I don’t remember the first time I noticed my keratosis pilaris – but I think that’s because I wasn’t the one who noticed it. It was during summer camp in the fourth grade, when all the girls were getting changed into our bathing suits for a swimming lesson. “EW!” Said one little girl when she saw me, “What are those red bumps all over your arms?” Those bumps, as I would later learn, were called keratosis pilaris, also known as KP or “chicken skin”. KP is a totally harmless and common skin condition. But to me, in that moment, and for most of the years that followed, it was something disgusting. It made me spend hundreds of dollars on expensive creams and exfoliators, and wear long sleeves or jackets on even the hottest days of summer. It made me wonder… “Will I ever be confident with keratosis pilaris”?
I’ve tried almost every remedy under the sun. But there was one thing I never actually tried – just learning to live with and accept my KP. And once I started seeing it a little differently, my whole perspective on those totally normal little bumps began to totally change. Do you want to learn how to be more confident with keratosis pilaris? Keep reading for my top tips!
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What is keratosis pilaris?
Keratosis pilaris is a totally normal and harmless skin condition that is caused by a buildup of keratin (a type of protein that protects your skin and helps to build healthy hair and nails). Excess keratin blocks the opening of hair follicles on the skin, leading to small bumps on the surface of the skin. The bumps may be red or white in colour, and cause skin to feel rough and bumpy. In most people it will appear on the upper arms, thighs, cheeks, and buttocks.
There is no true cure or treatment for keratosis pilaris. Exfoliating and keeping skin moisturized can sometimes manage symptoms. But it is not a permanent fix, despite what beauty companies and influencers would love to have you believe.
In most people it gets better with age – experts say it normally disappears by age 30. But personally, I’m 25 and my KP is still in full force. Maybe I can update this post in 5 years and tell you that it’s totally cleared up – but even so, that is a long 5 years of waiting to find confidence in my own skin. And that’s what I realized a few years ago, after spending so much of my life hiding and hating my arms. Life is too short. It’s time to learn to embrace your skin. Here are my top tips to be confident with keratosis pilaris.
How I learned to be confident with keratosis pilaris
1. Instead of focusing on “how can I get rid of my KP”, think “how can I learn to accept my skin the way it is?”
Even if we were all “perfect”, we would still find some reason to be insecure. In this imperfect and real world, we’ve all got dozens of insecurities that make us believe that the way we look isn’t good enough. It’s easy to believe that getting rid of your KP would make you more confident. But it’s more likely that clearing up your KP would just free up your attention to find something else to be insecure about.
In my teens and early twenties, I invested so much time and money into getting rid of my keratosis pilaris. I would open google and search, “how to get rid of KP”, “how to cure keratosis pilaris”, “I hate my keratosis pilaris”. Imagine how different my experience could have been if I was searching for answers on, “how to embrace my skin”, or “how to be more confident with keratosis pilaris”.
I might have hated my KP. But actively hating my skin so much wasn’t ever going to make my KP disappear… It just made the way I felt about it even worse. Feeling better about the way you look doesn’t come from changing the way that you look. True self-love and acceptance begin within. Once you start to accept your skin for the way it is, it can completely change the way that you feel about it.
2. Remind yourself that KP is totally normal
Don’t forget my earlier point that over 40% of people have keratosis pilaris. It’s not just you dealing with those little bumps – almost half of American adults are dealing with them too.
The thing is, we’re not analyzing anyone else’s skin the same way that we analyze our own. There are normal people around you everyday who also have keratosis pilaris. And most of the time, we don’t even notice. Even some famous models, actors, and singers have KP – but like so many imperfections in the media, it’s often airbrushed and erased. Some celebrities with keratosis pilaris include Keira Knightley, Nicole Kidman, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
The gorgeous Indian actress Yami Gautam recently shared some gorgeous pictures of herself where she refused to airbrush her keratosis pilaris. If people who are literally famous for being beautiful can have KP… Why can’t you feel beautiful with it too?
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3. Express gratitude for the skin that you’ve got
Put your KP in perspective for a moment – the world is full of thousands of terrifying skin conditions that make life painful and difficult for those that struggle with them. If you could choose between a life-altering skin condition or some harmless red bumps on your arms and legs, what would you pick?
Your skin’s role isn’t to look pretty. It actually performs some pretty amazing and important functions in your body. Your skin regulates your body temperature and plays an important role in your immunity. It protects your internal organs from all the terrible things that would happen to them if they were, well, outside. And think of how amazing it is that your skin can heal itself after a cut or scrape! Your skin is an incredible part of YOU. And some tiny bumps will never change that.
The next time you start to feel down about your skin, practice expressing some gratitude instead. Your skin is amazing. It’s healthy. Your skin is doing its job perfectly, no matter how it might look on the outside.
4. Challenge your beliefs about what clothes you can wear with KP
Most people with KP are familiar with the dread that comes along with warmer weather. Sleeveless tops and leg-baring shorts are a nightmare for those of us who have spent most of their lives trying to hide our thighs or upper arms. But they don’t have to be.
You will never become more confident about showing your KP if you never practice actually showing your KP. At some point, you’re going to need to take that leap to start showing a little more skin.
You don’t have to jump straight into strapless tops and short skirts (although you could, if you really wanted to. I, for one, would be so proud of you!) Instead, take baby steps towards the kind of comfort level you’d eventually like to reach with your body. That level of comfort is going to be different for everybody and every body – and that’s okay. Go out and buy that sleeveless dress you’ve always wanted. Not because you might wear it, someday, if you get the confidence up, but because you are GOING to wear it.
Go easy on yourself in the beginning. Don’t feel bad about bringing a light jacket or coverup you could wear in case the self-consciousness gets overwhelming. The most important part isn’t that you always feel amazing when baring your skin; it’s that you’re trying. Sometimes, that’s half the battle.
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5. Surround yourself with more skin-positivity
We’ve all heard of body positivity. But there’s a subset of body acceptance called skin-positivity that is a great place to get inspiration for your KP-positivity journey. Scrolling through the #skinpositivity tag on Instagram will show you all kinds of people living their best lives in the skin they’re in. Right now, the movement is very acne-focused. But lots of influencers with KP are making waves on the platform by showing their bumps with pride – I’ve even heard it called “strawberry skin” online. So much cuter than the “chicken skin” that we’ve been calling it for years! I’ve even dipped my toe into the movement in this popular post from my Instagram page!
And skin-positivity isn’t limited to just social media. You deserve to be surrounded by people who uplift you and inspire you to love the skin you’re in. Self-confidence starts from within. But it sure is a lot easier with the support of your friends and family around you. Begin open conversations with the people you love about your insecurities. You might be surprised at who can relate to the struggles you’re going through.
6. Work on the relationship you have with your whole body
Chances are, if you’re insecure about your keratosis pilaris, you’ve probably got some other crippling insecurities as well. A 2018 survey reported that over 79% of people are unhappy with the way their body looks. And that insecurity is holding a lot of us back in a big way.
You deserve to feel comfortable in your body because it’s the only body you’ve got! Once you embrace it for the way that it is, it won’t really matter if you have KP or not. The way you feel about your keratosis pilaris isn’t actually your skin’s fault – it comes from within, and from the narrative you’ve been taught about what beautiful skin is “supposed” to look like. You are supposed to look exactly the way you look. And once you realize this, the rocky journey to embrace all your lumps and bumps can finally become smooth sailing.
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I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I did writing it! 10 years ago I can remember googling how to be confident with keratosis pilaris and every result was all about how to get rid of it. But the problem is… At 15 I had already tried everything to get rid of it! I gave up on finding that confidence pretty quickly because every resource I could find told me that my KP was a problem that needed to be fixed.
As I was writing this post it felt so cathartic for little me who thought I would never be good enough with my chicken skin. My only hope is that you might be in that same position and stumble across this article. Even if your KP doesn’t “get better”… You can still get better at owning it and not caring what the beauty standard says your skin is supposed to look like. You’ve got this!
I also wanted to send a huge thank you to my amazing friend and photographer Colton Politte who captured all the images of me in this post. I’ve linked his Instagram above if you would like to check out his other work. Thanks for making it this far! I’ll see you back here soon. All my love,
