After thousands of dollars and zillions of tried-and-failed products, I've found something that is finally working. I bought a 15% salicylic acid peel from www.platinumskincare.com. I had purchased peels before, but they were always AHA peels like glycolic or lactic acid (they never worked). The directions for this peel say to use the peel every week or so and leave it on for 5 minutes and wash off, but being the desperate KP sufferer/renegade that I am, I have been using it as a lotion, just leaving it on all night, and I'm using it every night. My skin is really peeling and the plugs are sloughing off to my utter amazement. Even the redness and discoloration from scars is improving. I've had some irritation (since I'm using it much more than the directions say), but not near as much as I thought and i was willing to endure much more to see if this would work. I have never used anything that has ever given me more than 1 tenth of 1% of improvement so I am tickled pink right now.

Hey,you have used the glycolic acid from Platnumskincare and it didn't work at all? Is salicylic acid much better? Can you be more specific? Does glycolic acid peel your skin? I am using their glycolic acid, too, and it did peel my skin but it didn't cure my scare and the bumps are not completely gone.

What is the difference between glycolic and salicylic acids?

I have not tried any other peels from www.platinumskincare.com besides the salicylic one. The other peels i tried before (glycolic and lactic) were from a different web site. They did not work for me as well. I think they were aroung 40% strong. As i understand it from reading on the web, Salicylic acid is better equipped to penetrate the actual pore and loosen the plugs, which is exactly what is needed for KP. Glycolic acid on the other hand is better at exfoliating top layers of skin and doesn't necessarily penetrate the pore as well. The glycolic peels did make my skin peel, but i had so much irritation and redness from it that it probably covered up any progress i made with my bumps. I don't get much if any irritation from the salicylic and it really helps.

How long did you continue to use the peels? I know you mentioned that you used the peels everynight, is that still the case? What were your results after the inital sloughing? I started on salicylic acid 6% (keralyt) a few weeks back but stopped while peeling. Did you continue to apply it while your skin peeled? Did it burn? Lotsa questions...thanks!

I'm still using the peel every night. My skin is still peeling, but it's more of a fine dust than sheets of skin coming off. The plugs are also sloughing off. My skin started to slough after the first week of use, but I didn't see improvement until after 2 or 3 weeks of use. I also used the Keralyt for 2 months at one time and although my skin peeled a little, it didn't seem to help my bumps for some reason. Maybe I need a real high concentration of salicylic acid to be effective on my skin. This peel has never been irritating to my skin or made it burn. I just itch a little.

I was so sleepy last night, I read your registering date on the site as the date you posted the salicylic acid thread! So my questions were as though you'd been using the peel since May...oops. Keep us posted on how it works out for you.

Apart from the fine dust, what's the condition of your KP? As in, has the redness/scarring improved? The keralyt does quite a bit of exfoliation on my skin, so I'll likely stick to it for now till I run out of it. But at the same time, I want to make sure that if I keep applying it, it will actually have a continual benefit. My skin got really dry after...what's your experience? I also started using cocoa butter after the peeling which is a nice neutral moisturizer on my skin, but does nothing for the KP itself. I think I may need a heavier lotion though, esp w/cooler weather coming up.

Yeah, I've only been using the peel for about a month now. My KP is about 40 - 50% better. Some areas, like my shoulders, are 100% cleared. I can't stop running my hands over my shoulders because they are so smooth now, and they were gruesome before! The redness is better and discoloration is improving, but not perfect yet. I think it can only get better, too. My skin is somewhat dry, and I think that's because the peel has an alcohol base (i think Keralyt does too), which is drying. I'm trying different lotions but I haven't found one i really like yet.

Murad also utilizes salicylic acid in their 'acne' treatment products. I have been using these products for about 6 months now and my keratosis pilaris is about 70% better than it used to be. I am heading to email them right now to find out how to get rid of the other 30% and the dark spots in my skin caused from the old breakouts.

The nice thing about this treatment is that it doesn't dry, irritate or cause excessive peeling or sloughing of the skin--so you don't walk around looking like an alligator like I did with the products my dermatologist gave me--like strong Benzoyl peroxide washes and Retin A.

The only thing my dermatologist ever suggested that still works effectively on my skin is a product called Auquifer. It's made my the same company who make Eucerin lotion and it's almost vaseline-like in texture. The difference though is that it lets air in to breathe but creates a barrier to keep bacteria and other harmful elements out. Just a very thin layer keeps the skin very well protected but it's kind of greasy to use after showering if you're going to be putting on dress clothes. I still use it at night a lot. Especially in the winter months when the dry air where I live leaves my skin parched and more prone to breakouts. You can only get Aquifer, I believe, by ordering it through a pharmacy (no prescription required--just ask them to order it for you). It's about $17-$19 for a very large tub that will last 6-8 months). I still have a tub I ordered before using the Murad products so I don't use it as often but I think I may have spotted a small tub on the shelf in the lotion section of the grocery store not long ago.


The standard Murad acne kit comes with a skin wash, a toner and a 'perfecting lotion'. It also comes with a skin mask. It arrives at my door every two months and runs about $30 per month. My only problem is the size of the containers. The kit is made more for use on the face only and if that's the only site you are treating, it would last an entire two months. But when you're treating your upper arms, face, thighs and buttocks, it doesn't go as far.........But the main ingredient in all of the products is salicylic acid. I think I'm going to try a combination of the Murad products and the Aquifer and see how they work together.....

Hey u0000569,
Are you still using the salicylic acid %15? How is your kp now? Have you got rid of all the kp? I was wondering if I can use a lotion with the salicylic acid. Would the lotion hinder or weaken the salicylic acid?

Yes, I am still using it and it is still the best thing I have ever tried. My KP is not all gone, but is 10 times smoother than it has ever been. I have tried many other salicylic acid lotions and potions and this is the only one that has worked. It's probably just because it also has the highest concentration of acid of any that I have tried.

just thought i'd mention that i just got my local pharmacist to make up the 15% sal. acid peel.

as i live in australia i didn't want to order the peel from platinum skincare cos it is costing me too much money to keep ordering stuff from the U.S. (i just spent a couple of hundred dollars on other stuff from the dermadoctor site!).

so i rang up my local chemmart pharmacy which is also a "compounding pharmacy"....that means they can make stuff up for you. i emailed them the link from the platinum skincare site and they made it up.

it cost A$35 to have it made up, compared to the platinum one which would have cost A$48 (not including postage). so i saved $13 - which is better than nothing!

i going to try it tonight and keep with it for at least a month. i'm not sure if i should use a lotion after or not. it doesn't seem right to go to all this trouble to get rid of my dead skin, then put a layer of goo over it? i've got m.d. forte hand and body cream - should i use that after?

anyway, just had another thought....wouldn't it be great if oprah did a show on k.p??!!

Has anyone tried making their own sal. acid peel from aspirin? I crush aspirins in a bit of warm water and use it as a mask on my face, and it's fabulous. I'll bet you could make your own sal. acid peel this way and save some $!

How do you get it to stay on your face? Is it watery?

I actually mix it with either cetyphil or this exzema baby wash I got at target for my daughter. That makes it stick to your face pretty good.

i have been using the 15% sal. acid peel since friday night and i am so happy!

my skin started to "peel" today...it peels in little circles around each bump. it's not big, flakes of skin...it's more like dry skin. i just took my long sleeve top off to have a close look and you should have seen all the dead skin flying around! (that sounds gross, but i know anyone with k.p. would understand).

anyway, the red bumps are waaaayyy better and my skin is heaps smoother. my skin just looks really dry. i think i should probably use some moisturiser to help, but i don't want to clog it up. i still have general redness and scarring on my arms (upper and lower), but the red bumps no longer stand out.

i just took some photos. it's hard to take photos with a digital camera cos the colour is distorted. i was going to attach the photos, but because of the max. file size they won't be any good (the resolution is reduced when you make the file size smaller). any chance we could get the file size increased so we could attach photos?