Background:
I am 26 and asian. My dad has a mild case of Keratosis Pilaris and I developed Keratosis Pilaris when I was around 15. I used to be really slim, so what I think triggered the condition for me was when I forced myself to eat more in order to gain weight. I started eating a lot more rice and drink 3 glasses of homo milk everyday for over a year. I used to be extremely regular (1 bowel movement after every meal), and then not so much after the change in diet. So sure enough, I gained some weight, but I also developed all these bumps. I used to have KP only on the back of my upper arms, but over the years, it has spread to my butt, thighs, knees, and lower legs. I think I even started to develop a little on my belly recently.

I've always been extremely conscious about my skin, but I've always hidden my KP under clothes so that I only had to deal with people finding me weird for wearing long sleeve shirts and long pants during the summer and not being disgusted by my skin. But now that I have a bf and we've been dating for quite a while, I don't want HIM to start thinking that I'm weird or to know that there is something wrong with me. I know however that I won't be able to hide this from him that much longer...

My sisters don't understand why I let such a condition dictate my life, but they can't understand what I go through, because they don't have to deal with KP.

Plan of attack:
So anyways, I've been trying to apply 20% AHA on my arms twice/day everyday for over 4 months. Though they look their best in years, the bumps and dots keep coming back if I don't keep up with the regimen.

So now, I've decided to attack this skin condition from the outside out, and to do that, I'm gonna follow Bee's candida program:

1. Eliminate foods that feed Candida (ie. sugar, refined carbs and gluten grains)
2. Build up the immune system (ie. eating the right foods, taking essential supplements and avoid yeast/fungus/mold)
3. Kill off Candida overgrowth
4. Plant good bacteria in the digestive tract

(Anyone can find more information about this program in the link (How to Overcome Candida (Part 1)) provided by Dave in Baronster's thread)

I'm also going to continue doing microdermabrasion every other day and apply AHA (on my arms only) to help keep KP at bay while my body is healing internally.

I hope I will have as good results as Baronster.

I will try to report my progress once a week.

Wish me luck!

(please PM me instead of posting in this thread if you have any questions or would like to give me some advice.)

So since I last posted, I've tried to cut out all sugar and high-carb food (ie. rice, pasta, bread, etc) from my diet. I've also been supplementing with 2-3 capsules of calcium (which also has vit. D and magnesium), take 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil, take 1 tablespoon of omega 3 oil, and drink 1-2 cups of green tea.

I have stopped applying AHA on my arms for a couple of days now, but still do microdermabrasion every other day.

Result:

I find that it's extremely hard to not "cheat" with the diet and my arms are beginning to feel bumpy again. They were relatively smooth when I was using AHA.

This is kinda discouraging... But, I think I need to stop monitoring my KP on a daily basis and instead focus on the candida program. The results will come later .... hopefully.

It looks like I'm going to have to start from scratch again. Yesterday, I ate white bread, rice noodle and some shrimp in coconut milk. This program is gonna be really hard to adhere to.

On another note, I did microdermabrasion before I went out to dinner.

Result:
My KP didn't get worse, and I think the microdermabrasion even helped make my arms a little smoother than a few days ago.

I'm debating right now whether I should resume AHA on my arms (in lieu of microdermabrasion), in addition to microdermabrasion on the rest of my body and the diet, which I intend to continue. I had stopped AHA several days ago ...

I'm doing my best to adhere to bee's candida program, but it's tough and I feel it is a long process. Right now, I'm just trying to avoid as much sugar, carb and processed food as much as possible. I'm doing pretty good avoiding sugar and processed food, but avoiding carb and all grains is a lot tougher. I haven't started to take all the recommended supplements (in the recommended doses), such as coconut oil, ocean sea salt, etc and I'm already eating 3-5 cloves of garlic/day. No die-off effect as of yet. I'm thinking of substituting real garlic with tablets now. (I don't like the taste of garlic in my mouth ) That way, I'll also be able to have better control over the dosage.

While I continue with the program, today I started applying 15% AHA to the side of my hips and buttocks. I'm gonna try to do that twice a day, if I have time to do it in morning.

That's it for now. I will try to post pictures too soon. That way, I will remember how my skin looked like and we will all be able to better monitor the results.

PS. I'm still doing mdb every other day (except on the part I'm using AHA)

I started taking kyolic aged garlic extract caplets today. I'm starting with one a day for now. Later on, will gradually increase to perhaps 3 caplets 3 times a day.

I also ate a lot of stuff I shouldn't have eaten today, so that probably means i'll have to start from scratch again tomorrow.

I feel though that my skin (even non kp-affected areas) appears more healthy. My skin isn't as dry as it used to be and just feels smoother all over. The dots also seem to fade little by little...

It's funny, but between the diet, applying coconut oil on skin, mdb, AHA, I finally feel, after so many years of feeling hopeless, that maybe there IS hope for me after all and that one day (if not by this summer), I will finally be able to have "normal" skin.

I suppose it's time for another update. I started taking 3 kyolic garlic caps/day a couple of days ago. No die-off effects or significant improvement to report on. I am going to start 2 caps 3 times a day soon. (Per Bee, I'm supposed to take 3 per meal 3 times a day) Again, I've been eating a lot of junk food, sweets, and carbs in the last week, which I shouldn't have.

I just ordered the 20 AHA gel from DCL. I'm going to start using that soon on some parts of my body.

Will try to post pics soon.

Starting the AHA today on my arms. It's probably not the best thing for the body, but I need faster results. I'm hoping bee's program will get rid of it for good, but for now, I'm going to rely a little on glycolic acid.

Perhaps it's time for another update, even though there really hasn't been much progress. I've not really been following bee's recommended candida diet. (I ate a lot of sundae's, refined carbs, sweets, etc) The bumps started to come back on my arms, so I stopped the AHA and started DB followed by coconut oil again. My arms are becoming smooth again, but some dots just won't go away.

I hate this stupid skin condition!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I shouldn't have to work sooo hard to have NORMAL, HUMAN BEING skin!