What is Keratosis Pilaris you ask?
It is often called chicken skin, it is skin conditional that is typically seen on the back of the arms, the thighs and the cheeks. It is a bunch of small bumps that are typically red and rough in texture. It is a very, very common harmless skin disorder. It is caused by a build up of dead skin cells, dirt and other gross little things that block the hair follicles.
Picture from: Gamisbaru.com
As we get into the summer months everyone is concerned with how their skin looks and feels. The last thing a lot of people want is to put on a bathing suit, or a strapless dress and have rough looking skin. Keratosis Pilaris is passed down through genetics. I personally have it on the back of my thighs and my arms.
The strange thing about this is that it can spontaneously clear up on its own.
It is typically worse in the winter months when skin is dryer - but come summer time everyone is ready for it to go away.
There is no cure for it, but there are couple things that can help make it better.
- Exfoliate -
The most helpful thing that I have done is exfoliate. I love using a bath brush, or body brush depending on what you call it. I use this during every shower and make sure I spend a few extra seconds scrubbing the affected areas. This has caused a great improvement in the texture of my skin.
Body scrubs and sugar scrubs are also great. One of my favorite things to do, before I go out especially is to exfoliate using asprin. Get a few apsrin tablets in your hand and get them a little bit wet, they will break down into a paste and if you use that as an exfoliant, not only will it help slough off the dead skin cells but the aprin itself will help reduce redness (hint you can do this on your face also, just be careful because it is very rough on the skin)
- Moisturize -
This is so, so important. You have to moisturize your skin all the time anyways but especially if you suffer from Keratosis Pilaris becuase this is made worse by dry skin. After you exfoliate your skin you body is going to kick into overdrive and try and repair and replace the skin. If it is not moisturized that makes this process more lengthy. Some people find using coconut oil to be very great moisturizer and especially helpful with this condition. I personally haven't tried this because lathering coconut oil on my skin is not something that I have yet come to terms with.
There are people who have had microdermabrasion and peels to help the appearance of this.
Do you have any tricks and tips to help?
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