Hi ladies and gents. This is my first post, so allow me to introduce myself. I'm a 20 year old caucasian male and I've had KP since I was at least 10. It SUCKS ASS. Yes, even for a male. I love how the doctors know NOTHING about this condition and medical researchers are apparently sitting on their hands.

Anyways I've got it bad on the outsides of my upper arms and on each side of my waist. For some reason it's worse on my left arm than on my right arm... anybody else have it like that? My left arm is like a horribly red-dotted coat of armor or something. Also, maybe this is strange, maybe it isn't, but I'll throw it out there: on my arms, only SOME of the hair follicles are plugged... well MOST of them are, but in between some of the plugs, i've got tiny hairs there...could that mean theres a way to permanently unplug the follicles?

Anyways, a few years ago, I joined a school summer weightlifting program. Now it was a while back, so it's sort of fuzzy in my memory, but I remember that my KP didn't seem NEAR as bad as it was before. Perhaps by building muscle and shedding fat, I was just DISTRACTED away from the KP, but I'm pretty damn sure it receded a lot. I DO know that my skin in general was the best it had ever been during that period.

So I've been googling for the past couple months and I found two very interesting links.

One talks about the relationship between skin health and exercising:
http://www.webmd.com/content/article...000_8001_ep_02

Another talks about how sweat contains a natural antibiotic for the skin:
http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s897286.htm

I'm aware that KP is chalked up to some genetic fluke. However, if its genetic, then why does it go away in some people and recur or simply go away for good? KP may be genetic, but there could be certain irritants that stimulate the condition. Why else would it be "dormant" sometimes and "active" at other times?

Also, I don't have a link offhand, but MANY people with KP also have other chronic skin disorders like atopic dermatitis or psoriasis. I have read that atopic dermatitis may occur because of bacterial infection because of a weakened skin immune system. For some reason, people with atopic dermatitis have skin immunity problems that make their skin more prone to infections.

If you read the article about sweating, it mentions towards the end how rockstars, despite working odd hours and living generally unhealthy lifestyles tend to always have glowing skin. The article proposes that the reason is because they sweat a lot.

Likewise, if you watch boxing, ultimate fighting, pro wrestling, or any event where athletic individuals are competing, how often have you noticed KP or acne on that person? Supposedly KP crops up on about 50% of the population at one time or another (if I'm not mistaken), so wouldn't we have spotted it at least once??

Pretty much every buff guy I've seen had great skin aside from guys who used roids, cause it fvcked with their hormones.

So what are you guys' thoughts on this?

Are there any people here in great shape who still have KP? If so how bad is it? I'm interested in replies from male and female.

Also, I noticed that on this site, people will pop up and say "I'll keep you posted!" and then they NEVER SHOW UP AGAIN. For the sake of everyone on this forum, if you're trying out a solution, please COME BACK AGAIN and UPDATE everyone.

I'm doing a 5-day split bodybuilding routine for the next 3 months, and I WILL keep you guys posted, I promise.

Peace,
Stinger

For some reason it's worse on my left arm than on my right arm... anybody else have it like that? My left arm is like a horribly red-dotted coat of armor or something. Also, maybe this is strange, maybe it isn't, but I'll throw it out there: on my arms, only SOME of the hair follicles are plugged... well MOST of them are, but in between some of the plugs, i've got tiny hairs there.

Yep. That describes mine perfectly.

(Though I think that may be partly because I'm right handed, and I tend to sometimes pick at my left arm, which of course makes it look worse.)

That is interesting about the sweating though.

I have had KP ever since I can remember, but I only finally got really fed up with my skin being horrible about a year ago and started actively trying new ways to fix it. (Read: somebody finally insulted my ugly red bumps and I got frantic to fix them.)

I thought that I'd found something when tanning, drinking more water and using neem oil seemed to really diminish my KP, BUT at about the same time I had surgery on an old knee injury, finally got it more or less fixed and took up some sports again for the first time in several years.

I run between 4k and 7k almost every night now and do some weightlifting too and my skin is now the best it has ever been. (It still doesn't look great, but compared to how my skin used to be it now looks great.)

I think you may be right about: Pretty much every buff guy I've seen had great skin.

Because quite a lot of guy-friends of mine are pretty fit and do a lot of running and weights, and none of them have noticable skin problems at all. Maybe they are just lucky, but it does seem like quite a big coincidence that they are all fit and all have really good skin.

Good luck with the bodybuilding routine.

Hope it works for ya.

Thanks, cynical scribe! This is really encouraging-- firstly to know that the nature of my KP isn't an isolated incident and also to find corroborating evidence of the workout/sweat theories.

This is awesome. Hopefully we get some more replies for a wider sample.

Well, I've got the opposite story (sorry to be a downer). I am very in shape now. I run and lift-I'm pretty buff- but my KP is at its worst now. I've been in good shape most of my life, but I did have a serious illness for several months a while back so I was unable to work out. I gained weight and lost muscle. During that time, my KP actually wasn't too bad. For several weeks I was too weak to shower (yeah, gross, I know) and moisturize and whatnot, so I was thinking maybe I'm doing too much most of the time, and if I just leave it alone it will get better. But once I was able to do those things, but still couldn't work out, it didn't get worse. Obviously these things go differently for different people, so I'll be interested to hear what others say.

Tinyfeet, are you female? From browsing your post history, I'm surmising that you are, since you talked about your experiences using birth control pills in one thread.

I'm also surmising that cynical scribe is male, please correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm not discounting that perhaps harmonal differences or differences in muscle/fat densities may have something to do with KP. However, keep in mind that I'm not just looking out for myself; I want everyone, females included, to be able to get rid of this condition.

I do believe, however, that it's important to identify and isolate ANY generalized patterns pertaining to what causes or quells KP and in what type of person (gender, lifestyle, etc). I still want to hear input from everyone so that results aren't skewed. I'm not fishing for a certain outcome or jumping to any concludions just yet. I'm not saying that exercise/sweating/testosterone FOR SURE has anything to do with KP. It's just data I'm going on through my own anecdotal experiences and from the research I've done online.

If we want to find a widespread treatment or cure for KP, then we, as a community, need to be as methodical, scientific, and thorough as possible. We are our own independent researchers since the medical community basically doesn't give a damn about solving KP. This is why it's important for us to try and give as much relevant info as possible, to be as objective as possible, and to make sure and give updates about what's working and what's not, preferably over a period of many weeks or a few months.

Tinyfeet, about your comments on not bathing and just leaving it the fvck alone-- yea I've noticed that as well. I notice that when I scrub/loofah or apply Salex (salycilic acid), the texture will improve greatly, but the APPEARANCE is often exacerbated.

If, for whatever reason, I don't bathe for a couple days... be it all-night studying for exams, illness, or overall tiredness, I notice that the redness goes down noticably. I've often wondered why this is. I'm thinking that cycling between being wet and being dry (because of the shower) may cause irritation, much like licking one's lips over and over will cause them to peel. But it may also be something in the body wash or shampoos I'm using so I'm not sure. It still seems to get irritated even if I skimp out on using any cleansers though, which I've experimented with before, so I'm leaning towards the wet/dry theory.

I appreciate the feedback! Let's keep the ball rolling!

-Stinger

EDIT: Turns out cynical scribe is female, too. Sorry for reading you wrong. I think I might be the only dude here lol... oh well...if you want a bootycall, just know that I'm a guy who doesn't give a **** if a girl has KP

I've formed this very theory, from my own experience. Well here's a thought. Sweat contains urea (see wikipedia.com), and urea cream is sometimes recommended to treat kp (for example, on webmd.com). Perhaps our own sweat helps treat kp. Wouldn't that be a bit ironic?

Indeed. Until recently, I was very quick to wash sweat away as I thought the flushed toxins lingered and had the possibility of causing infections. Interesting bit about the urea...

I do not know if exercising helps my face or not...although when I am excercising my face gets bright red very quickly. It has always done this in hot weather, cold weather, with exercise, red wine...so I do not know if that is related to the kp or just to being 'celtic' in my colouring. I haven't been doing a lot of cardio lately so there hasn't been any sweat to drip into my face (nice image, I know!) but I will try to pay attention over the summer as I get out in the heat more.

About washing vs. not washing. As my kp is on my face I have found that if I don't cleanse morning and night it quickly gets scaly and more bumps come up. I moisturize morning and night although I have heard that I should stop moisturizing at night so that my skin can excrete toxins. Does anyone else find they have to moisturize at night too? I have tried letting it go at night but after I cleanse my face feels like sandpaper if I don't put on some sort of cream.

I've just joined this forum - and I'm a male as well who also keeps reasonably physically fit. I'm 31 and have had KP as long as I can recall (so do all three of my siblings - one female and two male). I've never noticed any sign of it on my abdomen, just upper-arms and thighs. I do have a redness on my face that is a little bumpy but it does not appear to be KP to me - I'd always assumed that was rosacea ('curse of the celts!')

Clearly there are two aspects of KP that affect its appearance - first, the blockage of pores and second the infections that can result.

In addition to trying tanning as a treatment (sometimes it seems to help, but it may only be masking some of it), I have to say that the occaisional Epsom bath (which when you play active sports is a must anyway) can help.

I used to work in a field hospital and Epsom Salts were often used in the treatment of infection (e.g.., post-op treatment for an ingrown toenail removal often included soaks in an Epsom and warm water solution).

It would seem to me that the Epsom Bath may be helping by not only working at the infection aspect but also the opening of the pores by the heat may be helping.

Another exercise I have tried-out is Bikram Yoga (now I do a form called Moksha). It is a 'hot yoga' (the room is about 90 degrees and the class is about 90 mins). Needless to say a LOT of sweating happens. When I'm able to attend Bikram or Moksha (also a hot yoga of about the same length) I do think that my skin is better, however I had been attributing that to the heat and the following shower (the place I use tends to stock a watery-liquid Castille-like soap that has a 'minty' feel to it).

Now that I've seen your post I think I'll give the yoga a greater effort to attend (outside of my sports training).

oh, for sure, my kp has improved a lot since I started weightlifting (4x a week) and running 3 miles at least 3x a week.

Awesome stuff! For you guys with rosacea, I'm not sure about the bumps it can cause, but if you wanna get rid of the REDNESS, then find somebody who knows what they're doing with an IPL machine. Worked GREAT for me.

The yoga is interesting. I'll look into it, would be a good place to meet chicks as a bonus.

That's good stuff anonymous. I'll probably start running too, 'cause sometimes I don't work up a big sweat just lifting alone.

Perhaps if I could find a sauna? I wonder how much that would help.

I'm optimistic that we're onto something...everyone keep sounding off.

I know people on the site have commented positively to regular sauna use, so your theory makes complete sense. Flushing out the toxins and keratin seems logical. However, I think the keratin plugs might need to be soft enough to flush out. Therefore, I think we need an additional step in this process to ensure this happens.

*smirks*

*pokes Stinger911*

So I'm a guy huh?

Actually, I might as well be. You didn't read me that wrong. I am very much a 'one of the boys' type of girl and I do come across as a bit of a lad, and... well, I was going to say I have a boyish figure but I don't. I'm more of a Marilyn Monroe with overblown curves than an androgyny chick. *pouts*

"oh well...if you want a bootycall, just know that I'm a guy who doesn't give a **** if a girl has KP..."

Lol, Thanks. Where are you? *grins* (California knowing my luck with men.)

But Y'know, I'd feel so much more comfortable if I could get a date with a guy who has problem skin too. I am horribly self-conscious when I date men who have 'perfect' skin. Where are all the boys with KP?

I think the 'sweating' thing is actually a very big thing now I've been prompted to think about it, because -besides exercise- I was also thinking back to when I was living in the south of Italy a few years back during the summer (It was about 100+ degrees all the time.) So I was really hot and sweaty most of the time and, my skin was actually pretty decent then too.

Exercise also initially makes my skin look worse - much redder for longer than other people. But it very soon fades into being nicer.

*

Stinger911, you seem really into thinking about this skin problem.

I know other people on this site have put out very intelligent lists of questions in an attempt to 'figure out' KP but you seem more into finding a cure or help for it than most.

I also like your typing style, smarts and friendliness. Would you be interested in collaborating on developing a really in depth survey with me? Some way to figure out the exact circumstances of many KP sufferers? (I'm sure more people would respond to someone like you than me if we did put out a survey.)

I'm not even sure about it myself, but if you would be interested then maybe we could come up with something between us?

If you don't want to, no problem.

Best wishes,

C_S

(Who is very fed up with KP.)

I agree that exercise will help keratosis pilaris because it helps release toxins from the body. I weight train 3 times a week because im trying to put on weight but haven't really found a significant difference in my skin, though it's probably because weight training doesn't really make you sweat compared to cardio. However my friend that is trying to lose weight was doing a LOT of cardio around 5 times a week and her kp completely cleared up as well as another skin condition that she had. But these days shes loss motivation to keep at it, and unfortunately her kp and other skin condition is back even worse.

My boyfreind used to have moderate kp (didn't know him then) and now has fabulous skin.....he got into triathalons about 10 years ago and is very dedicated to the sport, working out everyday and racing every weekend. He is a huge advocate of sweating to be healthy and thinks that is what helped his skin out. He also drinks a TON of water and eats really healthy. He is motivating me to be more active so we will see if it helps me out at all........I have a super bad case of KP over pretty much my entire body