Hi all. New to the forum, and was wondering if people could clear up a few things for me.

I have had KP my whole life, covering my thighs, buttocks and upper arms, and its only been the last few months that Ive actually found a name for it. I have it really bad and it seems to worsen as I get older. Ive tried to tell my GP how much this has affected my life, but he seems to think Im on a quest for beauty or something and never even heard of KP

Is there any foods/drinks that I should or shouldnt take?

Is this Coconut Oil product available in the UK?

What products can/should someone from the UK buy as most of the posters and remedies seem to be US based?

Is there a beginners guide for dumb guys like me who cant understand things like exfolliate and whether a moisturizer should be applied during or after a shower?

Sorry Ive got about a million questions I could ask and I feel completely in the dark about all of this. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

As far as I know, diet is not a factor in KP. At least that's my experience.

Yes, you can buy coconut oil (extra virgin coconut oil only you should buy) in the UK. In most decent health shops. Most buyers use it for cooking, but you can apply it to your skin instead. It's the same stuff.

Arbonne are US based... not sure yet if you can get their products in the UK. Pretty much everything else can be bought (or a version of it) in the UK.

One thing I will tell you, is that finding what works for YOUR KP will be very much a trial and error experience. Everyone responds differently. Some things work for one and not another... so get ready for a journey.

James I know what your talking about. I joined this site about 20 minutes ago and my head is spinning reading all the ideas and the terms being thrown around. It seems like a lot of the posters know way more about KP than myself and I also feel like a dumb guy reading through all this stuff.

I'm a 25 yr old male and have had KP my whole life. It's all over my legs, arms and buttocks. I assume I have a pretty severe case of it as well as I've never met anyone that has it as bad. Inheriting KP from my mom while inheriting a lot of body hair from my dad seems to be a bad combination for my skin.

The hardest part of getting started to treat this is that there seems to be no starting point. Every thread seems to start out "I've tried everything but finally I found this..." Well I haven't tried everything, tanning a bit in the summer, while using a normal skin moisturizer in the winter is about it. A dermatologist prescribed tazarotene gel to be applied with Elocom cream and that didn't help much and irritated my skin somewhat.

After reading through 4 pages of material here I realize there are tons of different ways to treat it. Well picking one at random seems like a bad idea as I don't have the time or money to try them all, also I'm extremely disorganized and have too much stuff on the go as it is. So is there anyone out there who can give James, myself and anyone else reading this the most common starting point for treatment? any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Jonny

Well, you could start with Extra Virgin Cocnut Oil... that's a cheap and good place to start. See other threads for detail...

Welcome guys!

Yeah, it can be a bit of information overload when you first join this place.

Robbie_db, that's an excellent bit of advice!

Cheers

Annuu

For the most part, the Dr's all seem to want you to try Urea40 cream or that tazarotene gel you had prescribed. Almost everyone on this forum found it to be a waste of $$ (according to the posts I've read, and that's many!) The doctors also seem to think we're all out to be supermodels or something. Please! Most people just want to wear shorts and tanktops in the summer without getting stared at. Anyway, EVCO (Extra Virgin Coconut Oil) is as good a place as any to start, as many people have found some relief with it and it's relatively cheap. That's more than can be said about prescription creams...

Okay, about moisturizing: You do it after you pat dry (after your shower) so that you can retain as much moisture as possible.

Exfoliating: You can use many things to do this. A buff puff, a pumice sponge (not stone!), a sea salt scrub or sugar scrub, basically anything that gently sloughs away dead skin cells to reveal newer skin underneath. BE CAREFUL! Some people have found exfoliating to be too harsh for their skin, so it becomes irritated and more red. This isn't the case with me (and many others). I use a sea salt scrub when needed.
Just start out rubbing gently and work your way up to a harsher scrub. You don't want your skin to be all raw and red when you're done. If this happens, you've gone too far...
Good luck and feel free to ask any "beginner" questions you have! We're a friendly bunch (mostly) and don't mind helping out a newbie!

thanks for the speedy responses everyone. I guess I'll try some sort of scrub to go with coconut oil afterwards, at least to start out with.

let us know how it goes!

I agree...TMI!
I am one of those who can't exfoliate or scrub too much or mine gets really irritated. Being a Cosmetologist, and a Spa Director at one point in time, I will tell you what I always told clients who had skin problems, such as KP or Eczema.

~I would eliminate fragrances to start with. Many things that are supposed to make you smell good when you bathe can irritate your skin.
~When it comes to exfoliating, start out soft to see how you will do. Don't go and get a stiff scrub brush or loofah...ouch. Just use a poofy or washcloth and massage your skin with them, then advance to the hard stuff if you want.
~If you are going to use a lotion, make sure it is also fragrance free & mineral oil free. I think the Coconut oil would be a better choice. (Unless you are using Arbonne, of course! Sorry...I had to....)
~Watch what you put in your bath water, if you take them instead of showers sometimes, and make sure your water is not too hot. The Aveeno oatmeal baths are good and cheap. Or use plain powdered milk for a milk bath.
~Try using fragrance-free detergents & softeners to wash your clothes in, too.
~And believe it or not, our own sweat is a big irritant. So if you work outside or sweat a lot, try to blot it with a towel or something instead of your hands. And if you can, wear clothes that absorb sweat off of you...cottons & coolmax fabrics.

I hope these tips may help!