"I haeve yourr answerr!"

I love the movie, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." I love how the dad thinks anything can be cured with Windex. I really could relate, not with the Windex, but with his character overall.

So, are you curious about the developments with my skin issues??? "YES!" (you unanimously shout). Okay, here's the rub, no pun intended:

Step 1 $5.99 per 6 fl oz: Oil-Free Acne Wash redness soothing cream cleanser by Neutrogena (Acne Stress Control is essentially the same). Keep it in the shower, but WAIT before you turn on the water. First, rub this cream cleanser into all KP or "chicken skin" areas as if you were applying sunscreen. Then, rinse off in the shower (don't use soap or body wash on your KP areas and don't use a loofah-see step two for directions on exfoliation).

Step 2 $7.29 per 8.5 fl oz: Loreal Hydrafresh Toner Alcohol-free. Keep this in the shower as well. Turn off your water. Then, dry off completely with a soft towel. Use your towel to exfoliate your KP or "chicken skin". Be aggressive. Then, after you've used the towel to exfoliate, apply the toner. Air dry.

Step 3 $12.49 16.9 fl oz: Moisturize with Eucerin Dry Skin Therapy Plus Smoothing Essentials. Fragrance Free Alpha hydroxy formula.

Do each step in order every time you shower. How did I come up with this genius plan? It took forever. First, I spent about 5 hours on the Internet reading people's sob stories about how they've had troubled skin since Junior High. Then, I read up on all the expensive products that claimed to be specifically for KP and they all had one thing in common-AHAs, especially glycolic acid. So then I spent a couple hours in the closest Walgreens reading the labels on all of the lotion, exfoliating shower gel and toners and that's how I came up with this system. Basically, you need the AHAs to break down this troubled Keratin build up. But you have to break it down gently and other treatments for acne or troubled skin such as benzoil peroxide or lactic acid can be too strong. And do you know what? AHAs ain't cheap, nuther. And they ain't as widely available as I had supposed. AND, I didn't find ONE product over $10/bottle with AHAs even in it. In fact, most of the really expensive creams were the same ingredients as all the cheap-o ones. Just cooler packaging. Go fig. You'll know it has AHAs in the product if it says AHA or Alpha Hydroxy on the label, or if it gives you a "Sunburn Alert" warning (AHAs make your skin more sensitive to sunburn so wear sunscreen if it's sunny out).

I have loved this routine because all of these products are relatively cheap, available at Walgreens and I have seen dramatic results so far. Basically, the KP on my legs is gone! And the KP on my arms is still visible but the bumpiness is for the most part gone. The fragrance free claim on the lotion holds true and I haven't noticed any burning sensation on my skin, except once and that was when I re-applied only a couple hours later when I could have waited until my next shower. Of course, add a multi-vitamin and some omega fatty acids and lots of hydrating water. And don't forget to eat your tomatoes! Good luck Defenders Against KP!