After doing a lot of research and asking other KP sufferers what they do to get rid of their keratosis pilaris, I have come 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’ve listed two options, you can do either option or try both, it’s up to you. So let’s get on and I wish you all the best for a KP-free life very soon!

STEP 1

Exfoliate:

a) Sugar scrub – Most KP sufferers have tried this tip already but if you haven’t then have a go and see if your KP improves. You can buy ready-made sugar scrubs at stores but if you want to make it home it’s really simple – take 1 part sugar and mix it with olive oil (or melted virgin coconut oil) in a container until it reaches a consistency you like. Some people like to add orange zest to give it a nice fragrance or others like to add honey for its healing properties. Use it after your skin has been soaking in the shower for a few minutes.

Extra Tip: After gently scrubbing your skin with the sugar scrub, rinse it off and then use something to properly scrape the oil off your skin. I use the plastic scrape thing that comes with hair removal cream but you can use a tongue scraper or an old credit card. The reason why I recommend scraping the oil off is because all your dead skin is stuck to your skin with the oil and if you didn’t scrape it off you would be carrying it around on your body for the rest of the day. Eeew! So scrape it off and wash it down the drain. You can use a natural/organic soap to wash yourself with afterwards. Do this 2/3 times a week.

OR

b) Dry skin scrub: Grab a hard loofah, not a soft squidgy exfoliator and DRY exfoliate your skin. Do this before you get in the shower. Scrub your skin gently in a circular motion and watch the dry dead skin just fly off… this is good for getting out in-growing hairs too. After dry scrubbing your skin, get in the shower and use your natural/organic soap to wash away the dead skin. Do this 2/3 times week.

STEP 2

Moisturise:

a) Virgin Coconut Oil – this oil can be bought from the cooking section in the supermarket or health food/whole food stores. Countless KP sufferers have recommended using this after getting out of the shower. Grab a glob of it and massaging all over your skin. Some people like to use it again before getting into 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.

OR

b) Your favourite moisturiser – any cream or lotion that is made for dry skin. Words to look out for are things like ‘intensive repair’, ‘enriched’, ‘hydrating’ and ‘deep moisture’. Good ones to try are CeraVe Moisturizing Cream and AmLactin XL Lotion. These have had some good reviews with KP sufferers.

STEP 3

Diet

a) Add essential fatty acids (EFAs) to you diet such as Omega-3 (Linolenic Acid), Omega-6 (Linoleic Acid) and Omega-9 (Oleic Acid). These essential fatty acids cannot be produced by the body (apart from Omega-9) so you need to add them to your diet. A limited amount of Omega-9 can be produced by the body provided the other EFAs are present.

Good food sources are: nuts, soybean, canola oil, walnut oil, flaxseed oil and fish (especially cold water fish such as salmon, bluefish, 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) – ok, sounds gross but ACV is amazing for your skin, is a great detoxifier and has anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties.

Mix 2 teaspoons of ACV with a glass of water and drink. You can add teaspoon of honey if you can’t take the taste!

(Extra Tip – try putting some ACV on cotton wool and dab on your KP and blemishes at night before bed. It helps to get rid of blemishes. DO NOT PUT ON BROKEN SKIN OR ON SKIN THAT YOU’VE BEEN PICKING – IT WILL BURN!)

Remember – if you try these tips please don’t give up after a week. I know you want to be KP-free ASAP and want to see immediate results but to really get rid of keratosis pilaris you will need to be patient and persistent. Keep trying the things recommended and you WILL find something that works for you. You can do it!