I have had Keratosis Pilaris since infancy, and so has my first baby. I've tried A MILLION products to help it- from Amalactin to DermaDoctor, and everything at Sephora. Nothing even touched it. As in esthetician, I was determined to get to the bottom of my bumpy arms.
The first part of this blog is going to read like a TedTalk at best, and the ranting of a conspiracy theorist at worst; but stick with me. 80% of people have Keratosis Pilaris, also known as chicken skin. EIGHTY. PERCENT. Keratosis Pilaris is a harmless, albeit annoying, condition caused by the buildup of keratin, a protein found in skin. The increased keratin clogs or blocks the follicle, creating a small bump. It causes the skin to be drier, too, which in turn makes the problem worse. We don't have to tell our heart to beat or our eyes to see, so why can't MOST people seem to regulate the keratin in their skin?
As an esthetician who obsesses over the root-cause of these conditions, I've come up with a few theories. I think this condition starts at birth. It takes babies' skin 3-4 months to properly regulate oil. When the baby is in its mom’s belly, it’s basically sitting in a hydrating skincare bath 24/7. Fast forward to birth, the baby’s skin has to adjust to the air, water, blankets, clothes, and soap. Babies are immediately wiped off and, in most cases, given a bath in the hospital, removing the layer of protection that the baby is born with. On top of that, it became standard practice to bathe babies' multiple times a week, if not every day, with soap that is full of low quality, drying ingredients like surfactants. If the baby is bathed every single day, then the body is being told that there is too much oil, and to scale back. Therefore, the child is left with skin that's more dry than balanced.
Humans are also pretty new to forced air in the home, in the grand scheme of evolution. For centuries, our body was used to living outside, and contending with the weather changes. Now that we use forced air, which for the record I’m not complaining about, our skin is having to adjust itself accordingly; especially when running heat in the winter. It dries the skin out, which exacerbates the KP.
That being said, I know the key to fixing KP- and I’m dying to share.
Exfoliating. You have a few options. I would recommend the Refining Body Scrub 2-3 nights per week. OR The Perfect Body Wash nightly. Both would be an overkill, especially at first. The point of this step is to start physically and chemically unclogging the keratin build up. If you choose the Refining Body Scrub, make sure you’re using a soap that isn’t drying out your skin. In my experience, this is REALLY hard to find. The Dabble Ducky Infant Wash is a good choice if you’re worried yours isn’t up to par.
Hydrating. And I’m not just talking about regular degular lotion. I mean REALLY hydrating. First, you’re going to take the Refining Hand and Body Lotion OR the Dabble Ducky Infant Balm, and apply it to damp skin when you get out of the shower at night. The Refining Hand and Body Lotion chemically exfoliates and hydrates. The Dabble Ducky Infant Balm heals the skin’s barrier like no other. It's super important to apply them on damp skin to lock in the moisture.
Healing. I call this step the healing step because it’s going to make sure that all the products you used before actually penetrate the skin. For this step, you can use the Cell Protection Balm, the Rose Body Oil, or the Whipped Body Butter. All 3 products have bigger molecules, which work to keep the water and lotion in, but also helps drive the products deeper in the skin.
Hydrate and Heal in the morning too. If the healing products make your skin feel too greasy, you can only do those at night. Sleeping in this routine is going to make the biggest difference, because nighttime is when your skin repairs itself.
If you follow these steps, your KP will improve almost immediately, and be significantly reduced or gone over time. For me personally, the bumps cleared up pretty quickly, but it took a year for the hyperpigmentation (the little red dots) to go away. My husband even noticed how smooth my arms were the other day, so you know those results are real. To be able to confidently wear tank tops without worrying about my arms looking like they have a rash has seriously been life changing. I can’t wait to hear how these help your KP, too!
Comments