After doing a lot of research and asking other KP patients what they do to get rid of their keratosis pilaris, I came up with the 3 steps below. These are the most popular and effective recommendations and I really hope they are of some benefit to you. In each step I have listed two options, you can do either option or try both, it’s up to you. So let’s move on and I wish you all the best for a KP free life very soon!
STEP 1
Exfoliates:
a) Sugar Scrub – Most KP sufferers have already tried this tip, but if you haven’t, give it a try and see if your KP improves. You can buy ready-made sugar scrubs in stores, but if you want to make it at home, it’s really simple: take 1 part sugar and mix it with olive oil (or melted virgin coconut oil) in a bowl until it reaches the right consistency. what do you like. Some people like to add orange zest to give it a nice fragrance or others prefer to add honey for its healing properties. Use it after your skin has been soaking in the shower for a few minutes.
Bonus Tip: After gently rubbing your skin with the sugar scrub, rinse it off, then use something to properly scrape the oil off your skin. I use the plastic scraper that comes with the depilatory cream, but you can use a tongue scraper or an old credit card. The reason I recommend scraping off the oil is because all the dead skin is stuck to the skin with the oil, and if you don’t scrape it off, you’ll be carrying it around on your body for the rest of the day. Hey! So remove it and throw it down the drain. You can use a natural/organic soap to wash afterwards. Do this 2/3 times a week.
PRAYED
b) Dry Skin Scrub: Take a hard loofah, not a soft, squishy scrub and scrub your skin DRY. Do this before you get in the shower. Rub your skin gently in a circular motion and watch the dry, dead skin fly away…this is also good for removing ingrown hairs. After rubbing your skin dry, take a shower and use your natural/organic soap to wash off dead skin. Do this 2/3 times a week.
STEP 2
Hydrate:
a) Virgin Coconut Oil: This oil can be purchased in the kitchen section of the supermarket or at health food/whole food stores. Countless KP patients have recommended using this after getting out of the shower. Take a little and massage all over your skin. Some people like to use it again before bed. Remember to get the virgin form which is solid at room temperature. When it touches your skin it will melt due to your body temperature.
PRAYED
b) Your favorite moisturizer: any cream or lotion made for dry skin. Words to watch out for are things like ‘intensive repair’, ‘enriched’, ‘moisturizing’ and ‘deep moisturizing’. Good ones to try are CeraVe Moisturizing Cream and AmLactin XL Lotion. These have had some good reviews with KP patients.
STEP 3
Diet
a) Add essential fatty acids (EFAs) to your diet, such as Omega-3 (Linolenic Acid), Omega-6 (Linoleic Acid) and Omega-9 (Oleic Acid). The body cannot make these essential fatty acids (other than Omega-9), so you must add them to your diet. The body can produce a limited amount of Omega-9 as long as the other essential fatty acids are present.
Good food sources are: walnuts, soybeans, canola oil, walnut oil, flaxseed oil, and fish (especially cold-water fish such as salmon, oily fish, herring, tuna, cod, flounder, mackerel, and shrimp). Good omega supplements are: flaxseed oil (1 tablespoon per day) or fish oil capsules.
b) Drink Raw Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) – Okay, it sounds gross, but ACV is amazing for the skin, it’s a great detoxifier, and it has antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral properties.
Mix 2 teaspoons of ACV with a glass of water and drink. You can add a teaspoon of honey if you can’t take the flavor!
(Bonus tip: try putting some apple cider vinegar on cotton and dab your KP and blemishes at night before bed. It helps clear up blemishes. DO NOT PUT ON BROKEN SKIN OR SKIN THAT HAS BEEN PICKING UP – WILL BURN !)
Remember – If you try these tips, don’t give up after a week. I know you want to be KP free as soon as possible and you want to see immediate results, but to truly get rid of keratosis pilaris, you will need to be patient and persistent. Keep trying the recommended things and you will find something that works for you. You can do it!