Real Weddings: Kelly and Sean’s show-stopping wedding in Co Kerry
Real Weddings: Kelly and Sean’s show-stopping wedding in Co Kerry

Shayna Healy

WIN a bundle of Max Benjamin wall fragrance diffusers worth €165
WIN a bundle of Max Benjamin wall fragrance diffusers worth €165

Megan Burns

If networking is a super power then Mary McKenna deserves a cape
If networking is a super power then Mary McKenna deserves a cape

Fiona Alston

The sunglasses team IMAGE are reaching for this summer
The sunglasses team IMAGE are reaching for this summer

Sarah Gill

Page Turners: ‘Assembling Ailish’ author Sharon Guard
Page Turners: ‘Assembling Ailish’ author Sharon Guard

Sarah Gill

A seafront Skerries home has been given a luxe update with rich colours and hotel-inspired details
A seafront Skerries home has been given a luxe update with rich colours and hotel-inspired...

Megan Burns

Calling all Irish entrepreneurs: The Pitch 2025 is open for applications
Calling all Irish entrepreneurs: The Pitch 2025 is open for applications

IMAGE

Money moves: Smart financial strategies for every chapter of your life
Money moves: Smart financial strategies for every chapter of your life

IMAGE

Tried and tested: the world’s most powerful cordless stick vacuum cleaner
Tried and tested: the world’s most powerful cordless stick vacuum cleaner

Megan Burns

WIN a three-course dinner for two with Champagne at Forbes Street by Gareth Mullins
WIN a three-course dinner for two with Champagne at Forbes Street by Gareth Mullins

IMAGE

Image / Style / Beauty

How to handle a keratosis pilaris flare-up


By Aisling Keenan
06th Oct 2020
How to handle a keratosis pilaris flare-up

When the dreaded keratosis pilaris hits, it always seems to do so at the most inopportune times. Beat it quickly by avoiding your natural inclination to scrub it away…


As someone who’s struggled with keratosis pilaris for most of my life, I know how upsetting it can be when you get a bad bout. It’s a very Irish affliction, by all accounts, and mostly reveals itself as bumpy and unevenly textured skin on the backs of arms, backs of thighs, sides of the face and sometimes on the bum cheeks.

Reader, I have all of that and more. I’ve even recently started to feel it creep onto my forearms.

Flare-up factors

While keratosis pilaris is generally a genetic thing, a flare-up can be caused by anything. A change in weather, a change in hydration levels, an increased amount of stress. Whatever the reason for the flare-up, counteracting it quickly is key.

For a long while, I kept a keratosis pilaris diary and would just note down on my phone what seemed to be happening around the time I flared up. For me, stress is a big trigger, as are overly hot showers. Your triggers might other things, but it’s worth noting them so you can avoid them (where possible) around times where you might want your skin to be playing ball – hello, summer holiday and wedding season.

Dos and Don’ts

Here are some things to keep in mind if your KP is getting out of hand.

DO…
Lower the temperature of your shower water. Overly hot showers might feel great but they tend to dehydrate your skin and can strip natural oils.

DON’T…
Be tempted to scrub your KP patches. The gentler you are with the area, the better for your skin. Avoid body brushing and scrubbing with a loofah.

DO…
Use a glycolic acid wash, if you have one. I really like this one from Neostrata.

NeoStrata Foaming Glycolic Wash – NeoStrata®

Neostrata Resurface Foaming Glycolic Wash, €32

DO…
Moisturise. KP isn’t blocked pores, so moisturising isn’t going to do any harm. What it will do, however, is soften the keratin plugs so they don’t feel as bumpy.

DON’T…
Panic. If stress is one of your triggers, adding to it by worrying is unlikely to help the situation.

Photography by Jason Lloyd Evans.

Read more: How I sorted my KP so I could bare my arms on my wedding day

Read more: I always thought I had good skin. Turns out, I was wrong.

Read more: Summer skin is made in winter: Body care tips that’ll have your skin soft come spring