Raw Food Diet
★★★★★
I used to have many health ailments, many of which I have read about here. The only thing that works to cure them and keep them away is a raw diet. When eating a raw diet, you avoid most of the foods that cause the problems in the first place. Consuming too much cooked proteins, especially wheat and dairy, causes disease. Cooking the proteins makes them difficult for the body to break down the protein. The excess proteins clog up the lymph and other organs of elimination causing an over growth of bacteria (colds, cysts, etc.)which in turn causes disease. The disease usually shows up in the weakest organs that have usually been abused the most from a wrong diet. There is a wealth of info at waisays.com and barefoots forum at curezone.com. Herbs are a great way to aid in healing. When you just start cleansing and eating a raw diet, they can help you heal faster. Just wanted to mention this. Thanks and have a great day!
(Toronto, Canada)
11/01/2011
★★★☆☆
BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS
I noticed that my kp went away totally when I was raw! Unfortunately, raw did not agree with me and left me with a slew of other health issues. But 2 great benefits I had were my kp totally disappearing for the first time in my life and my eyesight getting better - my eyeglasses prescription improved!
Sonic Face Cleaning Brush
★★★★☆
(Melbourne, Australia)
01/23/2013
Hi Nadia, I too have kp and have had it since the age of 4 and I have found that organic cold pressed virgin coconut oil really helps with the redness and the bumbs. I apply it after I have a shower once a day but I think the more times a day you apply it the better.
I haven't tried this but maybe also use the coconut oil for all your cooking maybe if he ingests it as well it may help.
I also use goats milk soap instead of the supermarket soaps and if you get it organic I believe it will work much better, best of luck with everything.
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.
Vitamin C
★★★★★
My [note: free no-ads personal] blog has a few pages on how-to and details on Lipospheric-C here. [EC: please delete if desired, and if inappropriate to link I apologize.]
You can buy lipo-C, and it is much more 'efficiently' encapsulated in that case, though it usually contains 'stabilizers', but it's very expensive if you need to take it in quantity, and it doesn't have nearly as much lecithin, which may be the key player in this remedy. For a fraction the cost you can make it yourself and the health benefits are widespread.
I took about half a small batch a day for about two weeks. For detail, a whole small batch is about 1. 5 cups, or ~375g water + 15g AA and 45g lecithin. If made properly, this comes to around 11. 25g encapsulated AA, 3. 75 non-encapsulated AA, and the 45g of lecithin. So half a batch is half that.
For probably 20 years I've had the "massive red bumps" all over the back of my arms. So long I can't remember when I haven't. And I've had periods where my diet was very high in good fats (omega3 supplements, coconut oil, etc. ) but nothing ever touched them, although I admit I was never trying to do so. My teenager has often remarked on this because it's so extensive.
After 2 weeks (or less) of taking this stuff, my teenager was "agog" and raved about how the back of my arms suddenly had NO red bumps anymore at all. I had noticed my upper arms seemed much 'smoother' but thought I was imagining it, since my forearms were still dry and bumpy. I have a ~ two inch strip on the sort of top/outside of the arm that still has red dots but no bumps anymore, so I think that is still in healing process.
I had never considered this as a potential cure for KP (I always think of Lipo-C as being the C, but the lecithin is a huge part of it too). For more on lecithin (no research refs, just an overview), see Lecithin notes.
As an aside, the Lipo-C has made staggering changes in my sense of body-competence -- some effect that is not strength or energy yet sort of operates as both a little -- and my sense of well-being, elevation and stability of mood and patience, and more. My teen actually tried to give me her own money to buy a bigger machine to make and take more of the stuff, she says it so clearly affects my 'activity and happiness.' I can't say enough good things about the stuff. KP healing up is just one surprise benefit but probably the most trivial!
(Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
07/14/2013
Hi Redcairo from Miami, Ok, USA - Thank you so much for the link to your blog and details of making Lipospheric Vitamin C. I've had sunflower lecithin for ages but hadn't bought an ultrasonic machine. I actually forgot about making it. Then, after reading your post on Earth Clinic, it prompted me to order one and start making my own Lipo-C. I look forward to positive things! Thanks again and best wishes for continued good health. Cheers, Bess
Vitamin E
★★★★★
Vitamin K
Witch Hazel
★★★★★
(Pottsville , Pa)
11/01/2011
My daughter has KP too... We've been to the derm so many times to be told she has to just live with this. I've done research and found these remedies on my own. African Black Soap to detoxify her skin. This is a "wonderful" product for any skin blemishes. It even is great for moms with crows feet!! I use it every time I shower!!! Then we use Neem Oil, which is stinky, so we only apply it once on the weekends for 30 minutes to her arms. We have seen a GREAT improvement after 2 years of seeing NOTHING help.
(Florida, US)
09/04/2014
I am 50 years 'young' and have suffered with Keratosis Pilaris since the age of 13. I have been to doctors who prescribed me retinA, which is just not reasonable when the KP covers my arms and legs and the tube of gel/cream is the size of a tube of travel tooth paste, costs $30, and the directions say to apply it 3 times a day. DUMB! I have also been to a doctor who told me that I was just being borderline obsessive compulsive and to just live with it - I wanted to smack that guy in the head. After living with and fighting this condition for 37 years and reading a lot about it on-line this is what I have come to believe.
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.