★★★★★
really that simple for me. No point in scrubbing, moisturizing, or any of the other remedies I see online. Too much dairy means breaking out in little bumps on my butt and the backs of my arms. I just cannot eat cheese and yogurt daily, as much as I'd like to. I am not sure whether that solution is unique to me, but it is worth trying.
Baking Soda Baths
★★★★★
Dietary Changes
★★★★★
Hydrogen Peroxide and Borax
Oil Pulling
★★★★★
Grape Seed Oil
Castor Oil Packs
Did you have the keratosis pilaris on just your face? Or was it on other parts of your body? And did you only apply the castor oil on your face?
Castor Oil Packs
★★★★★
I was using castor oil on my face for Bells Palsy. I applied it on my face with cotton ball and covered my face with plastic on each side (left opening for nose so I could breath) then put a"moisture" heating pad that you warm in microwave over my face for 20 minutes every night. Can't be sure if it's helping my Bells Palsy but after literally years and years of going to doctors for kreatosis polaris and using suggested home remedies, the castor oil "completely" cured my Keratisis polaris within in a couple of weeks. I first noticed within a couple of days it was resolving. I've had the condition for at least 10 years.
★★★★★
D3 can be harmful without Magnesium and Vitamin K, so I take all three.
I try to make it my daily routine, but realistically, I remember to do this about 4 times a week:
- 2 capsules 1000 iu D3 (From Trader Joe's. Capsules, not tablets.)
- 1 tablet 425 mg Magnesium Malate (I switched from Magnesium Oxide.)
- 1 tablet Vitamin K (I take Vit K only in the occasion I don't get enough from food sources.)
After a few days of taking this, I noticed that my keratosis on the back of my upper arms went away. A few days after that, my chronic hives on my forearms went away too.
The keratosis on my upper arms didn't bother me. It was more the burning hives that were a concern, but it's an added bonus to have smooth upper arms again.
If I would forget to take my supplement trio, the keratosis would return only after a day or so.
L-Lysine
Niacin
★★★★★
I have had this "chicken skin" for as long as I can remember. It's hasn't been ruining my life, but it is annoying. However, I recently accidentally discovered a cure: Niacin!
I try to take it regularly because, well, I actually like the way the flush feels. It just feels like it's healthy.
Recently I just happened to notice that my chicken skin was gone. Then I went on vacation and forgot my Niacin. No biggie, but my chicken skin came back. Then when I got home and took the Niacin, it went away again.
I've actually done 3 "experiments" since then (a few months ago) and I've gotten the same results:
Niacin = smooth upper arms
No Niacin = Bumps
I'd say start low, but not too low - it seems to me that as you build up B3 in your system, you flush less. I am trying 1000mg/day, and that seems to be maintaining, but I'd say start around 100, and EMBRACE THE FLUSH!
I've always been a little envious of girls with smooth skin, but now I have it, too, and it's really nice!! I also find that sun helps with the chicken skin but it takes longer to work.
Seriously, if you have this condition, try Niacin. I'm curious to see how many other people it helps!!
L-Lysine
★★★★★
★★★★★
Keratosis Pilaris Triggers
Pittsburgh is at latitude 40.4406 degrees north while Armenia is at latitude 40.0691 degrees north or very slightly closer to the equator, however, Pittsburgh is at an elevation of 738 to 1,204 feet above sea level while Armenia is at an average of over a mile high meaning that it is closer to the equator and the altitude means that you will get significantly higher UVB exposure from the suns rays and consequently higher vitamin D will be produced in the skin from this superior UVB exposure.
According to this article, vitamin D may play a role in controlling Keratosis Pilaris:
http://www.stopskinpickingcoach.com/vitamin-d/
This seems like a relatively easy thing to test to determine if vitamin D or lack of is playing a role in your son's KP.
Art
Keratosis Pilaris Triggers
My son has KP on his lower part of arms and upper parts of legs, he is 10 years old, he had this for a long time. I took him to dermatologist and was recommended regular out of the counter moisturizers :/ especially in winter time, when skin gets more dry. But it never went away completely.
Then this year we went on vacation overseas to Armenia, we spent 2 months there. Guess what? All his skin was nice and smooth by the time we got back to the States!
I was shocked! Now my question is maybe local water makes it worse? or the wheat? or dairy?
While on vacation he ate everything fresh and organic, drank water from the faucet which is very good there. Showered with same water. So I do not know what exactly causing this Keratosis pilaris but I am so curious to find out.
★★★★☆
I have a very light case of KP. I tried applying various remedies right onto my skin, but they would just soften the bumps for the day. Exfoliating just made my skin more irritated. I eventually learned about oil pulling and tried with sesame oil. The strong flavor made me gag if I did it after meal (because I didn't have time to do it before the meal). After getting organic, cold-pressed coconut oil, I found that I could oil pull before and after a meal no problem. After about week of daily swishing, I noticed that the bumps in one of my patches were starting to go down. I've been doing this for about a month, if I skip oil pulling for more than two day the bumps start to rise up again.
Grape Seed Oil
Apple Cider Vinegar
Sunlight
★★★★★
I also noticed, because I'm so white that after I got burned pretty badly my kp also went away for a little while, it came back once summer was over but it wasn't as bad as the back of my legs that didn't get much sun exposure.
I'm not saying go out and get burned but I have noticed that sun exposure helped me and my cousins a lot with keratosis pilaris.
I've had good results with coconut oil and grape seed oil but nothing as good as my experience with the sun.
Good luck everyone.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Hydrogen Peroxide and Borax
Grape Seed Oil
I have stopped applying grape seed oil for about 2 weeks now because I keep reading that kp is an essential fatty acid deficiency. I am now trying to take a multivitamin+fish oil + krill oil in one to see if that helps, its been 2 weeks and my skin is softer with lesser bumps, I'll get back to you in another 2 weeks. Good luck with everything you are trying. I hope we can find a treatment together, take care.
Fish Oil Supplements
For those who saw results, did you have kp on other areas of your body like your legs? I ask because I hear just having bumps on your arms can be an omega 3 deficiency, it might not necessarily be a skin disorder kp, I could be wrong. I'm going to the pharmacy and I will ask for the strongest omega 3 they have and I will try to take that for longer than 3 weeks and I'll let you know how I go, I have kp on my arms and legs.
Grape Seed Oil
- Exfoliation with korean italy towel after soaking in bath (mag chloride or epsom salt added). - Clean eating. Extra veggies. - Intestinal cleansing. - Moisturize: emu oil, vitamin E oil, Goldbond Rough and Bumpy lotion, Sesame oil. Varies day to day... - Just started taking Micellized vitamin A a few weeks ago. Skin does seem better, but not sure how much it's really helping. (Take with other fat soluable vitamins - A, D, E, K - to maintain balance). Also take a good vitamin and mineral supplement to ensure no deficiencies. - Salicylic acid (crushed aspirin works), alpha hyroxu acids, and borax used as a scrub help smooth bumps and unclog pores. I plan on doing a full cleansing protocol developed by Bill Thompson (see his book on this site for more detail) which includes turpentine. I also am currently taking zeolites to rid heavy metals ans other toxins. Lastly, I plan to test for all food intolerances. If I have improvement with KP after completing those things, I will post again to share my results. And I look forward to any updates from you and others as well!
Grape Seed Oil
★★★★★
I will also be doing a coffee scrub to help with my cellulite once or twice a week. I have noticed that coffee scrubs also help my kp but this time I will be mixing the ground coffee with grape seed oil. I use more oil in the mixture to help the coffee grounds stick to my skin, I rub it in for 5 minutes and I leave it on for 20 minutes to help with cellulite. If you don't have cellulite then you can just mix brown sugar with grape seed oil and use that as a scrub.
Grape seed oil has also helped lighten uneven or hyperpigmentation in skin and has also helped people with acne and dark under eye circles (remember you don't need too much of it, maybe only 3 drops for your face).
I've also noticed my kp gets worse when I drink soft drink so I've only been drinking water and tea :)
I wish you all the best of luck with finding a treatment or better yet a cure. Maybe even taking grape seed extract supplements could help but I hear it's a blood thinner so that might not be good for us women if you know what I mean.
It's only been 5 days so I will get back to you and let you know how I go. Thanks for your time. I hope I've helped :)
★★★★★
Apple Cider Vinegar, Bentonite Clay
★★★★★
Witch Hazel
The condition is caused or triggered or aggravated by different things for different people. There is no cure. Don't give up trying to find something that will work for you to control and manage it.
My daily routine is to wash with Dove soap and exfoliate as I wash. I use a finger nail brush and use circular motions. It is extremely important to keep your skin exfoliated as the keratin plugs will never come out on their own. The exfoliation process takes time and consistency. And you are never done with it, this is a forever thing. I use Amlactin lotion. It's very good at hydration and softening the skin. This is another thing KP skin requires. It took me a long time to find a lotion that did not make my KP whelp up, I just found this one 6 months ago. I have found that the only hair removal system for me is shaving. Any other method leaves the end of the hair too soft, it cannot break through the skin, and then becomes caught up in the KP plug. I also use a microdermabrasion device several times a week. There is a huge difference in the amount of dead skin cells that are removed from the KP areas vs the skin that is not affected by KP. This just shows how KP skin does not shed well on it's own and the follicle will continue to be plugged by the keratin if I don't continually exfoliate.
I thought this was all working well for me as my KP had all but disappeared for the past 2 years BUT this past spring I took a hard look at my diet due to my nails and hair becoming brittle and thin and decided that my protein intake was extremely low. I added Ensure plus protein to my diet and in a matter of 1 1/2 months my KP was back. I researched this and found that there can be a connection between KP and casein. So I switched to a soy protein and in less than 1 month I can see that my KP has settled down. This entire thing really surprised me because up to this point I thought my KP was hormone related, as in it showed up with puberty, it went away while I was pregnant, came back really bad right after I gave birth and was getting better as I approached 50 and maybe menopause. But now I am sure it is at the least aggravated by certain foods.
The next thing that I want to try is a salicylic acid peel. It is supposed to clean out the pores really well. This would be maintenance as there is no cure.
So there is no 'one size fits all' answer for KP. Keep trying, but only try one thing at a time and give that one thing time, like a month, to show if it is working or not.
Fish Oil Supplements
MSM
★★★★☆
L-Lysine and Vitamin C
