[2manyfibers]

Thanks for the welcome Michelle and LadyC. The only thing that has provided me any relief has been peroxides (hydrogen and benzoyl). Part of my problem is one of having too much keratin in my body and on the surface of my skin. If you've had time to read the document I referenced above you know some about how the skin is constructed of collagen fibers and keratin. There are 2 known solvents of keratins; alcohol and peroxide (the only known solvents of collagen are enzymes produced by the body to spcifically allow skin cells (keratin) to pass through the network of collagen fibers to the surface of the skin (this happens at a microscopic level). After trying everything available in my garage and under the kitchen sink (including mineral spirits and degreasers which did nothing - the only things I didn't try were gasoline and clorox) I tried alcohol but it dried too fast and left a brittle coating on my skin (I think keratin may explain why some people have noted having a "sticky" coating on the skin). The peroxide worked much better for me - I had to saturate my entire body in 3% hydrogen peroxide (standard drug store type) and soak my feet for about 30 minutes every couple of hours for the first 2 years or so of my condition to gain any relief (the peroxide dissolved the keratin coating temporarily and allowed the excess collagen fibers in my skin to move - the most simple explanation is that my skin was way too tight and growing tighter from having produced an extreme excess of the 2 major structural proteins in my system (collagens and keratins)). I also use a 10% benzoyl peroxide acne wash to lather up in the shower every day and let it dry before washing it off (and slathered myself in acne cream until it dried - usually a couple of times a week). Using peroxide like I have for several years should have made my skin extremely dry (or destroyed it altogether) and bleached what little hair I have out (I've kept it cut to about an eigth of an inch long daily for the duration of this condition). Aside from the excessive fibers, my skin is pretty normal in texture and condition (and I don't use any lotion or moisturizers - this supports my belief that I've had a tremendous excess of keratins in my system). For the last couple of months I've been able to reduce the hydrogen peroxide down to a couple of times a day.

I can't say that I would recommend anyone saturating themselves with peroxide every couple of hours - I suspect that for most people it would do more harm than good. It did soften up the lesions when I had them (they were quite prevalent and severe for well over a year on much of my body as shown in the pics in the document). Not sure this is of much help, but it is what worked for me. If you ever want to bleach the color out of any clothes, benzoyl peroxide will do the trick.