I've suffered from KRPF for 24 long years of my life. It has gotten to the point that I've spent some time doing research on the condition. So far this is what I've come up with.

KPRF is the same plugged follicles on your face as it is on your body. The only difference is that hair follicles on your cheeks, eyebrows, ears, etc. are much more numerous than on other parts of your body. This means that the affected skin on your face is basically plugged 'solid' with the excess keratin from the follicles.

The skin on your face has exponentially more nerves and blood vessels than the rest of your body. This is what makes the inflammation of KPRF so much more severe when it's affects the face.

The cause of the plugged follicles is simply due to the lack of sebum prodution within the follicle. Sebum is the oil your skin produces. Sebum is acidic. This acidic oil keeps follicles open and breaks down keratin within the follicle and on the surface of your skin. If you suffer from KPRF than you have probably never seen oil on your cheeks. This is because the sebum glands are inactive. Lesser variants of KP on the face may have an inbalance in the sebum content or simply slow sebum production.

Sebum is by far the best exfollient the skin could have. It exfolliates from the inside of the follicle. Topicals applied to the skin just cannot match it effectiveness. Since your skin is plugged basically soild, topicals really have no chance of penetrating the skin at any effective rate. When I apply lotion to my cheeks I notice that it basically just dries on the surface. It may appear to be mosterising, but it's basically just affecting the outermost dead layer of skin cells. This has no benefit at all.

So through all my research I've come to the conclusion that the only way to battle this condition is to increase sebum prodution within the follicle. This does not appear to be an easy task. In males, testosterone hormones are directly linked to sebum production, but it isn't good for the body to take testosterone supplements. The only other way is to increase your intake of fatty acids. Fatty acids are used by the body to produce sebum. Flax seed oil, coconut oil, hemp seed oil, olive oil, etc. are all food sources of fatty acids.

The face is the first place you will notice a difference in sebum production. It has far more sebum glands then anywhere else on the body. Since I've increased my intake of fatty acids, I've noticed both my forehead and inner face have noticibly more sebum production then they did before. It has yet to help my cheeks though. I'm going to try it for at least another 6 months to see if it has any benefit.

Basically what all this means is that KPRF will have to be battled from the inside out. Topicals have already proven to be a waste of time for this condition. Sebum prodution is the answer. Without proper sebum production your follicles will continue to plug.

I have KP on my limbs, but I don't have KPRF.

I have a question...
Not all KP (body) sufferers have KPRF.
Do all KPRF people have KP on their body?

Accorddude:

You seem to have hit the point exactly on the dot.

Here is an interesting link here that explains it very well.

http://www.causeof.org/efa_d.htm

I have started to change my diet. I am eating omega 3 fatty foods every day. I make sure I have Salmon several times a week. Eat walnuts, lots of green vegetables, and take a teaspoon of cod-liver oil almost daily.

The thing to remember is that it is important not to over do it with Vit A, because apparantely, having too much can lead to intoxication.

I am going to stay on this diet and report results in a month.

some interesting points. one question i have on your theory though is that i occasionally have whitehead spots on my cheeks esp at this time of year and i thought these were caused by a build up of sebum in the sebaceous glands. my skin isn't oily though.

Accorddude:

One more thing. I have been doing research of what other people in non english speaking countries do to treat their KP and I stumbled upon a chat room for S. American/Spain. Someone mentioned that by accident they discovered that their KP went away after a month of taking Evening Primrose Oil - so I decided to do some reasearch on it. As a matter of fact, this might be better than fish oils, cod liver oil, or flax seed oil to get the Omega-6 fatty acids that we need in order to combat this situation. I found it at my local GNC store and I've started replacing my cod liver oil with it . Will post results.

I have been a KP sufferer for the last 11 years after the birth of my second child. I find it rather debilitating as it is solely on my face which isn't easy to deal with. I take Omega 3 fatty acids every day together with an Evening Primrose oil tablet. I find it more debilitating in times of stress though! I would love to exchange notes with anyone who would like to talk with me with a view to getting through this.

I know how you feel, I have had the same problem I just had my second child 16 months ago and now it has spread to my face, neck, back, and chest. I have noticed that if I get alot of sleep that it is better the next morning, but I use Pro-Activ and then I use Oil of Olay face lotion with SPF for sensitve skin and for some reason that lotion has helped with my bumps on my face. The Pro-activ makes the bumps alot smaller and the lotion helps with all the dryness. My gets really bad around my time of my period. Do you have the same problem?

I do have the same problem with KP on my face but I find that when I am stressed it becomes worse. It takes a good few days to go down. I tried using a product called Elicina (which is secretion from a snail!) You leave that on for around 5 minutes then apply your usual moisturiser. It hails from America but is now sold in the UK and was produced to help with KP. It should only be applied once a day. I keep it under control with that. It is lovely exchanging notes with other KP sufferers. It helps to know that you are not alone. I found that ordinary creams don't help when I have KP so I have gone on to use collegen cream. It seems more moisturising than ordinary moisturisers, as my skin tends to be particularly dry when I have the condition. How do you cope emotionally?

It does feel good to talk about it with people who know what I am describing and talking about. Everyone around me does not have it or know much about it which makes me feel worst (defective).

Elicina does help KP whilst you are using it, I have noticed a big difference with it. It must be applied thinly as it has a tendancy to burn the skin. Whilst my KP is bad and is on the face you probably wouldn't notice a difference with my skin as it looks burnt already!!! In that case I just use an SPF cream to protect the skin so I can go out. I then apply a little bit of powder just to cover so my face can look normal again. That does seem to work temporarily. Makeup is just out of the question. Emotionally, you are right there are days I cope better than others. It makes my body feel ill sometimes. I feel like I can just stay in for days until it passes then I feel stronger again until the KP comes back. I have never had KP when I feel stressed but for me this seems to be the pattern. I also take a Bach remedy called "Rescue Remedy" that helps me cope emotionally with it. If you have heard of it maybe you could try that to see how you cope if you haven't already tried. You can have it quite often during the day on your bad days. I can certainly emphaphise with you. I have had mine for 11 years now. Good luck and please keep in touch!

When I last spoke to an English Dermatologist, she said KP was an auto-immune disorder. That does suggest the reasoning behind the "no cure" bit. Has anyone heard to the contrary or can they shed some light on what I have been told. I would love to hear from someone with any information.

I have been to two dermatologists and several doctors and I have never heard that it is a auto-immune disorder. I think that there is no enough research being done and that the dermatologists(especially) do not have enough info on the matter. Hope something changes soon.

I am going in on Tuesday of next week to see another Dermatologist to sort out another on-going problem. I will ask about KP and whether he thinks it could be related to an auto-immune disorder. What do you think about the 'Rescue Remedy?' Have you tried it?

No I have'nt tried the Rescue Remedy, where do you get it from? Is it all natural? I am thinking about starting another regiment to try to clear my skin. I have tried several things in the past a have had some things that have helped but not cleared it completely. I'm seriously thinking about trying the colon/parasite clenses, along with my old vitamin regiment.