Seeking Smoother Skin

One of my favorite compliments I’ve ever received was “Wow! Your skin is so soft!”

The fact that it was said by a very handsome man I had a crush on at the time didn’t hurt the delivery at all.

The truth is, though most of my skin is kept smooth and soft with regular exfoliation and copious amounts of moisturizer – as well as water intake and limited sun exposure – it is not all smooth. So today, let’s dive into that dark fact and see if it helps anyone else out there.

Today we are going to dive into…KP.

What Is Keratosis Pilaris (KP)?

Keratosis pilaris is a skin condition that is both common…harmless…painless…and annoying as heck! It shows up as dry, rough patches and tiny bumps on the upper arms, thighs, cheeks or butt. Mine is on the upper back of my arms and, in my mind, it feels like bumpy sandpaper. I’m self conscious of people touching my upper arms for fear that it is noticeable.

It can’t be “cured” or “prevented”. It’s just what some otherwise normal skin does. Online resources says it’s usually seen in young children and disappears as you age – but sometimes, like with me – it just stays.

Lucky me.

What Causes It?

Keratin is a protein, naturally produces by our bodies to protect our hair and skin. In the case of KP, it goes a little out of whack and blocks the hair follicle which results in a bump. In my case, they are visually unnoticeable but it can differ from person to person.

How Can You Treat It?

According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association (AAD), you can take the following steps:

1. Physically exfoliate – (gently) with a loofah, buff puff, or rough washcloth. Be careful not to scrub which can irritate and make KP worse.
2. Chemically exfoliate – Use a product that helps remove excessive build up of dead skin cells. Don’t worry too much about the word “chemical” or the “acid” that follows many of the types listed below. They are less irritating “acids” based on their pH. However, pay attention to application instructions and frequency. If your skin becomes dry or irritated, take a break from treatment.
   1. Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) – These types of acids work by loosening the bond between dead skin cells on the surface of your skin which helps to gently remove old skin and reveal new skin. It also has the bonus of increasing collagen synthesis. It’s not a scary acid, at least in my book. Lactic acid is a very gentle AHA and is a good choice for someone with very sensitive skin. It doesn’t work well for me in most situations, but would be a great solution for some. Glycolic acid is another AHA which is also a favorite of mine and works well for me in most instances.
   2. Beta Hydroxy Acid (BHA) – These types of acids work both on the surface and deep inside the pore. BHAs are often used in acne treatments. A common one is salicylic acid. I have typically avoided these types of products because my skin tends to be very dry. However, knowing the nature of the KP, this is a reasonable alternative for treatment.
   3. Urea – This is a naturally part of our skin but it starts to fade with age. (insert eye roll) Of course it does. In higher concentrations, it can work well in conjunction with other things (most commonly lactic acid) to both moisturize and help exfoliate skin).
   4. Retinoid – This encompasses a broad array of vitamin A derivatives (here’s an earlier article about it). These basically transform your skin from the inside.
3. Moisturize – This is mostly to offset the drying effect of most chemical exfoliants.

Other Tips

There are other tips you’ll find combing through the internet.

1. Hair Removal – There is some anecdotal evidence that laser hair removal my help resolve KP in some instances. You do not want to shave or wax because it irritates the follicle and the KP.
2. Take short showers and baths – The goal here is to avoid drying out the skin. I am a bath lover so this certainly doesn’t help my cause at all.
3. Use a mild cleanser – We have to treat our skin gently because sometimes we can make it worse by being rough with the rough skin.
4. Skip self tanner – Depending on where your KP is and how bad it looks visually, tanning could make it more obvious and prominent. I’m fortunate that tanning doesn’t seem to make it more noticeable on me, but I’m cautious about it.

What Have I Tried?

What HAVEN’T I tried?

For years before I knew what it was, I would scrub it hard, scrape at it, and try to soak it in hot water (thinking incorrectly that if I could open up my pores, it would help). Essentially I did everything wrong. No one ever told me. I never asked. The last thing I wanted to do was bring attention to something that made me extremely self-conscious.

One of the unexpected advantages of becoming obsessed with anti-aging and skincare is that I started reading more and asking more questions.

In Shower

I discovered two products that work in much the same way to both physically and chemically exfoliate my skin. I only use it on the problem spots, in the shower, a couple of times a week.

First Aid Beauty KP Bump Eraser Body Scrub – This product has pumice in it to help with physical exfoliation with a 10% blend of lactic acid and glycolic acid to aid with chemical exfoliation. It was the first thing that I tried which really seemed to help. It’s worth a check if it works for you. For me, though it improved my KP and cleared up certain patches, it didn’t address all of it, so I went in search of other alternatives.

Skinfix Resurface+ Glycolic and Lactic Acid Renewing Body Scrub – This product has biodegradable bamboo polishers to address physical exfoliation and a 13% blend of lactic acid (6%) and glycolic acid (7%) for chemical exfoliation. I find the physical exfoliation of this product a little more gentle, but the overall impact for me is more effective.

There are plenty of other products on the market to treat KP – just look for what they use for physical and/or chemical exfoliation. There are brands, like KP Elements, that focus specifically on treating KP. I have not tried them all but this article should provide you with all of the data you need to make informed decisions.

Out of the Shower

Just as there are solutions in the shower, there are things you can do outside the shower to help with your skin. One of the first things I tried was DERMAdoctor KP Duty High Potency Daily Body Peel. This is the one product I would NOT recommend to anyone. I tried it for a month and did not see any improvement in my KP. There are other products in the line but I haven’t tried any of them after my initial experience with this particular product. If you use it and love it – trust your instinct. I just wouldn’t tell my friends to go buy this.

I’ve tried to find moisturizers which contain some type of AHA to continue to work on the KP when I’m out living life. I have body lotions like Alpha Skin Care Renewal Body Lotion with 12% AHA and Donell AHA 20 Body Tingle Exfoliating Body Moisturizer which are long time favorites for my body – but interestingly I have not found that either is particularly helpful with my KP.

I’ve found that Skinfix Resurface+ AHA Renewing Cream works well for me. It has a lower concentration of AHA but is more moisturizing. Moisturizer is a critical component of helping keep the KP at bay. I won’t profess to totally understand why but I can see the evidence in real life. That’s enough to convince me. Of course I think there are plenty of other moisturizers out there that would also work. You don’t have to break the bank on this. Just focus on making sure you keep the skin moisturized.

I’ve also tried using my Braun Silk Expert Pro 5 laser hair removal device – since I already owned it. I found it helped greatly on one side – to the point that it’s almost totally cleared up. However, the other arm was totally unaffected so I wouldn’t recommend buying it JUST for this. But if you have an at home laser hair removal device already it’s worth putting it to an additional use.

As a side note, my initial instinct to try to aggressively scrape the bumps away (which doesn’t work) made me research before I tried using my microdermabrasion device I’ve been testing. It turns out that while microdermabrasion may help with the surface texture a bit, it doesn’t help the KP which is down in the follicle. Staying with the “less is better” approach to skin issues, I’ve decided to NOT pursue this as a treatment.

I’ve just started using my prescription Tretinoin 0.1% on my KP every other day. I’m curious to see if it will help push the improvement just a little further. If I don’t feel it’s gotten better in a few months, I will probably stop and look at a salicylic acid product appropriate for use at night.

Bottom Line

If you have KP like me, I want you to know you’re not alone.

It’s stubborn but worth trying some of the items I’ve mentioned above to see if you can address it. It’s a small thing and sometimes I feel silly for being embarrassed by it…but then I realize it’s about my own comfort and confidence.

At the end of the day, that’s what all beauty is about.

Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. Some of these links are affiliate links. If you click a link and buy something, I may receive a commission for the sale. It does not cost you anything extra and you are free to use the link or not. Product purchases for review are made with my own money and my opinions are my own. If product is ever provided or the article is sponsored, it will be clearly noted at the top of the page.