very much a rant im sorry.

im completely opposed to tanning. I have been cultivating very very pale skin for 8 or so years. Due to this my kp looks very bright red. Fair skin is considered very beautiful in the sub-culture i sometimes admit to belonging to. Beyond the obvious skin cancer issues.

I'm so confused as to where to start as far as trying products. My dermatologist prescribed Ammonium Lactate 12% lotion. Which has done nothing except make the bumps softer. My skin is also very very sensitive so i fear scrubbing it would just make matters worse.

I make myself sick looking at my arms. My entire legs have magically decided to be kp affected just in the last month or two. not to mention my chest (nature finally gives me breast at 23 and decides to make them unsightly) I went from having alabaster skin to looking horrible. My boyfriend thinks i'm over reacting. But this is my skin. I live in it every day. I know what it feels like and how repulsive it looks.

i try my best not to be vain...but finding out there was nothing i could do was heartbreaking. The dermatologist assistant was going to send me home before i even saw the doctor. As if it was no big deal.

im sorry for the rant
it's tough, i have no friends who have any understanding of how depressing kp can be.
~hyasynth
www.hyasynth.feminaexmachina.com

hyasynth, i understand completely about wanting to keep your fair complection. after working in the sun for 5 summers in a row, around 8 years ago i decided that i didn't care if the sun helped my KP, i just wasn't going to fry my skin anymore. i am from a celtic background and i am naturally very white and, thanks to my sun exposure over the years, freckly. up until the summer of last year i hadn't gone anywhere near the sun for 7 years. my arms and legs were shockingly white with very bright red KP bumps all over them. i lived in Toronto where it gets very hot, sticky and humid in the summer and i didn't wear short sleeves once during that entire 7 years. i suffered through it and i was completely miserable. then last summer my sister came to visit me and she had been in the sun and she was wearing a tank top which completely floored my because she has the exact same KP that i do. anyway, she had a tan/burn and her KP was barely noticeable and she wasn't even that dark. she just told me that she got sick of covering up all summer and said the hell with it and got some sun. well as soon as i saw her i said screw it and started to get some sun. well last summer was the first time in 7 years that i was able to wear short sleeved shirt out and to work without people making comments about my skin. it felt so good to be able to appear somewhat normal that i just vowed from then on that i would do whatever it took to try and get this stuff under control. i weighed the dangers of the sun against how miserable i was not showing my skin and there was just to comparison. i hated living the way i was and it was time for a change. and since then, i've started using the sulphur soap which has given me amazing results on my arms and ok ones on my legs. along with tanning, i don't even give my arms a second thought when i walk around outside. noone can notice there is anything wrong because there is hardly anything wrong anymore. i highly suggest that at the very least you give the sulphur soap a try. i know you said you have sensitive skin but so do i and my arms have been ok with it. usuallly everything i put on my skin makes them red and irritated, particularly on my face, but as long as i moisturize my arms everyday, i'm fine. i can understand you not wanting to go in the sun, but if your KP is as bad as it sounds, again i hightly suggest you try the sulphur soap along with a moisturizer with urea in it. i think it will help you a great deal. ok, this is a long post so i'll be on my way now. you poste was dated around 3 weeks ago so i hope you get to read this. good luck!

I completely understand how frustrated u are...my KP is mainly on my legs..my ENTIRE legs! And the last dermatologist I saw..A consultant mind u at a huge clinic acted like I was overreactong and being vain and said that alot of people have it worse that mine is considered 'mild'. Her tone was just like..ok get over it! AHHHHHH! I wanted to slap her..it's a big deal to me!
I don't think it's vain to be bothered..because everytime I try to get over it and say screw it I'm gonna wear something short...someone will inevetably ask "what are those bumps?" and I get self-concious again....I get so jealous ad frustrated when I see people with smooth beautiful legs!

I use a foam self tanner. I have very very light skin and my KP is bright red! It helps if my skin is darker. Someone asked me where I got my sunburn instead of...what are those bumps?..

Charlene