How to Get Rid of Keratosis Pilaris (Coconut Oil)
It is thought that coconut oil can provide numerous of different health benefits. For many years, it has been used for topical treatment of some health conditions. How about keratosis pilaris (KP)? Can coconut oil get rid of this chicken skin condition?
Facts you need to know about keratosis pilaris
Skin is one of the most important elements, either to protect the body or to boost your confident. But in fact, it is also sensitive to various hormonal and environmental conditions. Therefore, it is susceptible to acne, patches, or rashes.
Chicken skin condition called keratosis pilaris is one of the most common skin conditions. The exact cause may be not fully understood yet. But it’s thought as a consequence of the excessive keratin buildups.
Keratin itself is essential protein for the skin. Even it has lots of functions to keep your skin healthy. For example, it plays a key role to make your skin have a natural waterproof barrier.
In people with KP, without known reason keratin goes awry and blocks the openings of hair follicles! This make the affected skin become rough, like sandpaper because there will be some or lots of acne-like bumps.
The affected skin can be unsightly. This can be very bothersome if the problem occur on the visible spots such as on face (in rare cases). And mostly, it is more often to be found on the back of upper arms, thighs, and buttocks.
The good news the problem is usually not harmful. In long term, it also doesn’t pose to any health risks.
That’s why doctors often say that the treatment is not necessary in most cases of KP. Even in fact, it usually improves with age, see more in here!
And if you think that the treatment is necessary, there are a few of options. But many times, if you stop taking the treatment, the problem may come back.
Many treatments for KP have not been officially approved. Mostly, they don’t have adequate scientific evidence that they really work. How about with coconut oil?
How does coconut oil help treat keratosis pilaris?
Scientifically, there is no strong evidence that coconut oil works to get rid of KP. But it’s thought that lauric acid found in coconut oil may have contribution to treat the problem.
Lauric acid may help break up the keratin buildups, making the acne-like bumps of KP go away. Coconut oil is also rich in other essential substances particularly such as anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties.
Its anti-inflammatory properties can help treat the inflammation on the skin, improving and reducing redness. Another key point, the oil can penetrate deeply into the skin, making it become effectively topical treatment.
How long does it take to see the improvement?
How long you see the result after taking the treatment can vary from person to person. But typically, the bumps of KP will decrease either in size and number within several weeks.
For example, some patients find that their bumps are almost gone within 3-4 weeks of daily use. Again, how fast it works can vary!
Another option, you can take the oil internally in capsule form. This is usually used to treat KP in many parts of the body, because there is also a rare variant of KP that can affect the entire body.
On the other hand, topical treatment with coconut oil works locally. Therefore, it is more recommended for KP on a few areas of the skin.
To boost the effectiveness of the treatment, you may want to use apple cider vinegar, too.
Both coconut oil and apple cider vinegar are not officially recommended for KP treatment. But some people find that the combination of both natural remedies can work better than if you take each treatment alone.
Pros and cons of keratosis pilaris treatment with coconut oil
There is no perfect treatment. Even as mentioned before, there is also no treatment that can guarantee your KP will go away permanently because the problem may return if you stop taking the treatment.
So far, it seems that the age is the only one of the answer. Again, the problem usually improves naturally as the age.
However, some treatments and natural remedies are available to ease the problem and improve the appearance of the affected skin.
And while coconut oil may help treat the problem, there are also some drawbacks! The following are pros and cons:
