Vitamin E
A couple of months ago my forehead began feeling like sandpaper and had a redness to it. I tried apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, Vaseline, sesame seed oil and etc. Nothing was working. I even gave up and tried Cortisone cream. Didn't work. I found nothing online that would even tell me what it was, much less the cure. Then I thought to take a Vitamin E capsule and squeeze out half of the capsule and spread it on my forehead each day, and within a week it was gone.
Vitamin K
Hi there, I have keratosis pilaris all over my arms and legs. I was wondering if anyone tried vitamin K and got any good results. I was trying msm sulphur and I did notice my kp clearing up, however it was making me vomit so I've stopped it now. Coconut oil has worked great but I want to know if Vitamin K is worth a try. Thank you
Witch Hazel
I was diagnosed with Keratosis Pilaris on my arms many years ago and have tried many remedies to get rid of the pesky bumps. Recently, I have started using plain witch hazel (the cheap stuff from the pharmacy) on my arms. Amazingly, the bumps seem to recede. The redness hasn't really gone away but my smoother arms are a vast improvement. I've read about a mixture of witch hazel, alcohol, and aspirin being used for ingrown hairs so I might try this as well to see if I get any different results. I'll update later on my progress!
(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.
