At 23, I thought I’d experienced all of my beauty trials and tribulations for this decade of my life. With my acne under control, my over-processed hair restored to it’s almost-virgin state and my day-to-day makeup routine down to a science, I was fairly certain I was in the clear with my beauty-related issues. That was, however, until I suddenly and randomly developed strawberry skin on my arms.
Keratosis pilaris—also known as chicken skin or strawberry skin—is a common skin condition that can occur at any time in one’s life, but is especially common when the body is going through major changes like pregnancy. As New York dermatologist Michelle Henry, MD told NewBeauty, “[KP] is caused by an accumulation of keratin around hair follicles, a protein that safeguards the skin against infections and other harmful elements.” While the exact cause remains unknown, and I myself am not certain what caused my sudden development, I immediately turned to tried-and-true brands to help banish my bumps, and found these two products to be my holy grail for banishing my sudden strawberry skin.
Sudden Strawberry Skin: How I Handled My KP Bumps
Over the last several months, I noticed a peculiar and rather sudden cluster of bumps on the back of my arms. While they didn’t look like active pimples, I couldn’t tell if what I was experiencing was a breakout, a rash or KP. After trying some exfoliating and acne treatments to no avail, I decided to try some treatments that handle textured skin and keratosis pilaris bumps before going any further, as my breakout wasn’t that severe and I was hopeful an at-home solution would suffice.
First Aid Beauty KP Bump Erase Body Scrub with 10% AHA ($30) is a product I’ve heard rave reviews about throughout my time in the beauty industry, so it’s no surprise it was the first product I picked up when I developed strawberry skin myself. Within a week or two of using the scrub two to three times a week, I already saw improvement in the size and color of my bumps, but there was still work to be done.
While the size and color of my KP bumps was visibly reduced after a few weeks of using the KP Bump Eraser consistently, I was still noticing residual dark spots, so I decided to add a post-shower treatment to my regimen to try and banish my strawberry skin once and for all. Enter the second product in my short and sweet strawberry skin-ridding routine: The Inkey List Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Body Stick ($18).
I have yet to try an Inkey List product that didn’t deliver, and the brand’s body-smoothing stick was no exception. On the nights that I used my KP scrub, I followed up with a few swipes of this discoloration- and clogged-pore reducing stick, packed with seven percent glycolic acid, .5 percent salicylic acid and shea butter to clarify, smooth and hydrate without over-stripping. Within a week, my strawberry skin was gone once and for all. Word to the wise, though: consistency is key. While we all know that sticking with your skin care is important, I only really started seeing reduction in my strawberry skin when I committed to a thrice weekly routine. With just a couple extra minutes added to your shower routine and less than $50 in products, you can banish your bumps too.
