Hey you!! hi! Haven't seen you around in ages !

lol yes. I don't recommend physical and chemical exfoliating at the same time. Not a good idea.

If you're going to use a physical exfoliant, you need to give your skin time to "heal" from it before you apply any kind of acid. Or any treatment, maybe. These things aren't supposed to be applied to irritated skin.
Physical exfoliation is an excellent way to treat KP, though, in small areas, and is an excellent pre-treatment in the weeks before you start on AHA.

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for my KP, which is a pharmacist-made product containing 0.07% of Retinoid Acid, 0.2% of Dexametasone ( a corticoid. I know, Bad) on a oil-free based lotion. I once applied it (long time ago) and in about a month my KP was only smooth and with very light pink dots

ooh, sounds interesting. Retinoids in the right formulation would seem to be an ideal way to exfoliate. If only they made something commerically that had a proper concentration for treating KP and did not cause irritation.

It seems like for real treatment of eliminating KP, you will be in for at least a month even to get started exfoliating it. It is such a slow process, but it must be done that way to avoid problems..

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It's been 2 weeks and from a bumpy arm, I have about 10% of what I had a month ago and the red dots are already getting into a "hole", the famous "hole" !!!

YAAAAYYY !! OH, that's wonderful !! Good for you! Those "Holes" are the best!! I never realized until I saw them that they were actually the follicles.
OH YEAH ! When you start seeing those follicles, you are heading for great results and your KP can clear up completely. The funny thing is that no one else around here (that I've seen) seems to talk about the holes, so I am assuming that they have not had true success in treating their Kp. I mean, if you are not seeing holes, your follicles are still plugged, so...
I am also wondering if anyone else has managed to photograph the holes besides me.

YAAAY !! GO HOLES !!

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So, I went to your Picture site and you said you used the Retin A stuff. Which product exactly did you use? I would like to try it. Do you remeber the %?

It was so long ago. It was called "Tretinoin cream. " But I am in the US, so I don't know if it would be the same? I want to say it was 0.75 or something like that, but I really don't remember.
It did clear my KP completely in about 6-8 weeks, and I did not get any irritation, itching, or any bad side effects. My skin looked totally normal. I know that Retin A creams come in different concentrations, so I imagine if you used the wrong one, you would get tons of irritation and have no success treating your KP. (Well, it would be the same as using too-strong an AHA.) That seems to have happened for a lot of people around here, from what I read.

But it was way expensive. Like $25 per ounce. If you have a lot of KP, you could be in over $1000 a month, easily, just to keep it under control. I certainly can't afford it.

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Yeah, I've "burned" my skin a lot by applied Neostrata on no-kp areas, but it's sooo much easier to just aplly randomly!!!

WAY. LOL. I know. Until you get those burns, you are just like, "Yay! Who cares?! Life is great! I love treating my KP!" *slathering it on everywhere.*

*Ouch.*

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Oh, have you tried sunbathing? I know you can only sunbathe 2 days after stopping with the AHA product, but maybe you'll REALLY get rid of the very light pink dots, because you'll tan. Have you tried it?

I can't tan at all.
Plus my dots are totally gone now. They don't bother me at all.

Thanks for posting. I look forward to hearing more about your progress.

Keep in mind, too, that I am happy to send people Neostrata stuff. You would have to pay for it and the shipping, but I'm sure it would still be less than the expense of getting it locally where you are. Just email me if you're interested.

Yeah. I don't get it.
Pain is always bad. It also increases the inflammation around your KP, so it will take even longer to treat it. People are really cruel to their skin for some reason. They do things to it that they would never think of doing to other parts of their bodies.

WOW, great ! The milder your KP is, the faster you will see results. Good for you!! The dryness is a good sign - that means it is steadily working through those layers of KP. The dry stage length varies for different people, but may last a month or longer.

Yes, you will notice that the milder areas of your KP - like the lower arms, and especially the front of the shins will start clearing quickly and you will start seeing open follicles there long before the more severe areas even flatten out.

Wait! Turquoise, on 12/10, you pull my quote that says I have some redness and then you say that's bad, that any irritation is bad, but at the end of the same email you respond to another person's quote by saying, "Remember, the redness is just the irritation caused by clogged follicles, and this treatment can open them up, therefore eliminating the very cause of the redness." Which one is it?

Sorry I guess I was not clear. Any irritation caused by a *product* you are applying, is definitely bad. That is, when you apply a new thing and suddenly start getting *new* redness that stings or burns, you are doing damage.

That is a different kind of redness, the one that is inherent to KP. (The red dots and sometimes the patchy redness that people are always talking about.) That is there just because your follicles are clogged in a case of advanced KP. The objective is to clear out your follicles and eliminate that redness, but not add any *additional* irritation or inflammation while doing so.

However, all redness is "bad" (most of the time, though you can learn from it as a mistake and turn it into a good thing I guess), because it indicates that your skin is in distress. If it is caused by KP, it means your follicles are in deep trouble and very irritated. If it's from a topical treatment you're using, it means you are stripping your skin layers too quickly, and only hurting yourself.

Pixi- sorry i havent replied iv been busy, depressed and stressed out and im gonna quit work this week this place is killing me!!!!

new year and new job hopefully!!!

im gona order a foot cream but use it on my arms, as they seem to be stronger and see how that goes......

Hi Turquoise,
I've been looking at your pictures for like three weeks everyday and still can't believe how amazing your skin looks now.I'd say my kp is just like yours was-when I first saw your pic I said to myself omg-this is my leg!Im waiting for my aha exfoliators to come-I ordered them from usa because I wasn't able to find them anywhere here in Europe.I've decided to start with paula's choice 10 and neostrata 15 and then when my skin feels ready i'll continue with 20.I'll take before and after pictures and put them on if this works.I'd like to see those holes!

[quote=AYNAS]Hi Turquoise,
I've been looking at your pictures for like three weeks everyday and still can't believe how amazing your skin looks now.{/quote]

Yeah, it's remarkable, though now I'm totally spoiled on it. I have totally forgotten what it was like to have KP. This is my "normal" now.

Yes it's a real bother that people in Europe are having a hard time with it. Before you start with the AHA, you could get a head start by doing some physical exfoliating (if you're not already doing it). Even once a day for a couple weeks can smooth your bumps considerably and make the work much easier for when you start the AHA.

Turquoise, Since you began this thread and seem to be kind of managing and responding to so many replies to it from others, if it hasn't been suggested already, I would definitely suggest that you write to the companies who make the NeoStrata and other lotions that have worked for you and just let them know about all of this success. Because the last thing we would want is for them to ever discontinue product that seems to be really working. It is great that you consider your KP to be totally managed at this point. I am using the Neostrata now on arms and the 20% on legs until it runs out, and I do think that good things are starting to happen. I'm in my early 40's and have had it for decades, so I know it'll take a while, but I'm feeling somewhat encouraged here that over time my skin will look a lot better. I even had a dream last night that I was going to go out in public at night in a black halter dress, and the backs of my arms had almost no KP on it! It was a very exciting feeling, even in the dream! So, I do somehow feel that this lotion, with ongoing use, will really help manage this so that I don't have to worry nearly as much about it. Anyway, do let these companies know, maybe it'll also encourage more research and product to come out to support.

I believe they are already aware, as the Neostrata packaging specifically says it treats KP, and the DCL brand is designed for hyperkeratotic diseases.
Who knows what the future will bring, but I think if anything they will be encouraged to continue selling the product.
Since this thread was first posted, *both* products' prices have gone up. Neostrata's by a dollar and DCL's by almost two. I think this is reflective of increased demand. Also, these are just two brands of AHA. There are probably others out there that may come in similar formulations and just aren't as famous-named.

for a little bit less money (around 6 or 7 dollars)
try clean and clear morning burst facial cleanser.
i use it whenever i shower... and while it might
not totally rid you of KP.. it keeps it from being
so itchy and rough

Hi there,

Glad to hear the good news. I plan on purchasing the DCL 20% AHA Revitalizing cream. Is $22 for 4 oz a good price? Better yet, what's the best "price per oz" you've been able to find in the US?

Also, would this work on the KP on my face? I have the blotchy red spots and I have a feeling this lotion would be to strong for the skin on my face. Would you recommend a different lotion for the face or just a milder AHA lotion?

Thanks!

Dan

No. Greatskin.com sells the 4 oz for about $14, and even that is up from its previous price. It used to be $12 just a few months ago!


Yes, it would be way too strong. (It may even take time for the rest of your skin to get used to it, because it is so strong. Be sure to read carefully and know how to do the 'stop and start' technique.)
If I were you, I would try an AHA 10% and use it once every three days at first. See if you get irritation. If so, use it even less often. If not, try every other day. It will probably take a few months to show results, and very few people have tried this method for facial KP, so you will have to be careful and experiment.

But since facial KP is a lot like regular KP, the same method (exfoliation) should theoretically work. As always, it's a matter of finding the right potency and frequency (to avoid irritation), and sticking with it. Best of luck!