How To Improve Uneven Skin Texture, According To Dermatologists

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In a perfect world, we'd all have soft, smooth, poreless, and blemish-free skin. Unfortunately, that's not the case, and rough, uneven skin texture is a lot more common than you might think.

“Skin texture and roughness can encompass a wide variety of skin issues such as dryness, rough patches, bumps, enlarged pores, and acne scars to name a few,” says Vanessa Coppola, DNP, FNP-BC, board-certified nurse practitioner and founder of Bare Aesthetic. Think of this as anything that can make your complexion look less smooth or seamless.

Meet Our Experts: Vanessa Coppola, DNP, FNP-BC, board-certified nurse practitioner and founder of Bare Aesthetic, Brendan Camp, MD, a double board-certified dermatologist at MDCS Dermatology in New York City, Dendy Engelman, MD, director of dermatology, Mohs surgery, and laser medicine at the Shafer Clinic Fifth Avenue in New York City, Melissa Kanchanapoomi Levin, MD, dermatologist and founder of Entiere Dermatology in New York City

Addressing uneven skin texture isn't as easy as concealing roughness with makeup (if anything, makeup might exaggerate it even more), but the good news is there are plenty of ways you can go about improving your skin texture by making simple tweaks to your everyday skincare routine.

Ahead, experts take us through the causes of uneven skin texture and everything you can do to get rid of it.

What Causes Uneven Skin Texture

A number of things, actually. “In its simplest form, rough or textured skin often occurs because of a buildup of dry dead skin cells from the upper and outermost layer of our skin,” Coppola says. Our bodies naturally shed dead skin cells in a process called cell turnover, which involves dead cells being replaced with new ones every 28 to 42 days, keeping the skin looking relatively smooth and healthy. But according to Coppola, cell turnover can be disrupted by several things such as “aging, dryness, sun exposure, pollutants, and lifestyle factors such as smoking.”

Brendan Camp, MD, a double board-certified dermatologist at MDCS Dermatology in New York City, adds that conditions like eczema—which is “associated with red, scaly, itchy patches”—and keratosis pilaris—when dead skin cells accumulate in hair follicles and give your skin a “spiny texture” —could also be culprits, as well as acne scars and enlarged pores.

Lastly, even if you've put a ton of effort into curating a skincare routine that's perfect for your skin type, Coppola notes that it is possible to have "too much of a good thing" if you're using certain products too frequently. "Too much cleaning and too much exfoliation with too many topicals can strip our skin of its natural oils and disrupt the skin’s pH balance and microbiome resulting in inflammatory changes," she says. "This manifests as irritation, redness, uneven texture, enlarged pores, breakouts, and rough patches."

How To Improve Skin Texture

• Identify the cause: The first thing you should do when targeting any skin issue is to identify what’s causing it in the first place. Board-certified dermatologist Dendy Engelman, MD, says this will help you best determine how to proceed. If you suffer from acne scars, for example, you may want to reach out to a dermatologist who can help you form a plan to get rid of the acne altogether.

• Exfoliate: It’s a pretty simple fix if your texture issues are being caused by a buildup of dead skin cells. Dr. Engelman recommends exfoliating twice a week with a gentle scrub or a chemical exfoliant. “When using a scrub, just make sure that the exfoliating particles are soft and/or dissolve in order to avoid irritating or harming the skin barrier,” she adds. In terms of chemical exfoliants, Coppola recommends using formulas with alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs) like glycolic and lactic acids and beta-hydroxy acids (BHAs) like salicylic. “While AHAs are great for treating overall textural issues and dryness, BHAs are very good for skin texture and rough spots caused by acne or sun damage,” she says. “You want to look for a formulation that has a concentration between 10 to 15 percent, and you want to start low and go slow to determine how well your skin will tolerate the product.” You can also opt for an in-office treatment like dermaplaning, during which a medical professional will use a scalpel to remove dead skin and peach fuzz.

• Use retinol: Retinol and retinoids speed up the cell turnover process and boost collagen and elastin production, which can ultimately make the skin appear smoother and more firm. “Using a retinol or retinoid can treat and prevent the formation of acne,” says Dr. Camp. “By regulating cell turnover, retinols and retinoids prevent the formation of blocked pores and improve skin texture.” The only catch here is that retinol is known for being slightly drying and irritating to some users, so if you’re afraid that your skin may have a reaction to the ingredient, try using a product with a lower percentage of retinol or spot testing it on a smaller area of the skin before going all in with it. You should also always make sure you’re following any retinol or retinoid with a sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher, since retinol can also increase your sensitivity to the sun.

• Use sun protection: Speaking of sun sensitivity: always wear sunscreen! “A broad-spectrum sunscreen of at least SPF 30 is necessary to protect the skin against photoaging and help reduce uneven skin texture and roughness caused by sun damage,” Coppola says.

• Try vitamin C: Dr. Engelman recommends incorporating vitamin C into your everyday skincare routine. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that stimulates collagen production and prevents free radical damage, another known factor that can cause rough or uneven texture. “Skin continuously exposed to UV rays suffers a breakdown and loss of collagen and elastin resulting in uneven texture, enlarged pores, and roughness,” Coppola adds. You can find vitamin C in just about any skincare product from cleanser to moisturizers to serums.

• Hydrate: If dryness is causing your uneven texture woes, your simplest solution is to keep your skin hydrated by using a serum or moisturizer after every wash. “You want to look for moisturizers that have ingredients like hyaluronic acid, which is a very powerful humectant that draws 1000 times its weight in water into the skin,” Coppola says. “Ingredients like lipid-rich ceramides which act like a glue between skin cells and help hold them together to keep moisture in, resulting in smoother hydrated softer skin.” Dr. Camp also recommends being mindful of the temperature of your shower water—water that's too hot can dry out your skin. “Limiting showers to ten minutes maximum, using lukewarm to warm water, and using mild cleansers can keep skin moisturized by limiting the amount of oil that is removed,” he says.

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When To See a Dermatologist

In addition to the above remedies, you can also always see a dermatologist for an in-office treatment like microneedling or lasers, which "can help minimize the appearance of acne scars and wrinkles, thus creating a more even skin texture," according to Dr. Engelman.

"Microneedling is the creation of small microchannels and injuries to the skin using acupuncture-sized needles," Melissa Kanchanapoomi Levin, MD, dermatologist and founder of Entiere Dermatology in New York City, previously told WH. "These 'injuries' to the skin cause the body to respond by stimulating and producing collagen, which can treat fine lines and wrinkles, enlarged pores, stretch marks, acne scars, and textural concerns."

Chemical peels are also an option; they treat issues like fine lines, wrinkles, rough patches, acne, acne scars, and more by removing dead or damaged skin cells on the top layer of the skin to reveal healthier skin.

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