KP, Keratosis Pilaris or chicken skin, your choice

As far back as I can remember I've always had small slightly raised bumps on my arms. When I was young I thought they were just pimples and would squeeze them. Sometime this worked but mostly not.

Only recently after reading a few articles on Keratosis Pilaris, did I realised that this is what those bumps are. I do find that it gets better during the summer and worse in the winter, but it's never truly gone.

Mine usually looks something like this.

So I hunted high and low for Body washes, scrubs and lotions that contained AHA's.

From the article on Popsugar, I managed to get hold of the Pixi Glow Tonic (£18) and the Nip+Fab Glycolic fix body cream (£7), but it seems as if the Sanctuary Spa Resurface and Refine Ultra Polish is no longer available, so I replaced this with He-Shi Exfoliating Bodywash (£5), which had scrub particles and fruit AHA's in.

I also went looking for other alternatives to the Nip+Fab body cream and Pixi Glow Tonic.

Here's a list of what I found. Most are available on Amazon, but also check out the brand websites as sometimes it can work out cheaper.

Body Wash

Neutragena Body Clear Body Wash Pink Grapefruit

He-Shi Exfoliating Body wash

Mario Badescu AHA Botanical Body Soap

Face Theory Exfoliating Cleanser (E1)

Body Lotion/ Cream

Amalactin Body Lotion

Paula's Choice Resist

Avene Akerat

Glytone Retexturising Lotion

Skinfo Soft & Smooth

Derma-Lac Lotion

Gatineau AHA body lotion

Fair and white AHA body lotion

Soap and Glory Sugar Crush

Toner

Ren Clarifying Toning lotion

Estee Lauder Perfectly Clean

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Clarifying lotion

Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner

Alpha H Liquid Gold

Clinque Clarifying Lotion

Aveda Botanical Kinetics Exfoliant

Freedom Pro Studio Glycolic Radiance Tonic (from Superdrug)

I Started using the scrub, tonic and moisturiser a few days ago, and in just a couple of days I have to say that I can feel the difference in my skin. It's smoother to the touch and the appearance of the bumps has lessened.

Here's hoping that this continues and my KP will finally be under control. I say under control as there is no real cure for KP, it is really just a case of using what works best for you.

I did real an article about someone who swears by coconut oil for controlling their KP, but I have tried coconut oil in the past see here. I do really like coconut oil as a moisturiser, but it does nothing for my KP.

How the routine works

When I get in the shower, I wash my hair first, then stepping out from under the water I apply the scrub to my arms and legs. Next I put my conditioner on and while the scrub and conditioner get a few minutes to do their job, I use my fav body wash (Soaper Duper Zingy Ginger at the moment) on the other parts of my body.

Once this is done I stand back under the water and rinse my hair and body.

When I am squeaky clean, I step out of the shower and pat my self dry. Next using a cotton pad and the Glycolic tonic, I rub it all over my arms and legs. Lastly I apply the AHA moisturiser to my arms and legs and finish the rest of my body with a normal moisturiser.

All in all the routine for my body is very much like my face routine, cleanse, tone and moisturise, just with Glycolic and AHA body products.

I was lucky with my Pixi Glow Tonic as I got it in a special offer gift box just before Christmas, but I did find the Freedom Pro Glycolic tonic at Superdrug for just £6, much cheaper! So I will be keeping my Pixi Glow for my face and using the Freedom Pro for my body. The body scrub I bought on Amazon but then found it was cheaper if you bought it direct from He-Shi's website. The Nip+Fab Glycolic fix body cream is usually £8 but if you use the subscribe and save service on Amazon it gets cheaper.

Good luck and I wish you all the smoothest skin possible.

Rhix

XOXO

#KP #ChickenSkin #KeratosisPilaris #SmootherSkin