first aid beauty

First Aid Beauty KP Bump Eraser Body Scrub Review

~ Michele Raiyne ~ 12 Comments

KP Bump Eraser Body Scrub by First Aid Beauty is a scrub that contains pumice as a physical exfoliant and 10% glycolic and lactic acids as chemical exfoliants. This is safe for all skin types and is fragrance-free. This claims that the AHAs loosen the top layer of skin and decongest pores, while the pumice sweeps it away, helping improve rough, dry bumps and dry skin, revealing smooth, healthy-looking skin. Despite this product being called KP Bump Eraser, this makes no claims on nor mentions keratosis pilaris on the packaging or website.

Ingredients: Pumice, Water/Aqua/Eau, Glycolic Acid, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Lactic Acid, Dimethicone, Stearic Acid, Cetearyl Alcohol, Sodium Hydroxide, Palmitic Acid, Glycerin, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Sorbitol, Colloidal Oatmeal, Tocopherol, Chrysanthemum Parthenium (Feverfew) Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Salix Nigra (Willow) Bark Extract, Bisabolol, Hydrogenated Coconut Acid, Xanthan Gum, Steareth-20, Steareth-21, Myristic Acid, Sodium Isethionate, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, EDTA.

Bisabolol and colloidal oatmeal soothe the skin. Feverfew and licorice root can help red irritated skin.

Directions: Using one to two times a week, apply to wet skin and massage on affected areas. Rinse and pat dry. Follow with a moisturizer. Do not use on the face.

Keratosis pilaris is the result of a buildup of keratin that clogs the opening of the hair follicles and causes bumpy, rough skin, often affecting the upper arms, thighs, buttocks or cheeks. KP is also called chicken skin or strawberry skin. There is no cure or preventative, but the skin can be made to look better by exfoliating and moisturizing.

I have had KP on my upper legs and upper arms and small pimples and whiteheads on my chest for the last 10 or so years and bought KP Bump Eraser in hopes of smoothing and improving the appearance of my skin. I used once a week for a month and then twice a week for the remaining 2-1/2 months. After massaging, I let this sit on my skin for a couple minutes while washing my hair to get the benefit of the AHAs, and followed with a moisturizer.

The product has fine-grain pumice that is not irritating when massaging on the skin. It has a mildly acidic scent. This rinses off well in the shower.

From the first use, my skin felt very smooth. I use sugar scrubs regularly and while my skin feels smooth, the KP Bump Eraser works so much better to exfoliate the skin because unlike sugar, pumice does not dissolve in water so it can be scrubbed for longer. My arms had some improvement in overall skin tone and smoothness of the bumps. I was hoping for more improvement for the breakouts on my chest. My legs, being the most affected, had the most improvement in redness and overall appearance of the bumpy skin (the worse the skin is, the more noticeable the improvement will be). My shins are often quite dry and this sloughed off the dry skin.

I wonder how much the AHAs in the scrub have an effect on the skin, being a rinse-off product, and if I would get the same results without the addition of the chemical exfoliant. I’ve just purchased the Skin Smoothing Body Lotion with 10% AHA from Reversa to see if I get further improvement.

With First Aid Beauty’s KP Bump Eraser, the smoothness of the skin is very good, the look of dry skin is improved, overall skin tone is a bit better and bumps are generally improved. I would repurchase.

Thank you for reading.

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream Review

~ Michele Raiyne ~ 1 Comment

The Ultra Repair Cream, Intense Hydration, by First Aid Beauty (FAB) is a moisturizing lotion for all skin types to be used head to toe and claims to provide immediate and long term hydration for dry, itchy, eczematous skin. It can even be used on baby’s skin.

Ingredients: Colloidal Oatmeal 0.50%,Water, Stearic Acid, Glycerin, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Cetearyl Alcohol, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Squalane, Allantoin, Sodium Hydroxide, Dimethicone, Xanthan Gum, Disodium EDTA, Chrysanthemum Parthenium (Feverfew) Extract, Camellia Sinensis (White Tea) Leaf Extract, Butylene Glycol, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Eucalyptus Globulus, Ceramide 3

Colloidal oatmeal has anti-inflammatory properties, reducing redness and itchiness while locking in moisture and protecting the skin barrier. Glycerin is a humectant. Glyceryl stearate and stearic acid are emollients. Shea butter and dimethicone are occlusives, sealing in moisture. Feverfew extract can reduce the appearance of redness and irritation to the skin. Ceramide 3 is the last ingredient, a lipid naturally occurring in skin. Squalane is moisturizing, also naturally occurring in the skin.

For a moisturizer to be complete, it needs a humectant (draws water to the skin), emollient (moisturizer) and occlusive (sealing in moisture). This FAB cream contains all three.

Directions state to apply from head to toe once or twice daily or as needed.

This has a light whipped texture, but I don’t find it a particularly rich or heavy cream. It has a light eucalyptus scent.

My hands get very dry every couple months, no matter the season. This dryness lasts a few weeks, progressing to redness and peeling. I also used the FAB cream on my hands, as well as heels which are dry and cracked, and all over the body after showering. I didn’t intend to use the lotion on my face, but tried it once.

The lotion spreads easily and absorbs immediately with no greasy feel.

Above, the hands immediately felt soothed and smoother, but 5 minutes later felt dry, not to the touch, but on opening and closing my hands. I was surprised by how dry my hands looked after 30 minutes, but they were quite dry before.

I used this on my hands twice a day for 3 weeks. While they look better after 3 weeks, it looks like the lotion improved surface hydration, but there are still dry patches in the creases and my hands still feel dry on opening and closing.

I used this on my heels for 4 weeks and, like on my hands, improved some surface hydration, but the heels are still very dry and do not feel much more moisturized.

On application to the body, the lotion absorbs immediately. It is not greasy, heavy or oily feeling. There is no residue left on the skin, but unlike most lotions I’ve used, there is no nice butter-like or silky feeling on the skin, but almost a friction-like feeling. The skin felt no softer or hydrated after 4 weeks’ use. I have mildly dry skin on my legs and felt like I had to use quite a bit for the skin to feel any sort of hydration. For this reason, I’ve been going through the 8 ounce tube quite quickly.

I didn’t buy the FAB Repair Cream for use on the face as I am using another cream at this time (and the Repair Cream doesn’t smell or feel like something I’d want to use on the face), but tried it once after my skin felt quite dry after a shower. This felt completely different on the face than on the hands and body. My skin felt moisturized and soothed and while the lotion absorbed fully, it left a light, smooth, protective layer over the face.

I would expect better results after a few weeks’ use on the hands, feet and body, and I did not like how the FAB Repair Cream felt, so would not repurchase for that use; however, it performed quite differently on the face and I would consider longer term use for this purpose. Next I’ll be using the hand and foot lotions from Deciem’s The Chemistry Brand and the body lotion from Drunk Elephant; stayed tuned for those reviews.

Thank you for reading.