I have read a lot about the oil puling and of some people's, essentially torquoise, in treating their KP.

Please could someone tell me why this has been used to treat KP because I don't understand how rinsing the mouth has an effect on the KP which is located on arms, legs etc...

Besides toruise, has anyone else had success with this?

Thanks for the input

I started oil pulling about two weeks ago and have seen positive results. I've mentioned this before, but here's why I started the process. In May of this year I went to my GP who thought I had an infection and prescribed antibiotics for a rash/itch I was experiencing. Didn't work. Went to a dermatologist who diagnosed folliculitis, at this time it was spreading. Prescribed topical steroids. Didn't work. Back to my GP, blood test, everything okay, sent me to an allergist, same thing, no allergies. Finally in October after experiencing more itching and still spreading, lower legs/thighs/back of arms/buttocks I went to another dermatologist. Immediate diagnosis of KP, more medicine, lots of moisturizers, started using Cetaphil cleanser, some relief. Joined this site, read about Oil Pulling, decided what the hell it can't hurt. Bingo, I'm not totally free of KP but it has dramatically been decreased to my thighs only now and my itch is substantially better. I'm not one to reply/post to these sorts of things but without this site I believe I'd still be really uncomfortable. No need to rabmle anymore, all I can say is OP is working for me. Good luck, and keep trying, something will work. And again, thank goodness for this site.

woofish

LOL I am the AHA advocate, not the oil puller.

I haven't tried oil pulling yet, though I'm thinking about it. AHA has been very effective for me, but the dry winter air here is really hard on my skin and my KP is constantly trying to come back (I am having to apply lotion twice a day now, just to maintain my results), so I'm going to be adding to my process in the effort to perfect my KP treatment. OP is an easy and inexpensive thing, so there is no harm in trying it.

I am skeptical about it, mainly because (as far as I know?) no one has provided photographic evidence that it works on KP. If it works so well, why can't people show us that it does? (A simple before and after would suffice, yes?)

However, I have been reading about how OP causes a drying effect on the skin. AHA works that way (Drying out the KP layers so that they disintegrate and fall off the skin), so I am wondering if OP can work. I ordered some oil online but it hasn't arrived yet.

I can't figure how the oil can affect the skin. I don't buy the "TOXINS" theory for one second. Unlike AHA, which is very explainable, nobody can explain what these toxins are or how the oil removes them from the body. Actually "toxin" is little but a new-age word that people use when they don't know what they're talking about, and it often means that the product is worthless.

Moreover, KP is not caused by impurities or "toxins." We know it is a genetic disorder that causes malfunctioning skin. That is, the skin is unable to exfoliate itself properly because it doesn't know how to, not because it is contaminated with a substance that is inhibiting it or something.

I think that if OP works, it must have something to do with ingesting/swallowing small amounts of the oil and getting nutrients from it. Maybe it has some ingredients that help the skin in ways that just haven't been researched yet?

The only other thing I can think of is that, under the tongue, there is an area of very thin tissue that can absorb things right into the bloodstream. (For instance, some medications are tablets that you hold under your tongue until they dissolve - buprenorphine is a popular one for that.) So it could be that certain components of the oil are being absorbed into the body here, because this is a direct route to the blood that does not undergo processing (and dilluting) by digestion. (When you swallow stuff normally, its potency is often greatly reduced by the liver.)
Maybe the gums are involved here as well. There are a lot of nerves under the gumline, and that is another area with a rich blood supply close to the surface.

But as to how it all works... I have yet to see a scientific explanation for it.
I try to keep an open mind though.
Humans are ignorant, we know very little about how to cure diseases, and there is a lot left to be discovered in terms of what chemicals/ingredients have effects on the body in ways that just have not been studied at all.

This sounds like Deja Vu(SP?) for me. I have gone through exactly the same thing..... What oil are you pulling wth.. I'm using sesame now? Thanks

Hello freakzilla, I'm using evco produced by Jarrows. I purchased it at a Whole Foods market here in California. I just read Turquoise's response and she seems much more informed than I; however,all I can say it's better and for that I'm grateful. The KP was starting to affect my quality of life, the itch was really bad some days. I unfortunately didn't take pictures of a before issue but even friends have noticed my legs look better. I'm in shorts most of the time aside from work and at my age, 44, appearance isn't that big of an issue. I'm going to my dermatologist in two weeks and will again tell her about OP because I never even filled the prescription she gave me. Maybe it's the cleanser and eating habits that help, don't know, but, I don't think it's a coincidence it's getting better since I started doing OP. Thanks.

woofish