Keratosis Pilaris- Cured

Posted Sun, 04/18/2010 - 15:10 by Melissa

Wouldn't it be nice if avoiding gluten, sugar, and other foods you are sensitive to cured EVERYTHING? It can make a difference in the quality of your life, but it's not magical.

The very minor bane of my paleo years has been keratosis pilaris, which I've had on my upper arms and thighs for as long as I can remember. Actually, 40% of adults have it and women are most commonly affected. It manifests as small red knobby bumps, which are caused by the body producing excess keratin. Since I am very light skinned, it always looked kind of stark on me and my first boyfriend often remarked how rough my skin was.

Going paleo seemed to make it slightly better, probably because of increased retinol and DHA in my diet, but it still affected me. I decided to think about what a paleolithic woman would have done to her skin. We don't know exactly- it's possible women used minerals, fats, and herbs on their skin, as plenty of modern hunter-gatherers do. There is even some evidence neanderthals wore "makeup."

But what can we infer about paleolithic woman's skin treatment?

  • Lots of sunlight
  • Probably bathed in cold water and probably didn't bath every day

I first linked it these things when I worked on a farm where we didn't have hot water, except for if you wanted to build a fire a boil it yourself. Not surprisingly, I bathed pretty sparingly, mostly just using a wash cloth. We also had a sauna that we used sometimes. I can definitely understand why people invented saunas- it's much less work than bathing in hot water because it uses relatively little water, just as steam. If you are hauling water yourself, you aren't going to want to use it liberally. Also, being on a farm I was out in the sun all the time.

No, I didn't smell bad, and yes, my skin looked and felt awesome.

How can I apply this to the real world? I've tried all kinds of skin creams and they haven't worked. Unfortunately, I've always LOVED really hot showers and this has been a hard habit to break. I'm now taking lukewarm showers that I do not enjoy, but my skin looks much better. I'm also sun bathing, which also isn't fun in the cold.

I think the lesson here is that there are three factors we have to take into account: cultural, environmental, and biological. Most people doing the paleo diet do their best to have a biologically appropriate diet and exercise regimen, but I live in a culture where I must be clothed most of the time and an environment where we have hot showers and spend our days in dark offices. I can only do so much to change these things, but by questioning them, I can more effectively apply evolutionary thinking to improving my well-being.

UPDATED POST HERE

Comments

You might consider trying a

by Sarah V. - 04/25/2010 - 18:13

You might consider trying a seasonal affective disorder light in lieu of sunbathing in the winter.

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Respironics-briteLITE-6-BriteLITE/dp/B0018...

Since you're in New York, above 37 degrees latitude spending time outdoors during the winter is probably not doing enough for you in addition to not being very pleasant.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/time-for-more-vitamin-d.htm

I'm not a big pill taker and I know that the suns rays provide more than just vitamin D, so I like light therapy better than just taking supplements.

My fiance has had this issue

by David Csonka - 04/23/2010 - 22:28

My fiance has had this issue I think, but she told me that her dermatologist said it was from in-grown hairs. I can't imagine why she would have in-grown hairs on the side of her arm, it's not like she shaves that part of her arm.

Is this commonly misdiagnosed?

I don't know if it was going

by Bryce Lee - 04/20/2010 - 16:32

I don't know if it was going Paleo, or starting to use soap sparingly and infrequently, but I used to suffer from this and don't any more.

I want to believe that the natural oils that our skin produces have a purpose other than just "waste disposal." It seems that they would logically be protective, and scrubbing them away every day doesn't seem smart.

I will say that, when I don't use any soap but just scrub with good water pressure, my wife has noticed a distinct musk, neither pleasant nor unpleasant, and a decided REDUCTION of stinky armpit odor. I don't know if my wife has made up her mind if it's a fair trade.

Keep up the posting! You have some excellent original content, and your blog is one of the few I still read, now that my paleo education has reached a satisfactory level of completeness.

-Bryce

I've been taking cold showers

by Anonymous - 04/19/2010 - 17:48

I've been taking cold showers for about six months, and I love it! It makes me feel great -- relaxed and energized -- and my skin is much happier. It takes some willpower but it's worth it.

Hi Melissa, Ironic that you

by Nutty Kitchen - 04/19/2010 - 13:41

Hi Melissa,

Ironic that you are posting this now. I have had light KP only on my upper arms forever, but never knew what it was. But my girlfriend just educated me literally 2 weeks ago. I live in sunny Scottsdale AZ, so the vitamin D from the sun is a given, so that really helps me. But she also said that I should go to Walgreen's and pick up a jar of Alpha Hydroxy cream. After my shower (yes I like them hot too) I lather up my arms with the cream let it dry and put on coconut oil. I used the Tropical Traditions for cooking and yes as lotion all over my body. It does wonders. It is key to exfoliate really well before the Alpha Hydroxy. For the past two weeks, my arms have healed, I don't feel the need to pick anymore - I was obsessed, and my arms look great. Coconut oil is really terrific for the skin. Let me know what you think. Best! Jo

I try to avoid hot showers

by Nick - 04/19/2010 - 11:25

I try to avoid hot showers (although I still use them when stretching my old back injury). I use soap-less cleanser and only wash my groin, pits and face with great results on my skin. I do however need to focus more sun bathing...

Also, here is a great link in light of this topic: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-477378/Six-weeks-wash-The-soap...

I also have KP on my upper

by Chris - 04/19/2010 - 00:55

I also have KP on my upper arms and upper legs, but I gave up trying to fix it a long time ago. I've eaten a range of diets from macrobiotic to hard-core more-bacon-please Atkins, and I used to be a swimmer. I have never noticed anything that changed the KP. For a while I thought light therapy worked, but after paying closer attention, I decided it was just that tanning covered up the contrast between the bumps and the rest of the skin.

I wonder if it's possible that different temperature showers bring blood to the surface of the skin differently, giving the mistaken impression that KP is reduced with cooler showers.

I do have one good fix for you. I was compelled one time before undressing to assure a girl that I did not have a communicable disease, but she didn't understand what I was talking about. It turns out, she normally wore glasses and couldn't see the bumps. So the moral is to date people with bad vision.

Your blog is very

by Laury - 04/18/2010 - 22:26

Your blog is very interesting...I just heard about this "movement" of the paleo diet...I have ALWAYS told clients and friends, you should eat how our ancestors ate. We are meant to hunt and gather, eat as close to nature as possible! If you have a chance stop by my blog, I post a lot on natural foods and fitness www.thefitnessriot.com

Keep Up the Great Work!

-Laury

That sounds exactly like the

by Girl Gone Primal - 04/18/2010 - 18:45

That sounds exactly like the red spots I used to have on my outer edge of my upper arms throughout my teenage years. I've just checked, and the redness is very slight now, though it tends to disappear over summer (vitamin D, then?). I always imagined it was just my Scottish colouring, or a skin reaction to cold weather. Interesting!

Now I have rough, dry skin spots on my forearms and shins, so I wonder if a bit more sunbathing would help this...

Hi, I have this same problem

by K - 04/18/2010 - 18:35

Hi,

I have this same problem on my upper arms, though as I've gotten older it has greatly diminished.

Lately I have been using organic-cold pressed-virgin coconut oil when I get out of the shower with great success in the overall appearance and smoothness of my skin. It has antimicrobial properties, so it might help... Just grab a glob and smear it all over before you get out of the shower and then pat dry.

Yeah, actually I use this

by Melissa - 04/18/2010 - 18:54

Yeah, actually I use this too, but I find it has best results before I shower, as I guess it protects the skin from the shower.