To provide an external preparation for skin such as a keratolytic agent and a skin cosmetic to assist the formation of a healthy skin and to provide a cosmetic product effective for ameliorating chapped skin by increasing the turn-over speed of the corneum of the skin and quickly removing old corneum, removing the melanin in the old corneum, ameliorating the spots, freckles and darkness of the skin and improving the transparency of the skin and giving little stimulation to the skin.

An external preparation for skin having excellent keratolytic effect, giving little stimulation to the skin and developing excellent keratolytic effect by compounding the preparation is produced by compounding one or more kinds of extracts obtained by extracting the whole grass or sprout of Medicago M. sativa belonging to the genus Medicago with water, a polar solvent or their mixture and adjusting the pH of the solution to 4.5-6.5.