In Real Food Quote Monday (RFQM), I share each Monday a quote from something I read. Here’s today’s RFQM.
Natural Remedy for Keratosis Pilaris
Today I’m sharing about keratosis pilaris, those sandpaper like bumps that are characteristically paired with dry skin on the back of many of arms, including mine. I have had them as long as I can remember, and so do two of my children (one worse than the other). I’ve long looked out for a natural remedy, and was thrilled beyond thrilled to find one mentioned in a recent article by Sally Fallon Morell called Skin Deep. The article was published in the Fall 2010 (Essential Fatty Acids) issue of Wise Traditions, the quarterly publication of the Weston A. Price Foundation.
Do you have keratosis pilaris? I think I’m not the only one. Well, here’s your natural remedy. My daughter and I have been following this routine for about 3 weeks and we’re noticing improvement, though it is slow going.
Sally Fallon Morell writes:
“Keratosis Pilaris: “Sand paper” bumps, most frequently on the back of the upper arms, appear when keratin forms hard plugs within hair follicles. This is a classic sign of vitamin A deficiency. In addition to taking cod liver oil orally, mix cod liver oil with evening primrose oil and rub on the affected area. Avoid soaps and shampoos containing sodium lauryl sulfate. —Skin Deep“
To review her recommendations, and add one of my own:
- Take (fermented, high-vitamin) cod liver oil daily (we are taking 1 teaspoon each)
- Rub a mix of cod liver oil and evening primrose oil on the affected area (daily for us)
- Avoid soaps and shampoos containing sodium lauryl sulfate
- Use a loofah sponge, gently, for exfoliating during washing (I added this)
About cod liver oil. It is important to use a high-quality fermented cod liver oil, otherwise the vitamins are not nearly so assimilable. People buy expensive alpha-hydroxy lotions and other remedies from the dermatologist, right? Why not spend that money on high-quality cod liver oil and avoid the pharmacy or doctor bill? That’s my thinking, anyway. Here are cod liver oil basics and brand recommendations (and why fermented is so much better).
About evening primrose oil. I purchased our evening primrose oil from the refrigerator at the health food store. It is a cold- and expeller-pressed oil that is produced without solvents, fillers or chemicals. This oil contains health-supporting omega-6 fatty acids which are also helpful for eczema and inflammation (see Skin Deep).
Better Together
I have known for quite awhile that the rash on the back of my arms was a vitamin A deficiency. A few years ago, a doctor told me to take pure vitamin A for it. So I did, until I developed vitamin A toxicity (rather quickly) and had to give up on that treatment. The problem was, I was taking Vitamin A in isolation. That experience was proof to me that God’s foods in their whole form are the best source of nutrition. Vitamin A and Vitamin D, in good-quality cod liver oil, work together in a God-given balance.
“… the vitamin D found in cod liver oil and butterfat from pasture-raised animals protects against vitamin A toxicity, and allows one to consume a much higher amount of vitamin A before it becomes toxic. —Cod Liver Oil Basics and Recommendations“
Food Sources of Vitamin A
Above is a regimen to treat a condition that results from Vitamin A deficiency. But, you might be wondering what foods are naturally high in Vitamin A to prevent vitamin A deficiency, and/or to maintain healthy levels of Vitamin A. The Real Milk website says:
“… Vitamin-A-rich foods like liver, eggs, and cod liver oil are vital to good health. If you–or your children–don’t like liver, eggs and cod liver oil, don’t despair. Studies show that the best and most easily absorbed source of vitamin A is butterfat, a food relished by young and old alike. So use plenty of butter and cream from pasture-fed cows for good taste and wise nutritional practice. —Vitamin A Vagary“
Sounds like yummy advice, doesn’t it? 🙂
If you or someone you love has keratosis pilaris, I hope you’ll give this natural remedy a try! Let me know how it works for you. I noticed a difference (softness) right away, and I’m hoping for rash-free arms for me and my daughter very soon.
For more in depth information on Keratosis Pilaris, check out my updated post on the topic Keratosis Pilaris: 5 Steps To Get Rid Of “Chicken Skin” Naturally {with non-toxic product reviews!} #AskWardee 133
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Wardee, thank you for sharing this information. I’ve had keratosis pilaris my whole life too and my youngest son has it as well. I was just noticing a few days ago that ours seemed to be clearing up (or at least it was significantly less noticeable than it had been in the past), but I had no idea why so I just shrugged it off as one of those “hmm, oh well” things I can’t explain. Now I can attribute it to our change in eating. Since we made the choice to eat more healthful fats and naturally created foods, I’ve noticed several little differences in our bodies from clearer complexions to this. I am convinced that this is the right way to eat and am looking forward to the changes still to come.
Melody, that is wonderful! Don’t you love it when you get affirmation that you’re on the right track? good job!
bUY A PROFESSIONAL MICROCERBRADION KIT WITH VWRIOUS ROUGH LIKE.SAND PAPER EDGED AND JUST MICRO THEM OFF. zi HAVE DONE MY ENTIRE LEGS.ARMS/LEGS AND LIGHTLY USE THE TANNING NED WOYH A TOWEL OVER MY FACE AND NOT HEVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT AWFUL SELF TANNERT THAT COMES OFF ON ALL WHITE CLOTHES. iF YOU TAN WITHOUT MOCRO THEM OFF, THE SPOTS WILL SHOW ENEN WORSE. i DERMATOLOGIST SAID THEY COME IN SEVERAK FORMS (FLAT BROWN SPOTS, RAISED BROWN SPOTS, THICK AREAS ON SKIN AND AND YOU WILL HAVE TO MICRIDERMABRASION EVEN TO WHEN IT IS BLODDY BUT IT WILL BE WORTH IT TO YOU WHEN SUMMER COMES. iF YOU GET ANOTHER ONE IN SIUMMER, JUST MICRODERMABRASE IT WITH SMALL TIP YHAT COMES VARIOUS SIZES (FROM LARGE TO SMAKLL) PUT A ROUND BANDADE ON IT AND WAIT UNTIL IT HEALS. REMEMBER, NO PAIN, NO GAIN. I WILL NEVER HAVE TO WORRY AVOUT THEM AGAIN. LOOK ON E-BY FOR A GOOD DEAL LIKE IT DID, CAN/T WAIT TO WEAR SHORTS THIS SUMMER, GOOD LUCK. i USE STRAAIGHT ALOCOHOL ON MAKEUP PAD TO DRY THEN UP INSTEAD OF A CREAM. GOOD LUCH, JANE
I used to have this as well. I have not thought about it in quite some time. Best I can conclude is that we eliminated all beauty products from our house (shampoo, conditioner, make-up that wasn’t organic/natural) as well as switching to making our own laundry detergent, and not using fabric softeners either. We use baking soda and borax for all cleaning now, even as a shampoo, and apple cider vinegar water as a conditioning rinse. I really don’t know when the bumps went away, but we’ve been chemical free for about a year and a half now, and I don’t have them anymore. I was shocked to find out what Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfates really are, and how dangerous they can be for humans!
You are awesome. I’m so glad you posted this! I get it every once in awhile, my son has always had at least a few.Recently it’s gotten worse in both of us – especially him! We haven’t been taking our FCLO over the summer due to cost.
Hmmm…….
I had planned on getting EPO soon for something else – now we’ll just use it for this too!
I’ve had this problem for as long as I can remember as well, however; it used to be on my cheeks, my whole arms, and thighs as well. Once I began to stray from SAD, it began to go away and until recently, only really prominent on my upper arms and a little on the back of my thighs. Once I began paying special attention to getting lots of good fats in, sneaking liver in more frequently AND skin brushing before showering, I noticed a HUGE difference. I don’t take CLO all the time and it’s usually not the fermented kind but I do eat lots of pastured butter, raw pastured milk, pastured cream and free range eggs- particularly yolks. I use infused olive oils to moisturize, occassionally adding sea salt and using as a scrub. I haven’t used shampoo for about 2 months now and the only soap I use that isn’t handmade with natural ingredients is Dr. Bronners. Now it’s hardly noticeable!
I’m having a hard time with fermented cod liver oil. My family has been taking Nordic Naturals Cod Liver-D oil for a few years now, and this summer I tried to switch us to the Green Pastures, and the taste was unbearable. Do any of the other brands that WAPF recommends taste any better? It was awful trying to get my 3YOs to take their vitamin (as we call it) every morning. Nordic Naturals has no flavor, and it used to be on the WAPF “good” list a couple years ago.
Additionally, the cost is a huge factor for us, as our budget is very tight. So after two months of struggling to get through the 2 bottles of Green Pastures that I bought as an experiment, we are going back to Nordic Naturals for now.
Honestly, the thought of putting that stuff on my skin completely disgusts me. Even just washing the little cups that we used to take it every morning was revolting.
Any of the other brands any better? We tried the Green Pastures Oslo Orange one. Didn’t taste the “orange” at all.
Jennifer — Take a look at this post:
https://traditionalcookingschool.com/2009/12/10/how-do-you-take-your-fermented-cod-liver-oil/
Lots of good ideas about how to take cod liver oil (when you don’t like it) and flavor feedback, too! Mostly we focused on Green Pastures, but I think there are other brands mentioned here and there.
Jennifer mentioned the awful taste of fermented CLO and wondered if there was another way to take this. THERE IS!! Yipee!! Green Pastures also puts this fermented CLO (along with the great butter oil) in a gel capsule! So, no more yucky taste, or cups or spoons to wash. It is a more expensive than the bottled liquid, but I really do consider this part of my food budget & medical budget…and we’ve had to make our “whole foods” really stretch during the year+ long season of unemployment. I think this product is so superior to other CLO that I would take less of this to make it last longer rather than switch to another brand. Dr. Weston A. Price found that the butter oil along with the CLO made a tremendous difference.
I don’t know where you purchase your Green Pastures products from, but I get mine from my local WAPF chapter leader (many of them sell the good supplements). Not only is her markup less than most people, but she is also willing to trade with me for my GAPS lactose-free yogurt that I make with raw milk (at times our cows are dry and we have to buy raw milk and it still pays to do that). In this economy, we’d only survived by looking at what we can make with our hands or products produced from our farm. We are/have bartered with my homemade sourdough breads, soaked baked goods, yogurt, and pastured, organic eggs…all made and/or produced on our farm. Hope these ideas help.
oh Wardee! thank you!! I have had this my whole life and never until this moment known what it was. I pinched them and scratched them (like zits) when I was a kid until I had scars, and my mom never knew what it was but just got on me for picking at them. I have noticed certain times they are more or less, and my mom figured I would grow out of it, but I never did. over the last couple of years, as I have been on this food journey, I have noticed them clear up a bit, at least not be as bad. I have wondered if I finally did grow out of it (at 35!) I can now look back and see the times when I have noticed it flare up (like this last week) was because of a break from our normal diet…(ie Halloween candy!)
thank you thank you thank you!!!!! I can’t tell you what a relief it is to know what it is and maybe be able to do something about it.
My husband and I had those, and they went away after we made two changes. The first was getting a shower filter. I think you have well water though, right? If so you may not need a filter. That made a big difference in our skin. The second was using coconut oil as a moisturizer. I use it all over my arm, but not on my neck anymore because it was making my hair look greasy. I have fine hair though. Someone with dry hair would probably not mind. My bumps are 99% gone. Now if I could just figure out why I still get acne…
I finally got rid of my acne by changing my pillowcases all of the time. I change them every other day, sleeping on a different side every night. When I get lazy now & slip up on a change I’m punished for a day or two of a small breakout on my cheek or chin.
Okay, wow! I never realized other people had this! I’ve had it my whole life and so far, we’ve seen it 4 of our 8 kiddos. “Ironically”, those 4 are my challenging kiddos when it comes to eating whole foods! I actually had noticed a difference, and after a lot of thinking, realized that it occurred when we switched from “SAD healthy butters” to REAL butter! :o) Praise God!
Wardee, thank you for this! :o)
Eating lots of orange and green vegetables and adequate high quality oils (fish, butter, flax) also works. Great post!
Annie Kate
Hi,
I agree with your statement about mother nature making the best food and cod liver oil is the perfect combination of vitamins and a fat source like cod liver to help with assimilation. Nordic Naturals has the purest and freshest fish oil that I have found.They only use 100% Arctic cod (Skrei) liver oil on the market. No fish body oils or synthetic vitamins or additives are ever used. No other brand can honestly make the same claim. http://www.nordicnaturals.com
I wonder about this. As far as I understand, processing necessary to deodorize (make tasteless) fish oil typically damages at least vitamin D, so synthetic Vit D has to be added, it however do not have to be labeled, so you don’t know if the oil has synthetic D or not (likely yes, since Vit D would be gone from the nutritional profile otherwise). Also, fermenting the oil increases vitamin content and it’s availability (allowing you to absorb it). We used to take Nordic Naturals, but only take Green Pasture’s FCLO now. If the taste is too offensive the caps are easy and our (young) kids take their emulsified FCLO for kids without trouble.
My bumps went away with coconut oil.
This is very timely for me and I can’t thank you enough for posting. I have been dwelling on this very thing for the past couple of weeks as mine seems to be worsening even though we have significantly changed our diet in the past year.
I didn’t know what it was called either. I have this and thought I had inherited it from my father. We both get “ingrown hairs” on our legs that are, at times, really painful and have to be squeezed out. I have also started getting them on my upper arms in the past couple of years and I too have scarring from trying to relieve the pain that comes with them at times.
Maybe next year I can go swimming without worrying that my legs look like I have a scary contagious disease!
Thank you again for the wonderful information!
I’ve had those bumps on the back of my arms since my first child was born – I never knew what they were. I’ll have to follow this treatment plan. Thanks for the great information, I’m looking forward to more helpful, down-home quotes 🙂
FYI I have had great success with oil pulling to help my KP. no idea why it works, but it is so nice to have smooth arms after having bumpy ones for as long as I can remember.
That is the first time I’ve ever heard someone talk about this condition! I have searched the internet and asked docs but me and two of my kids have had this and have never gotten any answers other than just loofah your skin! Finally a cure!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Wow! Who knew there was a name for that condition! Very interesting information, Wardee; thanks for posting it!
Interesting comments about the cod-liver oil. I have a bottle of Nordic Naturals Arctic Cod Liver Oil sitting in my fridge, still, because I don’t like it. It is very fishy tasting even though it is supposed to have “great orange taste.” I can’t brainwash myself into that idea. If I ever get fish oil again it will be capsules.
There is also a new bottle of Ascenta’s NutraSea in the fridge that my daughter just got from the local naturopath. It is “lemon flavoured” and she says it does not taste fishy; she likes it–but keeps forgetting to take it, lol. Hmm. The fish-oil comes from sardines, mackerel, and anchovies.
Hope this is helpful to someone.
Anyone heard of a similar solution to Roseca?
When I started drinking kombucha, the one thing I definitely noticed was the bumps lessening on my arms. I always called them my “winter bumps” because summer sunshine made them go away, for the most part. But the kombucha does the same thing in the winter. I should add that I was right in the middle of my first year of eating real food when I made my first batch of kombucha. I moved and the kombucha took a month long break, and my bumps became more pronounced.
Thank you for this very helpful info! I’ve had this condition since I was a small child.. now in my early 30s I can’t wait to give this a try and be rid of these bumps once and for all.
Please, please keep us all posted on your progress, and do let us know if you discover any other helpful remedies!
I swear by organic virgin, cold-expressed coconut oil for my KP–I have it on the back of my arms, part of my upper thighs and unfortunately, my buttocks/cheek area. I also make a scrub with coconut oil that also helps (as well as rubbing the oil directly into my skin). My KP is much better right now since I’ve been spending time in the sun and dries it out. Coconut oil is also a good choice because it contains a high concentration of lauric acid (a fatty acid) which is both antimicrobial and antibacterial. Not only does coconut oil soothe irritation/inflammation and moisturizes but because of its antibacterial properties, it sanitizes the area as well and keeps it from getting infected (especially if your bumps get red and inflamed/bleed). Also, I take Omega-3 fish oil supplements. If you have an Omega 3 deficiency, this can make your KP worse. Also, eating coconut oil (using it in salads and with other foods) also has other health benefits besides giving your skin an all natural glow and helping with your KP. It’s a monounsaturated fat which is heart healthy. Also, here is a great scrub I make – I also add a little extra-virgin olive oil to the mixture: this works great as an exfoliating scrub:
Mix one part white granulated sugar, one part brown sugar, and two parts extra virgin coconut oil. Add spoonful of vanilla extract or honey for additional moisture-sealing properties.
I’m not against this mixture named above but cod liver oil just sounds nasty (the smell and taste alone) and coconut oil makes your skin smell heavenly (and add some vanilla to the scrub and you smell like a vanilla-coconut cookie). Also, eat healthy and stick with all-natural, organic, non-GMO foods and read your products carefully–sodium lauryl sulfate and parabens (they have been linked to cancer, especially breast cancer) are bad news for the skin!