Well, I went boating today and put on some sunscreen, but still ended up with a sunburn. Well, when I got back home - I noticed that it was much better. The sun seems to help, well - burning did - I don't tan that well. I guess that would be a good way to help it - as long as I don't overdo it.

Oh, and I would never use a tanning booth. Ew.

So, if any one knows about this and can help me out with some sun information, and its effects on KP, post here.

I love to tan! I no longer have KP because of using a tanning bed.. You make think ew, but I am always getting compliments on my look.. My skin is super smooth and you would never know how bad my arms looked before... I don't care what people say about it, I know it worked for me and it is pretty much the only thing that will work...

Do you still tan?
Does your KP come back when you stop tanning?

I'm seriously considering tanning, but I have KP on my lower arm and I expose that part to the sun a lot and I still have KP there ...

Yes I do still tan, not as often, just enough to keep my tan and to keep the KP away... KP will come back if you stop tanning, as it will if you stop using special creams or anything else. It's didn't come back over night, but when I had a baby I couldn't tan so that whole 9 months was misrable for me... For some reason tanning beds seem to help a lot more than the sun, I even developed KP on my BUTT!! I know, ewwww... so yeah tanning had cleared that right up, where as when I would lay out in the sun it helped a little but didn't make it go away like the tanning bed did.

Please be careful with tanning, i have a friend that is in high school and already knows she cannot have children because she spent to much time in a tanning bed and fried her overies. Be careful, i know kp sucks but so does skin cancer and wrinkles

Yes, tanning beds do work better (my friend had KP and she went tanning in a tanning bed).

but tanning beds scare me. so i just stay out in the sun some, and it works well.

Ive been laying out alot lately, and going to the tanning bed and my arms look amazing. The scars are hardly noticeable. Also they seem alot smoother, and not red at all.

I am much happier with my arms when I go tnaning. But....there is the whole skin cancer thing. I cannot keep doing it forever. So I think I'll do the spray on mystic tans....not as good but at least it provides a cosmetic "fix"

My skin is often better when I receive some sun, too. My mom, who I inherited this disorder-of-sorts from, has always told me that a sunburn works wonders on her KP. All of this is consistent with past claims from a few others on this site: they've mentioned that after moving to a sunnier climate their KP cleared up. The opposite was true of some sufferers whose KP, after moving further north (where sunlight is less direct), grew worse - or simply started springing up.

All this could have something to do with a vitmamin D deficiency or poor calcium absorbtion/utilization (vitamin D helps the body absorb and/or utilize calcium, from what I understand); vitamin D2 or D3 - I cannot remember which - is produced in your body by direct exposure to sunlight, and I know a few people on this sight have seen success with calcium/vitamin D supplements, or have seen their KP worsen simply by taking calcium alone. Hmmm...

Well, I am glad that you all have seen an improvement - that's awesome, regardless of the true cause behind this nasty little condition!

Peace!

Namaste.
GreenBean

You get Vitamin C from the sun, and it has awesome healing properties. Just drink a lot of citrus juice or take a supplement if you can't handle the acid. Don't tan!!! You'll end up with worse than KP. Wrinkles, lines, and leathery skin are just the cosmetic negatives. What about skin cancer and the afore-mentioned fried ovaries? I'm lucky in that I don't burn in the sun, but after many years of tanning in high school, I burnt my calves. Out of the blue! It wasn't my first tan of the season or anything! I never burn. I could actually smell the flesh when I got up!!! I had to have ice packs applied for about 45 minutes before I could drive home! Never again!
I've found my safe alternative, and I hope you find yours. Plus, I've also found an awesome self tanner that doesn't run, streak, or turn orange. I just hope I don't end up with melanoma from that one burn on my legs when I'm older...

Hmmmm... Well I hate to say but I think that is a bunch of BS.. You can't fry your ovaries in a tanning bed or by tanning period.. If that were possible she would have fried a lot more than her ovaries! Besides it is even safe to tan while you are pregnant, the only reason why some Drs don't recoment it is because some people can get too hot, but you can get too hot being outside too! I've had two kids, didn't fry my ovaries.. Plus my mother lived in Arizona, always in the sun, and uses a tanning bed religiously, she has never had skin cancer, it's not just the sun that causes it!

Thought I would let you know that its not bad to tan, being in the sun is great for your body! It produces vitamin D.. So don't be afraid of the tanning, it's tanning too long and actually burning that you need to worry about.

I think that you need to visit http://skincancer.org/artificial/index.php & http://fda.gov/cdrh/consumer/tanning.html and other links about the sun and what it can do to you.
Yes, you should be afraid of tanning!
We all get enough sun from just being out and about, shopping, walking, going to work, etc. We don't have to 'cook' in it to get what we need from the sun. And even if it does help with the appearance of KP, why would you risk it when you could end up with a more serious problem? I would rather have KP than a big hole in my arm from having skin cancer removed, which I have seen happen.
I know we all get tired of using this and trying that with no results. But you have to keep looking. I found something that has helped me without even trying. I had given up because nothing that I had tried had ever helped...and then one day I realized that my KP was 'gone' in some places and very diminished in others. I was shocked!
So just keep looking until you find something that helps (with no adverse side effects, such as skin cancer)...it is out there!

Well sorry I still don't agree with you, many plants and animals rely on sunlight in this world, it is good for you.. You just obviously listen to the media too much... Isn't it funny how people invented sun screen and figured out a way how to make tons of money by scaring the **** out of people and making them believe the sun is the enemy and you need to BUY their products so you wont get skin cancer? And did you also know that some tests are starting to link sunscreen and cancer together? Or that you are at higher risk of developing colon cancer without vitamin D? You should really check into the studies about it... Instead of beliving one thing you hear, check out both sides.. I've done my research and I know my facts... I have generations of family memeber who have all worshiped the sun, no cancer... but funny how on my mothers fathers side where people are paler and don't go out in the sun so much have gotten skin cancer.. Explain that one...

Okay...here I go....

You don't have to bake in the sun to get your need dose of Vitamin D. Going about our daily lives, along with our diets, provide us with enough Vitamin D. And plants do need sunlight, but they don't have skin & can't get skin cancer, either.

Animals only need exposure to the sun as much as we do, and most of them have hair that protect them from the sun. I, however, happen to have a hairless dog, which was a rescue, and I either have to put sunscreen on him or a doggie shirt if we are going to be out in the sun. You should see his poor skin from where he was left in the sun...sun spots and leathery ears, it's awful.

And I can't tell you why some people get skin cancer from the sun and others don't. I guess it is the same reason some people smoke for a long time and don't have anything happen to them, yet my 43 year old brother already has Emphysema.

And I don't listen to the media too much. There are just more studies that show the sun causes skin cancer than not, so I am not taking any chances. It is not just 'one thing I hear', it is everything I hear when it comes to over exposure to the sun & cancer. Not only in regards to our skin, but our eyes as well. I am a licensed Cosmetologist/Instructor, and was a Spa Director at one point in time, so I have seen all sorts of skin problems, including sun damage. It is real, and whether you see that or not is your opinion, and I totally respect that.

Oh, and to explain a possible reason why your lighter family members get skin cancer easier is because they are lacking melanin, which absorbs U.V. light. Those of us who are darker have more melanin to protect us from the sun. So even if they don't get out in the sun much, when they do, the absorb more U.V. rays than darker skin does, making the risk of skin cancer higher.

This post is only my opinion...I am not saying you are wrong and I am right...but I know I am right ! (jk)