What is keratosis Pilaris?
Keratosis Pilaris aka chicken skin are harmless pimple like bumps that appear on your skin, mainly your thighs, the back of your arms or even your buttocks. They give your skin a sandpaper like feel and appearance.
A large number of people have this condition and go years without knowing or treating it.
I have a slight case of OCD (don't we all!). So it's only natural that I used to worry about the bumps I had on my thighs and arms. I was extremely paranoid about this condition without knowing it was even a thing that could be treated. I figured I was just unlucky in the skin department. I would always crave skin that was smooth to touch and silky to look at- Keyword
Crave!
If you asked me that was something
I could never achieve personally!
One day I was browsing the world wide web (surprise surprise!) when I came across someone talking about chicken skin/ strawberry skin. Still unknowing what exactly that was, I googled the meaning and BOOM! it was the very thing I had spent years worrying about. *Of course they didn't have pictures that did justice to what it looked like on my skin type, chocolate skin, the brown skin I was used to.* So it took me a while and lots' of digging to confirm that was exactly what I was suffering from.
Now if you are anything like me, I'm sure for years your keratosis pilaris has been a constant nag you haven't gotten quite rid of, but you most likely don't even know it's a thing you can get rid of or even manage. (*subtly trying to blow my own horn and indicate I'm putting you guys onto something! If you already know about keratosis pilaris just stick around and find out how
I manage mine. If you don't, worry not and just think of two words-
THE PLUG!)
CAUSES?
Build up of keratin that blocks the hair follicles. Simple!
Why it happens? No one knows! (LOL don't quote me please)
People with dry skin are more likely to have keratosis pilaris (again surprise surprise- I was cursed with the northern alligator skin)
TREATMENT;
I try my best to stay away from any soap that dries me out. We have already established that dry skinned gals & guys are most likely to have "chicken skin". And that begins in the shower.
What I do is, I opt for soaps that are creamy and moisturising to my skin (Good ol' shea butter base soaps)
My personal favorite was/is (I haven't been able to use this as much as I would love to because I can't find this in Ghana)
Lush's Porridge soap
Why I love it?
Oats is one of the main ingredients (and later on you'd find out exfoliating is a major step to combating K.P) Oatmeal is great for treating dry skin, eczema and calming inflammation, it also helps to exfoliate your skin (Cha-Ching!)
Organic orange juice is rich is vitamin C which helps lighten your skin naturally and since my bumps have taken a black appearance, this soap helps brighten them and keep my skin clear.
And the smell? ummmm delicious
*A lot of handmade soaps in Ghana have shea butter as their base and that's a great start, however, if you want a store bought soap always look out for soap that targets dry skin
EXFOLIATE !!!!!!
You cannot possibly begin to think of treating keratosis pilaris without thinking of exfoliating! Exfoliating to remove dead skin is major key!! This helps to expose new skin and tame your keratin accumulation.
I used to exfoliate once a week, then I upped my game to every other day now I do it everyday (a bit too much but I'm loving the results plus my mom always said beauty was pain!)
* I fell off again just to be sure it was what I was doing that was causing the results but I'm back on it.
What I use;
Over the years I have come to appreciate sugar scrubs better than salt scrubs. Now sugar scrubs are less abrasive (for sensitive skin so a salt scrub in this case might be your best bet) than salt scrubs but I personally love how my skin feels after using a sugar scrub and I absolutely hate the feel of any scrub rubbing against my palm 😫.
Tree Hut has some really great inexpensive scrubs that do THE WORK. The smell is also to die for, so
it's no surprise it's the top of my List.
I recently picked this one up from a shop called Shamvikay in dzorwulu and every time I open it the beautiful smell just fills up my bathroom and I come out with my skin practically glowing.
The Next scrub I used and loved (even though it was a salt scrub) is Lush's vodka infused ocean salt scrub.
This scrub almost made me change my mind about salt scrubs, it wasn't too abrasive, smelt and felt delicious and the vodka in it brightened my skin (only issue is, I usually have scratches on my arms from when I sleep and it would burn a bit).
Apart from that this scrub is everything and more when you are dealing with KP
I have also used Skin Gourmet's hibiscus and tea tree sugar scrub and it did the work, but I personally hate the smell of tea tree so as much as I loved the results I couldn't use it further. I bought this at the chop Bar in east legon A&C mall.
Save the best for the last! This is a cult favorite and it's on the high end but trust me this scrub puts all the others to shame (because it is directly targeted at treating KP)
It's not just an exfoliator, but acts as a chemical peel and microdermabrasion all in one packaging. I haven't found this in Ghana (that's really the main reason I fell off exfoliating) but if you can get your hands on these babies? Hunty your life would be snatched!
* Bonus step once a week I detoxify my skin using Aztec healing clay before I hop into the shower this cuts down my exfoliating time in half and the results?!!
AH-MAY-ZING!
Out of the shower you really want to Moisturize your skin, because if you do not all your hard work in the shower would just go to waste!!!
Good old shea butter does the trick.
I also used raw cocoa butter from skin gourmet and I absolutely loved the smell and the glow it gave my skin after.
Mango butter is also a great moisturizer I have been yearning to try. But I haven't found it in Ghana (surprise surprise)
Again, if you aren't into the hand-made stuff just look out for creams that target dry skin.
Hope this information was helpful, let me know your thoughts and questions.
The Plug got you.
LFA
x.o.x.o
