question for anybody, do you need to buy the microdermabrasion machine or can you just buy the crystals?

Hi Turquoise,

Did mdb and aha together get rid of your bumps on their own? OR do you do anything else in conjunction (like anti-candida diet, or op)?? I would be curious to know. Also, did you ever get a vega- or candida-test? If so, what were the results?


Thanks!

Hey Everyone

I'm new to this forum and as my username name indicates, i'm pretty scarred by keratosis pilaris. Emotionally. It is all over my legs, very severe on my thighs. I would never dream of baring my legs before anyone, that is how bad it is.

I've been reading this forum and there's a lot of great stuff i'm dying to try out. Including this. How do I start?

I'm realllyyy new to this, so please help me out. Do I buy just the crystals or something else with it?

Hi scarred,

I think you will find that if you take a few days to read all the posts in this thread, your questions about crystals, etc.. will be answered. I know it will take many hours to do this, but I think you will find that it's worth it. You will learn a lot, and go into it very informed.

DtoB

Hey deathto bumps, it seems like turq isn't posting much these days. I think she is ill a lot. She does not recommend the mdb and aha _together_. Rather, first do 8 to 10 weeks of dermabrasion and then get into AHAs starting at lower percentages and then gradually working up.

In her own words from her site (I can't find the link around here anymore for some reason) "you should NEVER do anything to your skin that causes pain, redness or irritation. You are NOT helping it by doing this, no matter your intentions. I say this because a lot of KP people think that they are not exfoliating "enough" unless they experience pain/stinging and inflammation. I should say, too, that all of the success I have achieved with AHA thus far did not involve ANY pain or irritation!"

She has used OP and omega supplements through much of her maintenance and in her words again, "...I think the omegas really do have a direct effect on the skin." flax and fish oil being her main recommends but watch out don't take too much fish oil as animal-based vitamin A can be toxic. It looked like she was going to try some of the other dietary suggestions from people here - no word on that yet. She credits her success to this forum, btw...

also:
"1. Dermabrasion Use dermabrasion approximately once daily, until your skin is completely smooth. (Specific instructions are lower down on this page.) This can take two months, if not more. The older and the longer untreated your KP is, the longer it will take. Your skin should be rid of bumps before you begin the next stage of treatment. Do NOT initiate AHA until your skin is completely smooth.

For best results on bad/severe KP, I recommend at least a two month course of dermabrasion. The first 4-5 weeks are for bump removal, but after that you should notice improvement to the color and fine texture of your skin.

Results to Expect
At the end of dermabrasion, your skin should feel smooth and silky, as you've never felt before. Redness should be reduced. Minor areas of KP should be clear or very faint. Only the more severe areas should have red dots remaining. Your skin should also have a different, more normal texture. If you have not achieved these results or something similar, continue in this phase of treatment.

2. Take a break After the dermabrasion phase, you need to let your skin rest for about one week. In this time, apply moisturizer (if desired) and do not use any form of exfoliation. You will get some shallow regrowth of bumps in this period. Don't worry about it. (The AHA will take care of those later.)

3. Start AHA Using the percentage that does not cause you irritation (15% for most people, 10% or lower for sensitive skin), begin applying AHA Lotion once daily for several days. When it's clear that you're not getting irritation and can use the lotion without discomfort, increase to twice a day for 5-7 weeks.

Results to Expect
If you have done a full course of dermabrasion prior, your red dots should be fading by the end of this period, and your skin should continue to improve in texture and color.

4. If you need to, try to increase your Lotion Percentage Depending on your results thus far, you may not need to do this. If you are getting good results with the product you're using, DO NOT Increase. If you have used your current product twice a day for at least six weeks and not noticed much improvement, only then is it appropriate to move on to something stronger. Your goal is a steady but slow improvement. If you use something stronger when you do not need to, it's possible to ruin your treatment and stall it completely while your skin heals.
If you're sure you need to move on to a stronger product: If you're at 10%, try the 15. If you're at 15%, try 20%. Incorporate it gradually and work up to twice a day, when you can do so without irritation. Continue this for 2-3 months. If you get persistent irritation from the higher percentage (the 20%, for example) go back to 15% and stay there.
Results to Expect
Your red dots should be almost gone by the end of this period, and your KP treatment should be almost over, your skin nearly clear. It's normal for some cases to take longer, but most of your KP areas should look like healthy, average skin. Only the most severe KP areas will have small patches of stubborn, small, pinkish dots.

5. Maintenance You will know when your active treatment phase is over, when your KP is gone, and you have signs of over exfoliation - usually itching.
You will need to apply AHA approximately once a day, indefinitely. In most cases, it will be whatever potency you increased to in the previous step, but maintenance care requirements vary by season, individual, and lifestyle factors."

I personally have very sensitive skin and have had to modify her program down a couple notches for myself but the dermabrasion in conjunction with omega-3s has improved my skin tone and texture a lot. don't know when i can do my own b4 and afters though...
bd

Hi BunnyDay,

Thanks for all the info! Very helpful.

I'm sorry to hear about Turquoise. I hope she recovers soon!

Cheers,
DtoB

''Do NOT initiate AHA until your skin is completely smooth. ''

Bunnyday I have to disagree with you.I never did dermabrasion and started directly with aha lotions and today I'm kp free.I believe it is wise to start with dermabrasion first but you will get results even without physical exfoliation, it will only take a bit longer.Im talking from my personal experience.

Hi Aynas, no problem. You aren't disagreeing with me, that was a direct quote from Turquois's site outside of this forum. I'll send you the link if you've lost it.
So that's cool with me, you are doing a slightly different regimen than Turquois's, is that fair to say? - bd

I'm noticing better results doing micro-derm in the shower and applying the 15% AHA a few minutes later. But this CAN result in stinging so gotta be careful w/ it. But it reduces/flattens the bumps like "whoa."

Hello all,
I have not been around, but someone alerted me to the "Missing Link" situation here. This thread is quite useless without the link to my site. I have tried to put it in by spacing it out, but the censor still blocks it!

What is going on at this forum that you can't even provide a link? Admin? This forum is here to help people with KP - what good is it if you cannot give people the treatment info they are looking for?

Hello Turquoise,

Please have a read:
I appreciate your interest in helping the keratosis pilaris community. That's why we welcome your participation in the site, however, we have to abide by our established forum rules (see above) with absolutely no exceptions.

Please feel free to edit/update the first post of this thread to include *any* (or *all*) information that may be useful in following the ideas/treatments discussed in this thread.

Thank-you for understanding.
Juan

You have GOT to be kidding. There is NO rule in the history of mankind that does not and should not have an exception. That you insist on it shows complete and utter arrogance.

It is beyond retarded and you are deliberately hindering people's ability to treat their KP, and everyone here knows it except you, for some strange reason.
It is NO ONE's fault that certain products are not available in other parts of the world, but you are punishing the international KP sufferers by denying them access to information and products that could help them.

This forum sucks now and I have no desire to be a part of it while such idiotic policies are in effect. It was better before. At least people were free to exchange information instead of being censored constantly. Like it is not hard enough to treat KP already? You will not even let people explore their options in treatment properly.
Not even talking about "my" site, there are tons of outside resources that sell products that people have the right to know about, read about, and CHOOSE to purchase if they want to, and you will not even let them see them.

Surely you can see how stupid that is? How can you not? It invalidates the entire purpose of the forum by disabling people's ability to treat their disease in the way they would choose to.

I never thought I would know the day that the KP Forum itself would be the biggest obstacle to treatment. This editing of posts you are doing is especially intrusive and again violates any freedom of expression one may have here. I see you've mangled my other post, too.

Farewell to all. Please feel free to email: ****************** (at) yahoo.com

Until the Admin here comes to his senses and sees how incredibly stupid
this whole situation is, I will try my best to be available via email and provide info that way. (This is assuming he does not censor my email address as well.)

Turquois - before we all go further down the negative paths, see if you can put your site address in your "User CP." I just looked in there and there's a field wherein you're supposed to be able to paste your own site's address. Then you could just tell people to look at your profile or so-and-so's profile. I agree that we should be able to provide product links, etc... just in terms of freedom of information but it's probably a fine idea that the site engine or the admins edit out links - otherwise it could be spam h e l l here again. (I have sympathy for the job of admin from work experience) I know I brought up the absence of your link in this thread so I feel at least partially responsible for your ire directed at the admins. but i hadn't pursued what other way we might find your site. I actually found your site by googling. You should try that if you haven't... it works, goes right to KP treatment and stages. your site is also linked from some fashion and beauty chat pages in various languages - you have reached global audiences! - bd

Turquoise,

Anybody can reach you anytime through private message or private email. We all have that capability.

Juan is trying to stay consistent with everybody and not play favorites.
He puts a lot of time and energy into maintaining a quality forum here and deserves our respect, polite words and gratitude for all that he does. Thank you, Juan.

kebod