All I can tell you is I have dry skin and my Doctor says it is because I don't have enough natural oils in my skin!!!!!

Flaky skin is dry skin...A condition where a persons skin lifts loosely in flakes. Normal skin has two layers: an outer layer called the epidermis and an inner layer called the dermis. Skin cells are created in the dermis and move up through the epidermis to the skin surface. Skin cells are continually dying and being replaced. Normally, skin cells mature and shed in about a month. Sometimes the normal cycle of replacing old skin cells with new ones becomes unbalanced. Skin cells reproduce many times faster than normal and live only three to four days. The dead cells build up on the skin, forming thick, flaky patches called plaques. The redness in skin plaques is caused by increased blood supply to the rapidly multiplying skin cells. It could be any number of things including psoriasis, eczema, or plain old dry skin. You should see a dermatologist if the problem becomes severe for the proper diagnosis and treatment. Here are some informative sites.... http://ezinearticles.com/?Dry-Flaky-Skin&id=122980 http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/psoriasis/PSO_whatis.html http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/skinandhair/eczema.htm http://www.cosmesisskincare.com/what-causes-dry-skin.html http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/skinconditions.html http://www.nsc.gov.sg/cgi-bin/WB_ContentGen.pl?id=97&gid=33 http://www.medicinenet.com/psoriasis/article.htm http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/md/derm.html