I have had this for all of my life. I am now 29. I have a very bad habit of picking at them and making my arms look real ugly for weeks till they heal. I would do anything to get them gone or close to it. I don't have insurance so any other ideas would help. Please help me. Thanks Stacey

I sometimes get spots on my arms too. Exfoliating the area and using an anti bacterial body wash helps. Neutrogena are a good brand to check out. Good luck. :)

Exfoliating helps me, as well as using a body wash to prevent acne. Also, make sure that you are drinking your 8 glasses of water. Whatever you do, don't mess with them. If you have some that you have popped already, try using an anti-bacterial first aid cream on the sore spots. Another thing that helps me when I am getting a breakout, and I know this will sound strange, is to take a little bit of baking soda and use it as a scrub wherever I am getting a breakout. My grandma told me about that, and, for me, it seems to work. Just don't do that if you have sore spots, it will burn. Good luck! :)

Try not to pick the pimples. It could leave scars on your skin. To get rid of the pimples, try using an alpha hydroxy cream or lotion. Alpha hydroxy acids can help remove dead skin cells from the surface and clear up the pimples on your arms. You will find this product at a pharmacy in the skin care aisle.

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Originally Posted by stacey1979

i have had this for all of my life. I am now 29. I have a very bad habit of picking at them and making my arms look real ugly for weeks till they heal. I would do anything to get them gone or close to it. I don't have insurance so any other ideas would help. Please help me. Thanks Stacey

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hi I have this problem to its actually a condition your born with I forget the name it s really long though and I use elizebeth arden intensive moistrize on every night before I go to bed. I am addicted to st. tropez tan and this doesn't actually effect my skin it really sensitive so if you looking for a tan too try that hope this helps!
x:o

Some things to try. (im 30 and tried a heap of things recently)

First, get a simple acne face or body wash you can use in the shower each day.

If that dose not work you could try any cream with "benzoyl peroxide" these are sold as acne / pimple creams, I have had very good luck with twice daily applications of "brevoxyl" this will very quickly clear up any acne that you have and stop any new stuff from forming.

Failing that don't mess around just go to your doctor. There are two very good products doxycycline and minocycline that will very quickly help acne. (both of these stopped severe acne on my back very quickly)

And then for very severe acne there is another medication accutane which can apparently cure people for life within 3 months but you need to do your research on that one first.

Oh yeah and the thing that makes acne worse is picking or squeezing at them it damages the surrounding skin and makes them far far more painfull and swolen. Even if you have to put band aids on so you don't do this, its worth it, I've found most adult acne lasts around 4-6 days but if you touch them it can easily be annoying for 2-3 weeks.

(This thread is over 3 months old)

HI, I just wanted to tell you that I have the same problem and I have had it my whole life. I think you should look into cronic skin picking. It's almost a form of self mutalation but when we do it we don't seem to be causing pain. It's almost like your in a daze or in the zone when your doing it. I am wondering if you seem to pick more often when you have a lot of stress or anxiety because I tend to pick way more often when I have something on my mind that is stressing me out. For lotions and things like that I have found that there is nothing that I have used that really takes the scars away or makes the scabs less noticeable. I wear thermals under my shirts to hide the scars. I do use st.Ives aprocot scrub on my face and arms but that doesn't seem to really do much at all. I have looked into theripy to see how I can stop doing this and I was treated with a specific technique called EMDR. Sorry, I can't remember exactly what it stands for right now but if you were to Google it I think that they'll lead you in the right direction. It's some type of brain stimulation that has been used on many military persons coming back from war to help with PTSD post tramatic stress disorder. Good luck on your findings

What you have is called Keratosis Pelaris. There is no cure for it. You may have noticed that lotions will make it less apparent, as does being in the sun. I have the very same thing. There are a couple of things circulating that may cure it. One is a 500mg Niacin pill every morning. I have not tried this yet. I will let you know the results. If you try it first, let me know.

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Originally Posted by stacey1979

i have had this for all of my life. I am now 29. I have a very bad habit of picking at them and making my arms look real ugly for weeks till they heal. I would do anything to get them gone or close to it. I don't have insurance so any other ideas would help. Please help me. Thanks Stacey

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I have also had the same problem with these small bumps or pimples. When I was younger I began picking at them and now can not seem to get out of the habit. It seems to happen more often when I am anxious or stressed. I have scars all over my arms and it has become very embarrassing for me. People ask me all the time what it is and I always struggle to answer them because I am ashamed of what I do. Since it has developed into such an effective coping skill for me I have recently started picking at my scalp as well. I haven't had my hair cut in quite some time because I am so embarrassed by the scabs.
I was just wondering if anyone could relate because I thought I was alone in this.

I know what you mean, Jessica. I, too, have the same thing. I have scars all over my arms, and usually a few scabs on my upper arms. It's really embarrassing.

I do the same thing! It's worse on my left arm. After I shave I just rub it gently with a pumice stone. It stops the ingrown hairs and blackheads from forming.

man.. I understand how you feel! I'm 16 years old and I've had these arm pimples all my life... my dad has them and my mom doesn't so I guess I got them from my dad.. my brother's and sisters have them but they're small dots, and mine are like.. pimples, not with like white heads, as if there were white things UNDER my skin so it's a little bump and I have popped mine a lot... and my left arm is reallly badly scarred compared to my right... I do feel bad that you have them too.. because I don't know what will work, and like you I don't have insurance to go to the dermatologist.. =/... and like no matter how much I touch them.. it's still there it doesn't go away... sometimes I feel that nothing will work and I'm doomed to have it because my father has them and I'm going to have to suffer with them... well I would just have to say.. try to deal with it the best way you can.. because I don't think it'll go away.. if you have had them since you were like a kid.. :[ good luck in getting rid of them.

I've honestly found that going to a Dermatologist for Keratosis Pilaris is a waste of time and money, because they will just give you recommendations of what to do when you get home. There is no known cure for this.

Ive got that problem too, however it didn't get bad till about a year ago (im 23 years old) its very hard not to pop the pimples on my arms and now I've taken to picking my scalp as well and biting the skin on my lips until they almost bleed, its really gross but I can't stop. I also pick the skin around my fingers and have to cover them with band-aids just so they can heal a little! This condition is rough and embarrassing. I haven't found anything to help the problem, just wanted to say your not alone!

I just starting using HEMPZ lotion and it works (for me). The bumps and redness is all gone. But for the ingrown hairs I still use tweezers to get them out.

I'm 26 also suffer from Keratosis Pilaris (my sister as well). I have looked into this several times - I live in Arizona & the dry air makes this worse!

I've tried various srubs, exfoliants, lotions, and creams (I'm a beauty product junkie). I saw the best results when I was using Neutrogena Sesame Body Oil in the shower, at the end of my shower. Not only were my arms much better within about a week, but my entire body was buttery soft!

I also have this condition. I often pick at the pimples too, leaving all kinds of scarring. Rubbing a pumice stone (get it in the skin care section) on the area every day and applying some type of medicated lotion usually helps a lot. I just forget to do it a lot. Don't feel too bad guys because it could be worst, you could have it on your face for the rest of your life. So just do what you can to reduce the pimples and ingrown hairs.

I learned that what seem like pimples is actually hair that's forming. The best thing to do is leave your arm alone and exfoliate. I also have scars from when I picked on my arm when I was younger, now the scars are just fading away very slowly.

I've began using Dermarest, it's a formula designed for Psoriasis but it calms the redness and makes my arms smoother. Love it.

I had this too, it's called keratosis pilaris and it's not acne. It's the way our skin naturally exfoliates - not very well for those of us who have it. Through trial and error I finally found a few simple things (and inexpensive and natural) work to really help reduce it tremendously. Raw, unfiltered organic apple cider vinegar will quickly reduce the bumps and smooth the skin (results within a few days). You can purchase this in the organic section at the grocery store. Night time is a good time to apply it to your skin with a cotton pad, as it does have an ordor. Apple cider vinegar helps with acne also.
Another product that works is Dr Bronners soaps (I specifically use the liquid peppermint). You can order online from Dr Bronner web site. Whole Foods also carries it.
Another product that works great is Zum soap (I use the peppermint lavendar) and can be ordered from Indigowild.com. Whole Foods also carries this, but it's less expensive if you order online.

These are the only 3 things I have ever found to almost completely remove the bumps. When you wash in the shower, use a loofa to help exfoliate the skin - DO NOT SCRUB - let the loofa work for you.