I've notice red bumps on the back of my thighs since i was about 18. Now i have some on the back of my upper arms and all over my thighs and legs!! I'm not sure if they're ingrowns or if it's KP. I can't even wear shorts or skirts bic it just looks so bad. I don't even like wearing it around the house! I've picked at the bumps on my legs and have some bad scarring now.
Does anyone else have this same problem? It's worse on my legs than arms. What do you do about the dark scars?

Sorry, i am not a doctor but it sounds like you have KP to me. Try a good scrub, avoid minerial oil (allow your skin to breathe ) and fix the problem before you fix the scars. You cannot cure it but you can clean it up. I don't see my daughters at all anymore.

Ann Phelps

I am dealing with the same thing and have been for years. I have tried several remedies including trips to the doctor for various creams , etc. I was once told that it was heat rash but there is no "flare ups" with heat. Its SO frustrating and like you I have picked at them which is really an instant reaction to any bumps I find and has lead to really bad scarring, especially on my back. Although i have kp on the backs of my arms, my back and my thighs. UGH!!! Unfortunately, I also have latin coloring so my scars have a tendency to darken. Several things have helped me. Bare with me cus' the list goes on and on....

Internal: most important in my opinion -

1. The doctor was right about letting you skin breathe.
2. Sweating out toxins. If you can join a club with a sauna its ideal. (if you can take the heat). It works well for all kp and I would highly recommend it.
3. DIET DIET DIET!!! I rarely come across any doctor who tells me that diet is important in relation to kp, but it really is. Cut down on sugars, cut any processed foods out completely if you can. Especially greasy foods. Everything you put in your body comes out your pores and all that junk gets backed up and kills your complexion. TONS of water. Garlic is excellent for you. Any stop eating anything refined - pasta, bread, etc. Try brown rice instead.
4. Add a good multivitamin to your diet as well as Omega fatty acids. Oil Smart is excellent and is made by a company called "renew".
5. Green Tea. Not the kind from the supermarket but organic. I like roasted green tea by "traditional medicinals" Warning: it tastes very earthy so if that doesn't work for you try another green tea. It has helped me with my immune system as well as being high in anti-oxidents. (excellent!) I drink 3 cups a day but it has naturally occuring caffiene in it so I cant drink it after 5.

External:

1. Exfoliate. I exfoliate every morning in the shower after I work out. Just dont scrub too hard because it can cause more harm than good. I use Mint Body Scrub from Greatskin. Great for your body but too harsh for the face. It has glycolics in it which I find to be the best cleansing ingredient.
2. Use a glycolic based lotion. I have yet to find one that I really like. I used to use conditioning body lotion from "Biomedics" but I'm planning on trying KP Duty which I heard is excellent.
3. Apply a clay-based mask 1-2x/week. This helps detox the skin. Just dont leave it on too long because it can really dry your skin up. I use Aztec Secret Indian healing clay. Usually, you can find it at the health food store.
4. Sulfur soap has also helped as a cleanser in between exfoliating.
5. For parts that are exposed more (my arms in the summer for example) I have had great success with the Amino Mask by "Bioelements" It contains sulphur and salicylic acid in a clay base. I am an artist and work in my studio so I put it on and leave it on all day at least twice a week. Its really expensive but worth it. In the summer I also use a tinted sunscreen by MD formulations. It helps visually even my skin tone and also helps protect. Sunscreen is really important when using all this stuff and this is the only one that doesn't bother my kp.

WOW!!! I do a lot to myself. I just realized that once I wrote all this down! Let me know if this helps you or if you have done something that I am not aware of that works for you.
Good luck!
Sabine

Wow! Thank you so much for all this great info. sabine! i am of indian descent so i have the same problem with the darkening of the skin- looks horrible.
I totally agree with you on the internal and eating properly. I def drinks lots of water and try to eat very healthy. I'm gonna try the vitamins & tea, i know i need to clean my system. i've also tried eating indian herbs like turmeric, etc.
i just started using the glytone kp kit - body wash & lotion with glycolic acid. have u heard of it.
it's doing some good but not a huge difference yet.
i will look into some of the products you mentioned, bio elements?

Is your KP completely gone or much better than before?

My KP goes through stages. Right now because of the heat running in the house its very dried out and is fairly red but the Amino Mask is really helping. My next step is to try the KPDuty cream. I will let you know how that works although it may take several weeks. The hardest thing is that you go through things so quickly when you use it all over your body! I used the glytone Benzoyl Peroxide cream before and it was ok but I dont like worrying about bleaching all of my shirts and sheets because of the BP. I know that sounds weird but I ruined some really good clothes with it. What are you using as a cleanser? As far as the dark spots you can try conitioning body solutuion by Biomedic with the hydroquinone bleaching cream (prescription) over it but its expensive. The dark spots really need time to fade. Have you come up with any solutions to not picking? I had a friend with a really bad smoking problem and they got hypnotized and quit right away! I just dont know if I could have that done, I am really strong-minded and it might not work on me. Its really a mind thing, you have to "re-train" your thinking.

Great to meet you Sabine! It is great to see someone who also has been in tune with their body to try differant things.

I am a consultant with SkinSoDivine.com and teach skincare 101 classes and would love to share this in my classes.

Everyones bodies are differant, and what helps my daughter is not the same on what helps my boyfriend as well as what always helps my clients. I love hearing what works for others and sharing it.

I myself use a product called Resist through my company which is alot like the fish oil product you described, it is an essitional fatty acid. I think I am going to put Paul (the boyfriend) on this to see if it helps.

We use Awaken sea salt scrubs from our company because it has no minerial oil in it.

I am going to look into the products you reccomended to share with my family and clients. Thank you so much.

Ann Phelps