Retin A for Keratosis Pilaris Rubra Faceii?

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Originally posted by Rick

I sent a letter to one of the most prominent dermatologists in England to ask him about KPRF. The reason I wrote to him was because he is involved with using a special lamp which is usually used to treat Acne, but he has found a way to adapt it to treat Rosacea. Since there are many similarities between KPRF and Rosacea (facial redness and flushing) I wanted to know if he thought the lamp would be useful. Here is his reply:

"Keratosis Pilaris Rubra Faceii is one of the atrophic forms of Keratosis Pilaris. Generally, this will respond to topical retinoids and my first port of call would be the use of either Retin A or Isotrexin. These do not work very quickly but certainly help to get rid of the underlying problem and then the facial redness. Unfortunately, the redness is very much a secondary event and having lots and lots of laser treatment is both expensive and probably not particularly worthwhile until you have got the disease under full control. I personally do not think that the red light would help as the major impact of the red light is to increase the healing process within the skin and of course rosacea and this particular condition have quite different pathogenic mechanisms."

This is really interesting. I know that people on this board have had mixed results using Retin A on their arms and legs for KP. But what about using it on the face for facial redness and flushing? Has anyone here tried it?

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Originally posted by Ann

Hi, I have KPAF on my face as well as ulerythema ophryogenes on my eyebrows. I have used a retina-A cream called 'Retinova' (only available on prescription) for the last 4 years (since being correctly diagnosed). As I was in my 30's at that stage the KPAF had 'settled down' a bit on it's own since my teens. I noticed however that the retinova improves the texture of my skin and softness of my skin. The redness has not reduced much but I still use it as it is beneficial. An article by Professor Cunliffe from Leeds talks about a patient with this condition improving on 'Roaccutane' (an oral form of retina-a). I tried this but it did not help me - it may be worth a look at - again a dermatologist must prescribe 'Roaccutane'. I had Pulse Dyed laser treatment last year which helped reduce the redness slightly. Several articles state that repeated treatments are often needed (as much as 7) to get the best results. I beleive this is the best option for me and will persue this path as time and money allow. In the meantime however I would recommend retina-A type products. I only use the smallest amount as it is a type of acid and could actually irratate if used to liberally. Hope this information is of some help.

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Originally posted by Robin from NY

My son is 14..he was diagmosed last winter with uleythema oophorogynes..(1 derm said he had it...2 others said he didnt)...anyway he did try the retinA for about a month...all it did was make his face even redder!!!!!!!After a month he stopped using it...He became frustrated because he felt it was making the reddness worse, and refused to use the cream again

[Archive]

Originally posted by Robin from NY

My son is 14..he was diagmosed last winter with uleythema oophorogynes..(1 derm said he had it...2 others said he didnt)...anyway he did try the retinA for about a month...all it did was make his face even redder!!!!!!!After a month he stopped using it...He became frustrated because he felt it was making the reddness worse, and refused to use the cream again