Skincare with Friends Ep 79: Body Skincare- How to Get Rid of Keratosis Pilaris

We got a lot of questions from listeners about this topic and I hope this post helps you find a solution that works. I looked through the scientific evidence to see what ingredients were proven by good science to help “chicken skin” and I’ve come up with a handy list of products with these ingredients that should be pretty easy to get hold of.

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What is Keratosis Pilaris?

Keratosis Pilaris is also known as KP and chicken skin. It looks like little red bumps where the fine velus hairs grow out, it feels rough and bumpy to the touch and can be quite disfiguring. For some it can be itchy and uncomfortable. It’s actually incredibly common, if you are feeling self conscious- don’t worry, about half the population has the same problem.

(Thomas & Khopkar, 2012) 

“Keratosis pilaris is an autosomal dominant disorder that is classically characterized by keratinous plugs in the follicular orifices and varying degrees of perifollicular erythema. It affects nearly 50-80% of all adolescents and approximately 40% of adults. Most people with KP are otherwise asymptomatic and are frequently unaware of the condition. In general, KP is frequently cosmetically displeasing but medically harmless. The sites of predilection are the extensor surfaces of the upper arms (92%), thighs (59%) and buttocks (30%). The classically described histopathology is distention of the follicular orifice by a keratinous plug that may contain one or more twisted hairs”

Thomas & Khopkar, 2012

So what the study is saying is that Keratosis Pilaris is very common indeed, and if you’re young you may well grow out of it. “Autosomal Dominant disorder” means that KP is a genetic thing, so it’s not connected to anything you’ve done wrong- your weight or cleanliness are not a factor. Also even though it looks a bit like acne, It’s different to acne- it’s more about the hairs being trapped than oil glands being blocked

How to Get Rid of Keratosis Pilaris

“Both Mineral Oil-Hydrophil Petrolat (basically vaseline) improved KP severity compared to baseline by 76%, In another Randomised Control Trial, azelaic acid and Mineral Oil-Hydrophil Petrolat, led to an improvement of hyperkeratosis and roughness, by 92% and 83% respectively, and with no significant difference noted between the two treated groups. Both lactic acid 10% and salicylic acid SA 5% improved pigmentation and roughness of KP lesions at 12-week interval by 66% and 52% respectively LA 10% was more effective than SA 5%. Tazarotene is effective based on one RCT and a pilot study. Tazarotene improved erythema and roughness compared to vehicle-controlled group”

Thomas & Khopkar, 2012

Possible effective treatments include Vaseline/Aquaphor, Azelaic Acid, Salicylic Acid, Lactic Acid and Tazarotene. Tazarotene is prescription only, I think you’ll struggle to get that, particularly in amounts you would need to treat the whole body. Most of the named effective ingredients are easy to come by thankfully.

There is good evidence for laser treatment as well, which is best administered by a knowledgable clinician. Try out our product suggestions first and if your Keratosis pilaris isn’t playing ball then hunt for a clinic with some expertise in this field.

The Best Products for Getting Rid of Keratosis Pilaris

Lots of the products we mentioned in our acne post will work also for KP, the Cerave SA cream/wash, the Revolution SA products and the Sesderma Azelaic lotion.

There is also some recommendations I got from sufferers on The Ordinary Chatroom on Facebook- 201k members, it’s a good place to head for skincare tips.

• First Aid Bump Eraser £25 ish for 226g 10% AHA- contains pumice, Glycolic Acid and Lactic Acid
• Tendskin which is an American brand, it’s a solution that contains 15% Acetylsalicylic Acid  (aka Aspirin), it has an exfoliation and anti-inflammatory effect £29 for 236ml but cheaper in the US
• Urea also has some good reports. Urea is great for dry skin. It’s an unusual and under hyped ingredient with great qualities. It’s a humectant and an exfoliant. Urea is a natural moisturising factor, so the skin produces it to keep itself healthy. Urea makes perfect sense as a KP treatment. Try Eucerin Original 10% Urea Cream £12.50 for 100ml or Altruist Dry Skin Repair Cream £5.15 for 200ml (love Altruist!)
• The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% toner and Lactic Acid 10% are good bets. The GA comes in a big bottle it’s £8 for 240ml 
• For the Mineral Oil-Hydrophil Petrolat that was mentioned in the study above, check out- Epaderm Ointment £13 for 500g or Eucerin Aquaphor Skin Soothing Balm £9 for 45ml

Other Questions-

How to Protect Your Tattoos From the Sun

Tattoo ink is easily damaged by UV rays as are many other things. You might have noticed that if you leave something coloured in the sun, it will start to bleach. Protecting tattoos from the sun is important to preserve their vibrancy. New tattoos particularly should be kept covered with clothing if at all possible. Until they’re completely healed, new tattoos are open wounds so you might not want to be slapping on irritating chemical sunscreen ingredients. Avoiding strong sunlight and covering up with clothes is your best bet in the early days of your tattoo.

Keeping your tattoo bright and colourful as your artist intended it to be will rely on your ability to be sunsafe. Use high spf broad spectrum sunscreen whenever you are outside to protect the pigment. We have talked about great spf products ad nauseam very recently. Head to episodes 73 (Best Sunscreens for All Skin Tones) and 76 (How to Choose the Best UVA Protective Sunscreens) for suggestions.

Is SPF 100 worth it?

Spf 100 means that you can stay out in the sun 100 times longer than you could without the product. It doesn’t say anything about the UVA protection. If you have a high spf, high UVA protection in an elegant wearable formula and the price is ok, its worth it. Beware of American spf 100 products- as we learnt in the UVA episode American sunscreen’s broad spectrum is not so robust also they don’t have great UVA filters available because of FDA rules. We covered UVA protection in episode 75 (How to Protect from UVA Radiation).

References

Thomas M, Khopkar US. Keratosis pilaris revisited: is it more than just a follicular keratosis? Int J Trichology. 2012 Oct;4(4):255-8.