Hi everyone!!!I've just stumbled across this site and I wish I found it sooner!!! Its interesting to know that I am not the only one out there with bumpy skin!!! To fill you in: I'm a 24 year old female from London who has had kp since the age of 3. I was only diagnosed with kp a year ago! I have it mildly on the back of my arms and fore arms, but it is like wild fire from the waist down !! I've been to various gp's and dermatologists with no luck. The creams they prescribed either did nothing at all or made it worse. I must admit I am a terrible picker whos always hiding behind long sleaves, trousers and skirts!

At the moment, I have stopped using the medicated creams and have a regime of my own that I though I would share with everyone. It doesn't completely get rid of the kp but definately improves its appearence!!!

What I do is soak in a hot bath and use a loafer to 'scrub' the affected areas. I then exfoliate with 1/2 cup of sugar mixed with 1/2 cup of olive oil (which is a bit messy). I then wash the 'gunk' off using Nivea Exfoliating Body Scrub while using a nail brush (which I think exfoliates some more). When I get out of the bath I then moisturise using Johnson's Holiday Skin Body Lotion (which has some fake tan in it). from starting this 2mths ago I find that my skin feels smoother - the majoritie of the bumps have gone and that the fake tan in the lotion helps hide some of the redness from the kp. My legs look like I have freckles instead of 'body acne' as everyone called it when I was at school.

Hopefully, the condition of my skin will improve dramatically before my wedding in August!

Please feel free to post me any comments and suggestions as Im will to try anything.

I do not really have kp on my lower body but i have read many posts that say if you add some oil, like coconut or something like it to your hot bath and soak for a while and s**** the skin off it really helps, since you are already taking hot baths that might help

also, congrats on your wedding, i am getting married next year and I hope to get rid of my kp by then!!

Hey, another newbie here! Wow i thought my KP was awful, but yours sounds much worse, Bumps . I hope i can get em under control like you have!

I'm a 27 year old female from the US. My KP pretty much consists of tons of tiny bumps on my outer upper arms. They are usually pink to red, and seem to get more inflamed in the summer actually (which seems a bit different from some other people's that i've read on here). I think the problem of inadequate skin shedding underlying this condition also makes me predisposed to acne which occurs on my chest and face at least monthly, as well as giving me awful razor bumps on my upper thighs a day after shaving, lasting for about 5 days. But the upper arm bumps are the true KP and it's very very embarrassing. I feel very self conscious about it, especially when they're inflamed. those bumps can get pretty fat (relatively speaking of course).

So far, I've been just scrubbing hard in the shower with a puff, and applying 5% AHA lotion (the Kiss My Face Peach lotion--the smell is so awesome!) mixed in with 0.1% tretinoin cream soon after showering. I'm not extremely regular about the regimen, which might explain the badness, but it could also be that the regimen isn't that effective. I've tried urea cream in the past rx'd by a dermatologist. . .not very effective either. I've tried sulfur soap and scrubbing with a nail brush. . .maaaaybe that regimen did help but then again it was the middle of winter which is when the KP gets better for me anyway. The nail-brushing was pretty hard on my skin and the sulfur soap stunk (and I stunk of sulfur in public).

anyway, i'm seeing some great advice on this forum, and i want to thank everyone!! I hope to contribute my advice at some point as well, when i find a solution to my KP!

I HATE KERATOSIS PILARIS!!!!!!!

cuddlebear,

my kp gets much worse in the summer too. i also have acne. i sweat a lot(hyperhydrosis) and wonder if that has anything to do with it. do you have excessive sweating as well?

Hmm, i wouldn't say that i have hyperhidrosis per se. . .but i do notice that every spring, when the weather starts getting warm, I start sweating a lot more than i do in the winter (and i get a bad breakout around then, until my skin gets used to the upregulated oil production). So maybe the excess oil has something to do with it.

Hi

Another newbie here from Nottingham UK. Well its so nice to see that Im not suffering alone. Just recently Ive become quite depressed with my skin as it looks so unsightly and although my arms are OK my thighs and buttocks are terrible. The more I scrubbed the worse it got so I have had to take a more gentle approach. I will also have to start taking higher doses of Vit E but unfortunately it gives me dandruff so it works wonders for shedding skin on the scalp!!!! I just wish it would work with as much zeal on my lower body.

I think KP'ers should remember to feed the skin from the inside too as well as the external applications and the oily supplements seem to be the best. Vit A, E and the Omega 3,6,and 9 oils taken over a LONG period of time. I have read so many people on this site saying this dont work that dont work, however you have to take good quality stuff consistently for many months /years to see a significant difference and because we have an abnormal skin imbalance we have to take a lot more than the recommended dose too (under supervision of course).