Hi there - Was wondering if anyone has tried Proactive Solution for KP? My daughter is 11 and has KP and is getting some pimples as well. I thought maybe I could kill two birds with one stone. Also, is Proactive too strong for a preteen? I am lost, this is my first child and first experience with skin conditions. Thanks for any insight!!!!

Hi MrsLamb - here's a search for proactiv on these forums, showing as threads (meaning the ref to proactiv could appear anywhere in the entire thread.):

http://www.keratosispilaris.org/sear...earchid=139038

here's a search for proactiv in individual posts:
http://www.keratosispilaris.org/sear...earchid=139035

I've had luck with the acne/KP combo in my lifetime with products containing salicylic acid or glycolic acid and avoiding benzoyl peroxide. I think proactiv uses one of those acids, yes? anyway, you could also search for those words and find a lot of results here. Clean and Clear deep action cleaner has salicylic, dermaE glycolic cleanser is a fave of mine though in my middle age I'm not needing that so much. I recommend trying either of those as they're neither to violent nor too drying. there's even a homemade recipe for something around here where you grind up aspirin - acetylsalicylic acid - and mix with some other stuff to make your own. I'd recommend searching by post for that one. good luck - bd

Thank you so much Bunny! My preteen is very upset as the condition is getting steadily worse! I was hoping to get under control over the summer before school begins. You are so nice to take the time to help us! MrsLamb

some treatments that may or may not work are in this link below:

Keratosis Pilaris. DermNet NZ

Hi !

I tried it a long time for KPRF. The inflammation and redness got worse.

All the best!

Hi MrsLamb! I sympathize so much with your daughter and you. As long as I can remember, I had KP (really bad) on my face, along with the redness that accompanies it. When I was about your daughter's age, my mom started taking me to the dermatologist to see how we might be able to treat it, and I always ended up with skin that was burned from treatments. We gave up on treating my KP, and I just learned to live with it. A little later (age 12-13?) I started getting pimples on my chin and around my mouth, so we went back to the derm. He prescribed oral erythromycin, and not only did it clear up my acne, it also cleared up the KP on my face! When I was done taking it, the acne breakouts never really came back as badly as before, and my cheeks were smoother than before (although the KP was certainly not totally gone).

I am now 27 and have a little girl and one on the way. After my first pregnancy, my acne started coming back and my KP got worse again. I decided to try Proactive to treat the acne, and I can honestly say it has cleared up both my acne and my KP better than anything I have tried recently. I will say that I tried it once in college, and it made my skin so dry and irritated that I had to quit using it. But I have since been back to the derm to see if there's anything to help with the acne (they can't give you too much when you're pregnant), and they just keep telling me wash with salicylic acid, etc. That does not work for me! So I decided to try Proactive again, this time along with the moisturizer, and it has been the closest thing to a miracle for my skin in the recent years. My acne is finally gone, and my cheeks are smoother than I have ever felt them. I wake up in the morning and tell my husband to feel my face! For me, the secret with Proactive is to make sure I use a moisturizer over the repairing lotion. I know it's the glycolic acid in the toner that has made the KP on my cheeks virtually disappear.

Of course, everyone responds differently to treatments, but I just wanted to let you know that Proactive might be worth a try, especially since you can return it if it doesn't work. I started out slowly with it (only once a day for the first week), and still only use the repairing lotion once a day on my cheeks (since my primary concern on my cheeks is KP, not acne - the benzoyl peroxide in the repairing lotion is for acne).

Sorry for such a long post, but when I read your post, it reminded me so much of myself! Good luck!