Why is my keratosis pilaris getting worse?

Keratosis pilaris can cause those all too familiar red bumps to turn up whenever they like. And while you could have an outbreak at any time, there are several things that can cause your KP symptoms to worsen, or irritate those areas of your skin prone to have an outbreak and cause one.

So, for those of you wondering “Why is my keratosis pilaris getting worse?!”, there could be several explanations. And once you know what factors might be bothering your skin and causing otherwise unnecessary outbreaks, you can learn to avoid them, therefore avoiding more of the red bumps altogether.

Some skin tips to avoid having overly dry skin:

No soaps that will dry the skin. Try to avoid all drying or harsh soaps. Use only milder soaps that also have natural oils. If you don’t want to buy the premium all natural soaps, you could try some at your grocery store like Dove or Neutrogena. You should really stay away from soaps that have deodorant or antibacterial chemicals. Just follow this simple idea: Your skin should always be both smooth and soft washing it, and it should never feel dry or tight.

Dry Skin Unlike acne, when you have KP you will want to avoid having overly dry skin like the plague. Dry skin will often result in a keratosis pilaris outbreak if you’re prone to have them in that area, and sometimes even if you’re not.

Get a good humidifier. Dry air tends to dry out the skin. A simple and inexpensive humidifier fills the air in your home with moisture. These days, you can easily get a cheap (yet quality) humidifier on the web. Pick  one that will fit both your budget as well as any home related requirements. And remember, it’s very important if you have KP to make sure that the humidifier is clean in order to eliminate bacteria.

No overly hot showers. Take shorter showers or baths and use warm water. Water that’s too hot can extract naturals oils from the skin. So, try to limit your shower or baths to around fifteen minutes and use only warm, (and not hot) water.

Always moisturize. Over the counter skin moisturizers create a seal on your skin in order to prevent moisture from getting out. Generally, the moisturizers that are quite thick work the best, like both Cetaphil or Eucerin.

Recently, an all natural treatment for keratosis pilaris has been getting a lot of national media attention. Many people are attributing their being KP free to this new system, which uses commonly available ingredients that can be bought at any grocery store. You can learn more about it here.