Microdermabrasion is supposed to speed up the whole process.I never did any physical exfoliation I only used aha lotions for about five months and today I'm kp free.My point is that ahas will do their job even if you don't do dermabrasion it will only take longer before you see results.

Yes, my skin is definitely smoother. I am ordering the 15% AHA and I will begin in the next couple of weeks. Wish me luck.

Has anyone used the microdermabrasion on their face? I just have one spot there, the red dots with whitish dots in the middle. I know it needs an exfoliant but I'm scared of this stuff.

I also plan to use it in the winter on arms.

hi turquise,
is it alright to use any brands of AHA lotion?

Been using the pure white aluminum oxide dermabrasian crystals for the past 4 days to good effect. My skin is definitely getting smoother; my right side is almost "normal" to the touch.

I noticed that you need to make the mixture "by feel." So if one side of your body is becoming exfoliated faster than the other, then use more crystals and less moisturizer on the side that's taking longer.

Anybody know where I can find a plastic glove though? To protect my palms from the friction of the crystals? Or even alternative options? I was thinking that maybe wrapping a plastic bag around my hand would get the job done.

Anyway, I'm happy with the results so far. Typically the process takes around 10-15 minutes as I exfoliate the tops of my arms, the sides of my trunk, and my thighs. During this time, I will usually have already applied T-Gel to my scalp (to control sebhorreic dermatitis), and the T-Gel is required to sit in the scalp for a while to actually work, so I knock out two birds with one stone with this little regimen.

If this gets rid of KP, then 10-15 mins a day is a ****ing pittance.

I expected the crystals to be more "abrasive", but even in the areas where KP is not very extreme, such as the tops of my legs, I don't really notice any irritation following application. No visible s****es or anything. I'm very optimistic about where I'll be in 3 months when I'm applying the AHA.


Good stuff, Turquoise. Keep us updated. If this actually ends up working, you can bet your KP-free ass I'll be donating to you

none of the b+++dy links on this site work in my browser it hangs everything when i click on them aaaaaaagh!!

Just a few tips for everyone using dermabrasion crystals. I find it better to mix it with a cleanser (any cleanser) than a moisturizer, because you only need a little mixture and you can rub it on your skin for as long as you want, whereas the moisturizer gets aborbed by your skin too quickly and it makes it extremely hard to rub after it is absorbed.

To rub, I also use a pumice stone, as I don't want to use my hand. Just make sure you don't apply any pressure with the stone, because it would be too harsh on your skin ...

I decided that a stone wasn't the best applicator, so scratch that idea ...

Hello all,

I've been out of the action for a while and have missed a lot of the goings on around here. (Didn't even know the forum went down!?) Thanks to all the new posters who have added their experiences. I don't intentionally neglect this place, and I do like hearing from all of you. I am glad to hear of the updates and the new and continuing progress for people in treatment. Very awesome photos from Aynas; how great of her to post those for everyone!! Very cool stuff there.

To address some of the specific comments:

As the site describes, you are supposed to add water (and any of your "ingredients") as you go, whenever you need it, to maintain the wetness and consistency. Otherwise, whatever type of mixture you are using will just dry on your skin and be difficult to use.

It should have a wet, sort of slimy and gritty texture, and move easily over the skin all the time.
Pumice stone is definitely not something I would recommend being involved in this treatment in any way. Talk about painful.

I think they are too small to leave distinct marks, but they can do a normal exfoliation session, or take off tons of skin and leave lots of irritation, all depending on what ratio of product you're using and how long you rub it in, and whether you keep the consistency workable. (If you let it get sticky, it slows your progress.) It is a very changeable process that you can intensify whenever you want as you go along. I do encourage people to experiment with it, use more or less water and ingredients. You should be able to exfoliate to the point where you do get some pinkness afterward, just to know what it takes to get there and how much you can safely do in one treatment.
A lot of people do overdo it at first and up red and stinging for a couple days. Or, more often, they don't skip at all, and so end up with accumulated irritation within the first couple weeks, which usually manifests as severe itchiness. Skipping a day now and then is always advisable within the first few weeks, especially.

I am really glad to hear that you are trying this. You are one of the true blue KPers who will give anything a fair shot, and contribute a lot with your experiences to the forum, too. It sounds like your trial with AHA was before my treatment. I think I started this thread in Sept/Oct (?).
I added to my homepage some of the specifics about "AHA Alone" type of treatments. It depends on the severity of the case, but the majority of people who go that route do not end up with the great results like people like Jimm and Aynas have.

I emailed you a response to this, though I don't know if you got it, and I was very late in replying. The site explains the theory better than I can here, but basically fat works as an insulator, keeping body heat IN, but the skin is on the *outside* of the barrier, and that is why it stays cooler, and can get very cold when the weather changes. There is nothing to keep that skin warm, as it is separated from the heat-producing muscles, the hot core of the body, and the larger blood vessels, by that blanket of fat. This is why KP appears often on the extremeties, because the skin of the arms and legs is usually cooler than that of the torso. It also explains why *some* fatty areas (such as the outer hips) develop KP, where even fattier areas (inside the upper thigh) generally do not. The inside of the thigh, especially up high, is tucked in to the groin and faces the other leg, not the outside. So it stays quite warm.

My legs (and especially my outside thigh areas, where the KP is the worst), get and stay very cold in the wintertime. Even if I'm inside and the rest of me is warm, those fatty places always feel cool/cold to the touch. Back when I used to ride a bike in the winter, those places would actually start hurting when the windchill would get bad. They would get so cold that that they would ache badly and start getting frostnip.
I was thinking about the example you gave of being indoors with the air conditioning on. Could it be that this was a very hot day, and your body was still letting off heat in the attempt to cool down? Also, it does not have to be *that* much colder for skin function to be affected. I'm thinking that even a slightly lower surface temp can affect the skin's function. For instance, if I gain weight and my fat layers thicken, I start to develop mild KP wherever the fat has gotten the deepest and the skin has cooled down. Even an extra 1/4 inch of fat makes a difference on me. I get "new" KP on my stomach, sides, and love handle areas. I even start to get it on the sides of my rib cage when the fat gets thick there. (I gain pure fat there, noticeably) Even though that is close to the body's core, it is fat on top of rib bone, not warmth-generating muscle, and so it gets cold.

My weight goes up and down a lot, and I gain fat from nothing at all, so I get a lot of opportunity to observe these trends directly. For males, particularly, who have a stable weight and/or do not have a weight problem, KP must seem very confounding. But I do think this skin temp thing is at the heart of KP. It explains its bizarre patterns and trends precisely, especially given the different ways the genders store fat, and the differences between individuals. They describe fat gain by body type... Maybe you have heard of this, the "apple" type body, the "spoon" type, who put more fat on in different places. This could account for why some people have more KP on the torso areas, and why some have it more on the arms and legs.


Final Thoughts for Today...

In general, there are still a lot of people just not reading the site to get the basic directions down, so some people's treatments are going rougher than others. The directions at the site are as clear as I can imagine their being; I don't know how to fix this issue or get people to pay attention to them. But overall, things seem better now and I believe there are more people in active treatment and going smoothly than there have been in the past few months. I have gotten some really encouraging emails over this time from people doing things well (and correctly) and inspired to continue.

I use regular rubber gloves from the grocery store, usually available where the dishwashing soap is or cleaning items like mops and sponges, etc... They are pretty cheap and you can use them for a long time. - bd

I've read the site over and over again....but I still have a question...... About how long do you rub one area for a good exfoliation when using the microdermabrasion technique? I noticed that the feeling in my legs aren't too sensitive and I can rub and rub and still not get a stinging sensation. I'm dark-skinned, so my legs dont turn red to notify me. Just wondering b/c I dont want to do damage if I can help it.

Any advice is appreciated!

I completed the microdermabrasion step and now I am on my second week of AHA 15. I don't see any improvement, so I was wondering when do I step it up to AHA 20?

You are at the very beggining of the aha treatment so there's not much to expect after two weeks.Continue with aha 15 for at least a month or two,give your skin some time to get ready for aha 20 otherwise you might burn your skin.

Just wanted to update everyone on my progress with AHA. My arms look so, so much better than before starting the treatment, but they are still not quite as clear as I want them to be, and this is after over 4 months.... It's kind of depressing I must say.

Jeez, look at this place. Everything is different. I think I liked the white background better. Feels a little crowded with this blue border. But it looks like the KPers will be sufferering in style from now on, at least !

Quote:

"I completed the microdermabrasion step and now I am on my second week of AHA 15. I don't see any improvement, so I was wondering when do I step it up to AHA 20?"

If you don't start seeing some improvement in the red dots in the next few weeks, it may mean that you didn't stay with DB long enough. Needs for this can vary greatly between people... Dammit I can't get these italics to stop...

Quote:

About how long do you rub one area for a good exfoliation when using the microdermabrasion technique? I noticed that the feeling in my legs aren't too sensitive and I can rub and rub and still not get a stinging sensation.

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