About K.P.

Since so many of you can identify with my funky skin troubles, I'll share a few more details about my K.P. experience. K.P. stands for keratosis pilaris. I have had it my entire life, but I don't remember being bothered by it until junior high. I played volleyball and my sweaty knee pads made my already unlovely skin even more unsightly. There was a mean girl on our team and she loved to point it out and say "Ewwww!" Thankfully she moved away and I never had to see her face again after junior high.

I went to the dermatologist at that time but nothing really worked for me. This may have been due to my lack of consistency, but mostly I think it's because K.P. is extremely hard to deal with. The doctor swabbed my arms and legs with lactic acid and within an hour my skin was peeling like crazy. That was nuts. I was told to only bathe once a day (to avoid over-drying my skin) and that I had to use plain old Lubriderm lotion. I needed to steer clear of all the fragrant Bath and Body Works stuff my friends were using. Freesia? Flowering Herbs, anyone? These were forbidden fruits!

Discouraged that nothing seemed to work, I just sucked it up for years until last year when a dermatologist gave me some good solutions. My K.P. had gotten really out of control by this time. I started using the treatments and was amazed by the smoothness of my skin. I had never seen it that way before and I loved it! I felt okay about wearing sleeveless shirts and shorts. Glytone and another product I used before that (can't remember the name) worked well, but after a while my skin got used to it and it wasn't as effective. I think you have to stop treatment for a while and then resume again. It's like a cycle. I made my Glytone treatments coincide with my Cancun vacation last summer and my sister's wedding in February. It's most effective in the beginning.

Even though my K.P. doesn't really make me self-conscious anymore, having it treated is really nice. It surprises me how much I actually think about it when I realize I'm NOT thinking about it. So, if you have teenagers with bad K.P., I think it would be worth it to take them to the doctor or order some Glytone Body (also called the KP Kit) and see what happens. Maybe you can give them some clear skin goals like for summer camp or prom or your family's spring break beach vacation. I hope that helps answer some questions. The good thing about K.P. and any other skin problems is that it gives you compassion for others with appearance issues that can't be helped. That is one thing I wouldn't mind passing to my kids, even though it kills me to see it on my baby's sweet legs and arms.

Tomorrow is my office day and I can't believe I'm still awake! I need to go fall in the heavenly bed now. By the way, we are going on vacation tomorrow. If we come to mind, please pray for safe travel and a fun time with Jackson. This trip was planned with him in mind and I hope it is a success. See you in a few days!