the skin on your elbows and knees isn’t just about aesthetics, it’s about feeling comfortable and confident in your skin, at every angle. Whether you’re just starting to notice subtle changes or looking to treat more advanced signs of aging, there are solutions that can make a difference.
From hydrating skincare habits at home to advanced treatments like fractional laser, radiofrequency, and collagen-stimulating injectables, your approach doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. At Dermapure, we believe in building custom strategies that respect your goals, your timeline, and your skin’s natural rhythm.
Book a consultation with one of our aesthetic experts to explore your options and design a treatment plan tailored to you. Because caring for your skin shouldn’t stop at the neck—it’s a full-body journey.
