Dear forum readers, whom it may concern and whoever might be reading this,

I am 15 years old and I have KP on my face and upper arms. My doctor told me it was puberty but I have come to the conclusion that she is seriously wrong since I have used every acne lotion and treatment ever designed and none have worked...not even a little. So I described my symptoms to Google and sure enough, I found that I had KP. The first thing I did was find some of my friends and one of them (Jen) has it. She told me she uses special lotions prescribed by dermatologists and that it works for her(she does not look like she has KP at all).

My KP is not severe but it is really really annoying -- I wash my face and the next day there is a new bump because I may have rubbed the skin just a smidge too hard and my acne (the rare times I have the acutal pimple -- i wish my KP was just a pimple) takes at least 2 weeks to go away even with washing and using acne scrubs.

I have been reading this forum for over a week now, I want to try out some cures, but I do not want to put acid on my face because my skin is a real mean one and does NOT like acid on her face. My mother says, "we will go to the dermatogist" and when push comes to shove, she can't take me or she thinks the "acne" will go away.

The doctors diagnosis of me just having "puberty" was about when I was 11, so thats four years of not being able to wear a t-shirt or short sleve. I understand that it is really superficial to want a perfect complextion, but I do not want a perfect face, I just dont want those nasty red bumps. I am a highschooler in an all girls school (THANK THE LORD) and I am seriously insecure...my friends think I'm not but I sure as heck am...if a boy walks by (who may be not the best looking guy for all I know, doesn't matter) I freeze up and look away because I know my kp is awful!

Is there anything that will help me? My sister does not have it and my brother does not have it and they are older...what do I do??

Sincerely,
The walking highschooled tomato face (in all seriousness...thats how I feel)

By the way...I am EXTREMELY PALE...I never get sun because the sports I play are indoor (indoor polo).

Same with me=( ....I heard tanning will help so I'm considering going to a salon. However, I'm not sure if my parents will let me go since they don't think it's severe and they don't have it.

well ive been reading the general forums and im gonna try some of those peoples' successes but I really wish there was a cure...i mean famous people must get it because it is sooo common....so how come we cant see it...even with makeup you will see little bumps

hey....

so I really want to help you, but the thing is that there are lots of different treatments on the forum and you have to try different things and find what your face does like. You don't have to put harsh acids on your face. There are mild acid creams (alpha hydroxy creams that you can probably buy at good skin care stores or online) that have a little gylcolic or salicylic acid (i thing glycolic acid is more effectively and a little less drying) that are not the 10, 15, 20% that we kp people may need to use for our bodies. There's something someone posted a years ago or so about this great cream she uses for her face that takes away the redness and has a little mild amount of gylcolylic acid, which is good for exfoliating the surface skin and dealing with the bumps....it's called green cream of something like that. Besides that.....I can tell you that I experience some bumps and roughness on my cheeks and jaw and I take care of my face a lot cause of it....the key is to take care of our skin alot and never stop....cause if I'm stressed with school and don't do anything to it....it'll become really rough, even if it's not bumpy, the skin feels like it can't exfoliate well without my help and "support." OK...so I exfoliate my face pretty regularly, but not everyday. I don't want my face to grow used to exfoliation everyday. But i shoot for twice to three times a week. I exfoliate with St. Ives Apricot scrub.....I use the acne medicated version with salicylic acid for my body sometimes....but it would dry out my face but maybe it would work well for you.....I use the regular apricot scrub for the face....but like i said, maybe the one with a little salicylic acid will be good for giving your face that extra push to eliminate the bumps and prevent new ones.


Also, I love finding new exfoliants that don't dry my face too much and are natural and organic based....and have good fruit/vegetable oils, fruit acids, natural (fruit) enzymes, vitamin a, d, e, c....usually you don't find exfolaints with all of these vitamins, but there'll all really good......i go to whole fodos and often try new "scrub" face washes....we really need to use those regularly. Every line of face products almost always has a face scrub. But i suggest you look for ones that are more natural...contain more vitamins and natural minerals, fruits, vegetable derivatives and less of the harsh synthetic acids and perservatives. I love this one by LUSH called Ocean Salt facial scrub (not sold at whole foods...at a LUSH store or online). I use this every now and then.....not as the usual scrub..but as an extra boost sometimes when I wanna go out and have a radiantly looking soft complexion. I also use this other scrub more frequently, but remember, our skin can get really "addicted" to exfoliation quickly so you wanna moderate and get the most out of each time you scrub so I suggest no more than 3 times a week....but you have to see what's good for you. So as I was saying, this other one is called Avalon Organics Exfoliating Enzyme Scrub sold at whole foods.


ALSO, it's crucial for your faces that we moisturize with something not too thick and oily...for me, oil free is better....anything thick or oily seems to cause more pimples and hard bumps out of the blue. I really like this new line called garnier.....you can get it at rite aid or like a drug store/pharmacy store i guess. It has good natural stuff that oyur skin needs like vitamin c and omega....I really like how the facial scrub feels and also the daily face lotion.....both highly recommended. I don't use all these scrubs at once, but just giving you an idea of the stuff I use/have used and might alternate between. But I odn't always use just one scrub only at a time and I think my skin likes a little variety. It tends to get bored and desensitized to the same thing used for a long time. So as I was sayin, moisturize will like neutrogena oil free face lotion, garnier face lotion (this has good stuff that are like nutrients for your skin cells) or clinique also makes good face creams. Make sure your face gets a little sun...not a lot, because I know yu said it burms easily, but a little every few times a week is necessary for give it vitamin d...and many have said that a little sun has helped prevent new bumps from forming...so just giving oyu the heads up.

Please try not as much as possible to wear thick, liquid foundations as these clog pores and i suspect that they cause new bumps to form. Liquid foundation is bad...i don't care what they say....and should be used for special occasions and stuff, but long term everyday use causes skin to suffer....but that's just my opinion. Try the mineral based/powder based foundations if you must


If you have redness on the face aside form the bumps, try eucerin redness relief....it must be reapplied, but it helps keep the red away temporarily...in face you can use the eucerin as your lotion after scrubing. Also the green cream is said to hel with redness. If new bumps do form that you hate...try using benzyl perioxide 10% (sold at the drug store as under the names acne treatment...clean and clear acne spot cream...rite aid acne spot treatment). It's meant for pimples, but it helps get ird of kp bumps also that some and go cause it dries them out just like the pimples.


ok.....I know i've said a lot....but you deserve to know....you deserve to know what we have learned and there's nothing that makes me feel better than helping.


Be nice to your skin and rub gently...our skin may feel rough, but it's also really sensitive and doesn't like agressions. Make moderate, patient, circular storkes when you exfolaite with a scrub.

Tell me how it goes!

hi, i read some where that KP can make you more vulenrable in the sun to things like skin cancer.. =S
i dont know if its true .. i just thought id mention =]
x

My mother had skin cancer, so I stay out of the sun.

My father, my brother, and I all have KP. My father spends much of his free time in the summer on the beach. He's in his late fifties and he's never had a skin-related illness or even sunburns. It might be because we're Mediterranean.

EDIT: BTW, none of us has KP on the face, but we do spend the whole summer in t-shirts.

Hmm that sounds tough, i am a 17 y/o guy and i have the facial flushing and kp on my chest and arms but not on my face as far as the bumps i have no idea but the facial redness can be solved by using the acidic creams or simply use eucerin products which are not as acidic. What i do and have been doing for the past year is putting this mixture of acidic steroid cream on my face before i go to bed and wash it off in the morning it cuts out atleast 70% of the redness in my face, then i apply the eucerin covering green stuff which reduces more redness and makes it so my face stays more calm throughout the day. It is hard going through highschool with this condition, just try to keep yourself calm and stay busy so you do not think about anything. I know for sure emotions set off my face 10 times more then heat or cold.

As far as when playing sports the acidic cream even reduces the redness when you are sweating and working out, although you will be flushed basically no matter what when you work out. What i do when i play Volleyball on my highschool varsity team is just concentrate on the game and do not even think about my face, no point in crippling my team and not having fun just because of some redness.

Good Luck

I'm 15 too and have had KP all my life all over. Its horrible and because im going through highschool were there is more pressure with everything you do, it makes it worse, im thinking about it way more then when i was is elementry school because of sports and stuff, like volleyball the gym lighting makes everything look worse and the soccer is outside in the cold and makes you red too. Has anyone read about the comment posted about the cure, the dermabrasion and the AHA stuff? if you have do you think its a good idea. Along with everyone else, i really want it to go away!

Hey there. I am a 19/chick I am fixin to be a college graduate and live in Florida w/ KP I know how ruff it is I go through times of insecurities where I wont wear shorts cause I got it bad on my legs. I also have it on my arms bad. none on my face but in Florida ppl look at your legs alot. and I am also pale. I have alot of other skin issues too. BUT recently I started working at a pool and spa place and we also sell tanning beds. I asked one of our sales associates (he knows alot bout the tanning bed stuff) and he said that a tanning bed can help clear up ALOT of skin issues including KP cause it helps w/ the Vitamin D. Anyways I also wanted to tell you to hang in there I have had it ALL my life and always felt insecure about myself. But I am going to tell you something I always figured guys would think I looked like a plucked chicken but one day about six years ago a Guy named Mark looked myway and from what he says thought I was the sexyest chick ever. We are getting married in July! and he still would rather see me in shorts w/ my bumpy legs. Now I show my pplucked chicken legs in capri's and shorts!

aww Mcleod, thats so sweet. yeah tanning really helps my skin, maybe not for everyone but, in the summer you can barly tell i have it. I am determined to get rid of it some how still!

Well I tried the eucerin creams....and they did not work at all.

About tanning - I want to tan but I do not want freckles...I hate anything new on my face. Plus...tanning does not seem to work on me.

Yea I just found this forum tonight while I took a break from studying for finals (I'm 19/male) and I've been dealing with it since sophmore year of highschool. I had it before that but it became more noticeable since then. I used to be afraid to go shirtless on the beach with all my friends but I finally realized that it doesn't matter. Sun really helps so you just have to look past it and shrug people off. Also, the Vitamin-A can help as well as using coconut oil. This is just from personal experience. After about a week it started to clear up and since then it has been getting better and better. If anything, just pick up an outdoor sport or hobby even if its something you can do on your own. I picked up sailing two years ago and go shirtless with just my life vest and thats how I get my sun. It was hard since I was on a college lacrosse team so it was normal to have my shirt off after practice or during sometimes so while you find what helps treat your KP, work on self-esteem as well. If you can just realize others opinions only mean so much, you will be much much happier.