I’m sure we’re all familiar with Keratosis Pilaris. Perhaps not the technical name, but certainly it’s appearance. Those little red bumps on the backs of your arms or at the top of your thigh? Yep, that’s them. Sometimes called chicken or strawberry skin; it’s estimated that this condition affects 40% of adults so you’ll have been lucky if you’ve escaped it.
But what exactly is it and how can you manage it?
In short, Keratosis Pilaris (“KP”) is a build-up of a protein called Keratin. It accumulates within our hair follicles and causes a plug (niiiiice) which then ultimately appears as a rough, red, bumpy patch on the skins surface; often compared to goose bumps.
While it’s unknown exactly what causes KP, it is typically put down to genetics which is of course, something we have no control over.
So if we have no say in whether we fall victim to looking like a strawberry, can we at least improve its appearance? YES (hence we’re rambling on about it!)
Now it’s important to add here that we are not promising a cure, because we are not in the market of altering your DNA….however we can give you a few little tips that we have found to manage it and give your skin back it’s deserved glow.
First things first, it’s recommended not to use any harsh chemicals or abrasive soaps as these can lead to increased irritation.
Next up, you may have noticed we sell 100% silk exfoliating gloves and guess what? Exfoliating can improve the appearance of KP!
We recommend using our exfoliating gloves once a week where ever you have noticed an uneven skin tone. Given that our gloves are made from 100% woven silk viscose, they are gentle (not scratchy) and can grip to dry and dead surface skin to aid the removal of that Keratin build up we mentioned previously. You may notice a ‘peel’ as this skin and dirt is exfoliated away.
And the best bit, you don’t need to use any chemicals with our gloves! Just water. So that will keep irritation to an absolute minimum.
Finally after exfoliating, find a moisturiser with ingredients such as salicylic acid, lactic acid or urea as these provide an additional exfoliation by way of AHA/BHA chemicals (the good kind!)
You should notice that if you follow these simple steps, the appearance of KP will be significantly improved, and nobody needs to mention a chicken or strawberry in reference to anyone’s skin ever again!