Oh, thank you much!

It's great that you're going for dermabrasion. It is an awesome way to get rid of KP. If you do it well and thoroughly, and for the right duration, it will clear a lot of it and make the AHA work way better. I only regret that I couldn't push it from the beginning, as there are quite a few people in your situation who have used AHA and gotten results, but not quite as much as they wanted. Now they totally can.

Go, you!

I don't know what kind of lotion I want to use with my dermabrasion crystals...I've decided to start with my legs first. I just keep looking at the little powdery crystals...not what I expected but it's fine with me.

Yes, it looks like nothing at all. But when you first put it on your skin, you really feel its roughness and how strong it is. I usually tell people to just grab any lotion, even at the dollar store, but maybe certain kinds do work better than
others. You only need a little dab of it, though, and end up rinsing it off, so I tend to think it doesn't matter.

I've thought that it might be good to use it with sulfur soap or some other non-acid KP treatment, like a way of combining two treatments. A slick layer of the soap would be enough to make for smooth rubbing, but not so as to dillute the crystals. That seems to be a common pitfall, that people use too much lotion and then have to rub longer.

I just rubbed a part of my leg with some cheap lotion and a little bit of crystals. Definitely feels smoother and yeah, on the skin I can feel the roughness.

Be sure to add in a few drops of water, too. (I can't believe it, but I just found out that some people have not been doing this.) The mix should be thin, have plenty of crystal, and slide easily over your skin. (It should be VERY easy to rub it around quickly.) That grainy feeling is good, and your skin should feel a little smoother every time you do it.

So, it is very cool in that way, that even after one time, you can feel a difference. You can imagine that if you keep it up, eventually it will smooth out your skin completely.

Turquoise this is splendorous. I couldn't wait to post. I decided to use sugar with a little acv (apple cider vinegar) for dermabrasion (fine, caster sugar - not powdered and not as large a grain as usually purchased in US stores) since I have a septic tank and I couldn't bear to put aluminum directly into my ecosystem here. While I do almost my entire body...sigh... it doesn't take a huge amount of time because I'm starting out a bit easy on my skin _per your very sensible advice . I use a half cup of sugar, a little vinegar (1 tablespoon?) until I have a grainy paste, put on some rubber gloves to spare my hands which don't need dermabrasion, climb into the shower without the water on (no wasting that precious resource!) and get started. I'm doing my face, chest, arms, butt and legs. I massage an area till there's just the slightest tingle and then move on. when everybody's been abraded, I turn on the shower and thoroughly wash it off with water, no soap. I've only been doing it about 5 days and my skin is already smoother and there's a slight fade to the red spots, moreso on my arms than legs but my legs are paler and it's probably easier to see red there. I thought it might take longer to notice results because of my age but it hasn't. Granted, I have been oil-pulling for a bit over a month to get my skin healthier and I waited for my skin to settle down from some initial breakouts from that, I even am having to avoid abrading a couple spots still healing but where I can , woohoo! I bet my septic system environment is happy too - "yummy, sugar!" Also, I thought of sugar because glycolic acid, which has worked well for me b4 as I keep saying, is derived from sugar. I can't say for sure if there's any of the GA when it gets wet but using acv to make a paste of the sugar obviously introduces some acid to the mix. I know that's not your original approach but I never even would have tried this if I hadn't read forums here and read your website several times and thought about trying again. no wonder anyone who finds something that works shouts "A CURE!" I'll let you know if I can keep this up and how it goes, xo - bunnyday

I was wondering if this process can be used on the face? If so, which % of lotion should be used because I know 15% is way too strong? Thanks!

Ok. I did an experiment. My right side has always looked worse than the left. I did the dermabrasion on my right arm and the loofah on the left. 2 days later, my right side is definately looking better than my left!!

Really hoping to get my arms looking decent by graduation. (My daughter's) lol. Thank you for all the helpful input.

Oh, I got the BHA 2% in the mail yesterday. I think I will take your advise and go with the AHA 8% or maybe the 10% next time. Thanks again!

This sounds really promising. I have never tried sugar scrubs, but dermabrasion crystals look exactly like sugar and they are both a crystalline structure. (The tiny sharp edges are key.) Does the vinegar sting it at all?
It seems like a slower process than regular dermabrasion (which can have you feeling much smoother after just a few days), but then it also depends on how long you rub it in, and especially the potency of the mixture. Still, it may be a good option, especially for those international people who do not have access to dry crystals. Lately I have even been wondering whether *sand* would work - maybe not as well, but I bet it would smooth it out in time.
I didn't know about the sugar/septic tank issue. I did worry a little about putting db crystals down the drain, if they might block it, but they are very small and it is just a two month process; I didn't have any trouble with clogging when I did it. But since sugar dissolves anyway, this is sensible.

The only complication would be, as mentioned, the stinging. But if it's not painful, I guess it's fine. I wonder if it is a chemical thing that makes it work, or if it is a straight mechanical process. You could try mixing sugar with regular moisturizer and maybe it would work as well?
Thanks for posting. This is good news!

Yes, dermabrasion should be more effective and give results faster than loofah. I've never actually done this experiment, but it seems to be the best way to exfoliate physically. Once you try it and really feel how it works, it is obviously better.
It is nice to get a little bit of improvement every day, and KNOW that it is not a deceptive effect, but actually because your bumps are being worn down. You know how there are so many moisturizers and stuff that *seem* to help KP, but you're never sure if it's because it's making a difference, or just moisturizing and making the bumps feel softer?

I don't know if you mean you will be using them simultaneously? Or on a different area. It is not advisable to use acid and db on the same place together, as you probably know. It would be awesome to get some experiment results with the BHA alone, though.

Ok, I meant to post a long time ago, but never really got around to it.

I've been using the 20% lotion since about the beginning of January of February (I don't remember which month), with applications 2-3 times every day (except when I'm lazy or sick), and I have seen amazing improvement in my KP. I wish I had taken pictures before I started to show just how bad it was (trust me, it was bad), but now I just have mild red dots. I never really had a lot of bumps to begin with, but I use an exfoliating mit type thing in the shower every day just to smooth down my arms before I put the lotion on. Once in a while my arms get this blotchy redness to them, but it's not very often. I've only had KP for a few years, but it seems that that was enough time for it to get suuuper bad. It used to only be on the back of my arms, but it spread a little bit to the sides and fronts of them. It's not as bad in those spots, but the dots seem to refuse to go away there.

I guess I can't really credit just the lotion to my improvement though. In November/December I started working out 3-5 days a week, and I've been keeping steady with it since then, so I'm assuming all the sweating has done a bit to make my skin look better. I also went tanning for a month in march, which really helped in making my skin look better on my arms. And I've also been taking calcium supplements (they've been said to help make your skin more healthy) on and off for a few months.

But anywho, I'm totally convinced that this whole process/lotion really will clear up KP, no matter how bad it is.

Just a few questions if you dont mind
Did you use the microdermabrasion before the lotion or just start off with the lotion?
Did you start off with the 20% lotion? and you did exfloitate inbetween using the lotion? the redness did seem to come and go? so did it seem to get better than you might have a bad day out of the blue?

When you went tanning in March, were you still using the lotion? (how long did you use the lotion?) Did you have to keep it up or the kp would come back? Doesnt the aha make your skin really sensitve to tanning?
Sorry for all the questions!
Thanks for all the help!

Hello McB,

It does sound like it could have been a combined effect of all of the improvements you've made, but I'm sure the lotion did help. Lately I have been recommending dermabrasion first for almost everyone, just to eliminate the uncertainty and give the AHA its best chance to work.
That is great that you've had such improvement. I think if you really focused on your KP, did some deliberate physical exfoliation for several weeks and then restarted with the AHA, you could clear it even more. Maybe you could do this on the remaining red dots. Using physical exfoliation (by a mitt, or any means) followed by AHA on the same day could be creating irritation (maybe the blotchy redness you mention) and may actually have slowed your results, but it's wonderful that you've achieved what you have.

Tanning is not recommended, since AHA makes your skin more sensitive to UVA/B radiation (even if it's artificial), but many people just prefer to be tan and cannot accomodate a tan-free lifestyle. It would be great if you could let the tan fade, see where your KP is really at, and treat it deliberately with dermabrasion and AHA, but if you're happy with the results you have, that is what matters.

I've been using the lotion regularly for four months now, and it absolutely works. My arms haven't looked this good since I was a pre-adolescent. I definitely recommend using the 20% stuff (and, believe me, I have tried EVERYTHING over the years).

I do have one question, and I apologize in advance because I'm sure the answer is contained in this thread and I just don't have time to review the whole thing: where can one purchase the crystals for dermabrasion that Turquoise recommended?

ha! love that turn of phrase! "tan-free lifestyle" LOL.