Keratosis Pilaris

Hey Girls

Since I read Bottled Beauty's blog post on "Chicken Skin" or Keratosis Pilaris, as it's known, I have been on a quest to try to find out what kind of things can help.

Before reading about it on the above post, I did not know KP existed. I just thought I had bad skin. I suffer from horrible red bumps on my upper arms. All the time...

Sourced from http://www.keratosispilaris.org/ ....

Keratosis Pilaris is a very common genetic follicular disorder manifested by the appearance of rough bumps on the skin. Primarily, it appears on the back and outer sides of the upper arms, but can also occur on thighs and buttocks or any body part except palms or soles.

An excess of the protein known as Keratin, accumulates within the hair follicles forming numerous tiny rough bumps on the skin. Sometimes, these bumps can become irritated causing the follicles to redden excessively.

KP is often misdiagnosed and treated as acne. Most types are more evident during teen years.

It can also appear after pregnancy or at any stage of life.

image sourced from google

So, as I mentioned I began looking at ways to improve KP. The most common solution is exfoliation. I have always exfoliated the affected area but the results are short lived. It makes the area smooth for a few hours but I then notice the bumps have began to reappear.

Other forms of relief are said to come from laser treatment and sun tanning. Sun tanning for me has never resolved KP.

The treatment I came across which intruigued me the most was oil pulling. I had never heard of oil pulling so decided to google it...

Sourced from http://www.oilpulling.org/ ...

Oil Pulling is a safe, simple, cheap and gentle ‘do it yourself home remedy’ that cures and prevents diseases and extends your healthy life.

It involves rinsing the mouth with 1 tablespoon (10ml) of oil for 15 to 20 minutes and spitting it out. You can use either sunflower oil or sesame oil, both of which are usually used for cooking and readily available in the home.

This simple therapy is completely harmless as you do not take any medicines - even the oil you use is spit out after OP. By helping the body get rid of toxins that have accumulated, Oil Pulling promotes self healing from within.

So. I decided to try it. After reading up about it on a good few websites, I decided that it was a safe and non expensive way to try to combat KP. Honestly, if you google it yourself you will see it supposedly cures a multitude of ailments and contributes to maintaining a healthy body. So if it didn't cure KP surely it would do my body some good?

I bought myself a bottle of sunflower oil and took a table spoon in my mouth. This is best done on an empty stomach, ie, 1st thing in the morning and after brushing your teeth. I then let the oil swish about in my mouth for around 15 minutes and spat out. I then rinsed my mouth thoroughly and brushed my teeth again.

That was last Wednesday. Have I noticed an improvement in my KP?

No.

I only lasted 3 days.

The process of oil pulling is DISGUSTING. Definately not for me. For the first few minutes I gagged continuously. It's like emptying the contents of a chip pan into your mouth. Eww. By day 3 I'd had enough and couldn't do it any more. FAIL!!

I will be happy to stick to exfoliation and moisturisation.

OH the things one does in the name of beauty.

Have any of you guys tried a wacky beauty or skin treatment??

x.x.x