I picked at my Keratosis Pilaris before I knew what it was....?

Question

Before I knew about Keratosis Pilaris, I thought they were pimples on my upper arms. Because of their tiny white little tops, I thought I could pull the white stuff out and make them go away. I tried a little too hard on a lot of the red look alike pimples, so now they are actually HARD when I run my fingers over them and there is sortof a ring of white skin on the red dots. There is also a white top on most of the picked ones, but it is just white skin, like the kind in hangnails, just the color I mean.

Sorry if this is confusing!

And my question is, what can I do to get rid of them?

Answer 1

I have the same skin condition. There is a lotion called 'Amlactin' that is non precription. It is over the counter, but my pharmacist actually keeps it behind the counter and not on the shelves. It takes a few weeks of use to see full results, but now ALL the bumps are gone. Oh, and even if you've been picking them, the lotion will help to clear it all up AND soften the skin. Just exfoliate gently before using the lotion. Mine seems to get worse in the winter, so I use it 2 times a day to keep the bumps away.

I just checked the bottle and it says that it is the 12% lactic acid version. There is also something called Lachydrin 5, which has 5% lactic acid, and is a bit cheaper. I found that one was sufficient to use in the summer when the condtion isn't so bad, but the 12% one is what I use the rest of the year.

one more thing; if you've been picking at the bumps, the lotion will sting a tiny bit when you apply it.