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Accept Kava skin?

TrevC

Kava Enthusiast
Hey guys!
I've had a few years with Kava, with the past year being daily (pre-lunch and pre-dinner) consumption.
Any time my skin has gotten noticeably ashy and I would quit, the skin would return to normal in a couple weeks.

But I have interest in utilizing Kava in an ongoing basis, and I'm wondering what I possibly may not have heard of yet to remove (more realistically: reduce) dry Kava skin.
My feet have this hard-ish layer that I would describe as what you might get if you coated the bottom of your foot in superglue and pressed a plastic bag onto it. It moves like that.
Around the torso and arms it's ash city. I keep a scrubber in the shower now to help go ahead and shed off the loose bits.

I've been trying to use coconut oil. Today I switched from MCT to a tablespoon of extra virgin coconut oil. (I'm concerned about that being a health issue more than the Kava.)
Today I also started drinking the "ketorade" (for replenishing electrolytes, etc.).

Long-term drinkers, do you find that it's possible to EASE BACK on consumption to alleviate effects?
...or does it require total abstinence for a few weeks?

As always, thank you for your advice!
 

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
Hey guys!
I've had a few years with Kava, with the past year being daily (pre-lunch and pre-dinner) consumption.
Any time my skin has gotten noticeably ashy and I would quit, the skin would return to normal in a couple weeks.

But I have interest in utilizing Kava in an ongoing basis, and I'm wondering what I possibly may not have heard of yet to remove (more realistically: reduce) dry Kava skin.
My feet have this hard-ish layer that I would describe as what you might get if you coated the bottom of your foot in superglue and pressed a plastic bag onto it. It moves like that.
Around the torso and arms it's ash city. I keep a scrubber in the shower now to help go ahead and shed off the loose bits.

I've been trying to use coconut oil. Today I switched from MCT to a tablespoon of extra virgin coconut oil. (I'm concerned about that being a health issue more than the Kava.)
Today I also started drinking the "ketorade" (for replenishing electrolytes, etc.).

Long-term drinkers, do you find that it's possible to EASE BACK on consumption to alleviate effects?
...or does it require total abstinence for a few weeks?

As always, thank you for your advice!
A good number of us just learn to deal with it. I have pretty much permanent dermo to some degree. Usually it's pretty light, but as my strainer gives out I can see my skin progressively get drier and drier until you start seeing the spiderweb-like lines start to form.

What I've found to keep it mostly tolerable is to apply a heavy lotion in the morning to those areas that see it the worst, and experience the most friction with clothing on a daily basis. I try to get my shoulder blades and lower back really good with some thick lotion while my arms and legs usually get a thinner lotion as to not make me go crazy during the day feeling the nastiness that is lotion against clothes.
 

PurimGrogger

Because "Shell Silverstein" was already taken
We're all different. In recent months, I've had good luck with certain companies and I think it might be their overall quality control and focus on, among other things, peeling the root well. Examples of this are GHK, BKH (the Vanuatu grinds I have tried) and Fiji Vanua Kava. This is probably very subjective and definitely just anecdotal. Art of Kava Bir Kar also seems to tread lightly on my skin. Not mentioning other brands here doesn't mean they don't also fit the bill; but concentration, for me, on that handful of grinds has kept the dermo in check. In my experience, however, this does not apply to micro. If I have micro, of any brand, I feel that face tightening as a sign that I'm sliding back to flakes, cracks, itchiness, etc..
 

Groggy

Kava aficionado
Admin
I haven't drank kava everyday for some time so dermo is no longer a problem for me. I still have container of Amlactin, it might come in handy in the winter months.
 

Yogini

Well... there ya have it.
Coconut oil is a good fat and not processed like MCT. Your insides need good oils too. I've found having a regular spoonful of coconut oil is helpful for dermo. I also use it as a moisturizer. My blood work has not been negatively impacted by coconut oil.
 

Aceofwands9

Kava Enthusiast
You can definitely ease back, less kava = less dermo in my experience. My advice is to cut back and do less washes on the kava you drink, you can always freeze it and save it for later.
 

Zaphod

Kava Lover
Hey guys!
I've had a few years with Kava, with the past year being daily (pre-lunch and pre-dinner) consumption.
Any time my skin has gotten noticeably ashy and I would quit, the skin would return to normal in a couple weeks.

But I have interest in utilizing Kava in an ongoing basis, and I'm wondering what I possibly may not have heard of yet to remove (more realistically: reduce) dry Kava skin.
My feet have this hard-ish layer that I would describe as what you might get if you coated the bottom of your foot in superglue and pressed a plastic bag onto it. It moves like that.
Around the torso and arms it's ash city. I keep a scrubber in the shower now to help go ahead and shed off the loose bits.

I've been trying to use coconut oil. Today I switched from MCT to a tablespoon of extra virgin coconut oil. (I'm concerned about that being a health issue more than the Kava.)
Today I also started drinking the "ketorade" (for replenishing electrolytes, etc.).

Long-term drinkers, do you find that it's possible to EASE BACK on consumption to alleviate effects?
...or does it require total abstinence for a few weeks?

As always, thank you for your advice!
One thing I will mention - I have noticed that some kavas I can drink hard and heavy and my skin is relatively unaffected. Others (typically real heavy kavas) are almost instant flare ups. If I want to keep drinking but don't want dermo to kick in bad I can drink these couple of kavas exclusively and my skin starts to heal. That said I like to mix and match so I only do it for short periods. Kava from Forney enterprises like NAH WoW (I only mention them because they clearly show it on their test results, while other vendors I suspect also get it from them but don't mention it) is one of those that I can easily drink 10-12 TBS/night and my skin seems fine.

I take other supplements, including fish oil, but have never seen any real impact to dermo from any of them.
 

TrevC

Kava Enthusiast
I really appreciate all the feedback! Picked up more than a couple solid pieces of advice from y'all. Thanks again, so much.
 
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