Skintacular

I'm going to start with this not-particularly-descriptive statement: I love my skin.

"Your skin, Hustler?" some people who actually know me might be wont to comment. "Why, of all of your features, is it your skin that you like? After all, you have that cute button nose the big-nosed people of this world would die many times over for, the incredibly interesting different-coloured eyes, the nicely-shaped legs, the breasts that are admittedly kind of small for a fat girl but really a very nice size all around, and that incredible wine-red hair"

Don't go thinking that I'm up myself or anything, because I'm certainly not. At least not when it comes to appearance. But everybody has good and bad features, and generally it's up to the individual to either hide the bad features and accentuate the good ones, or to make the bad features truly work for them. This is what I've been considering doing with my skin.

"But wait, Hustler," you might be saying. "Didn't you just say that you love your skin?" Why yes, I did. But what I love about it is how incredibly flawed it is.

"What is it? Acne? Freckles? Moles? Scars?" - well, all of those of course, but those things are pretty minimal compared to its most major flaw. Let me talk to you all through the media of typing at 70wpm about Keratosis pilaris. The wikipedia entry on it describes it as a "genetic follicular" condition, that appears as tiny red bumps on the skin. It's commonly referred to as "chicken skin", because some of it does look quite chicken skin-y. It comes in several different forms, and affects 40% of the adult population. Because it involves excess amounts of keratin, a skin protein, surrounding hair follicles, it's often mistaken for acne by those who have it.

Obviously, I have this, or else why the hell would I be talking about it? Keratosis is usually seen on the upper arms, thighs and arse, and there can be a reasonably small amount of it or quite a large amount of it. I have probably one of the worst cases of it I have ever seen on a human being. Genetic my arse, because nobody else in my family has it like I have it, and my mother and brother don't have it at all. I have it all over my arms, all over my legs, all over my arse (i think. i don't look at my arse in the mirror that often), all along my chest, my back, pretty much everywhere except my belly, the soles of my feet and my palms. On my face I have a different manifestation of it called keratosis pilaris rubra faceii. This is where the skin on one's face is strangely red and blotchy, even when one hasn't been working up a sweat. It's everywhere, basically, and I've had it ever since I can remember. I can recall looking at my skin, then looking at other people's, and wondering why mine had these strange goosebumps on it. I remember my friends saying that I should get acne creams because they thought it was acne. I remember other friends saying "wow! it's so bumpy!" Yes, my keratosis and I have had an interesting life.

I used to quite severely dislike it. It was different after all, and being about 20kg heavier than most of my classmates, I really didn't need anything else that made me different. I'd absolutely cover my arms with foundation, marvelling at how awesome it was that it couldn't be seen. I'd avoid singlet tops and complain to my mother about it.

But then I read a Draco/Ginny HP fanfic where Draco spends a paragraph or two considering Ginny's physique. He says to himself at one point "how has she made arm freckles sexy?" That line gave me pause. It made me think to myself "Well, if she can make arm-freckles sexy, then I surely can make keratosis sexy."

So away went my foundation (except for on my face where it's supposed to go), and along back came the short-sleeved shirts and my proudly displaying my keratosis to the world. Whether or not people think that it looks good I don't actually know, but I admit I do actually look at it every now and then and think "i actually really like this". Because it's unique. Other people have it, but not as much as me. Like being ginger, it's something special. My current thoughts are that if I worked out enough to make my arms look like dynamite, I would happily wear singlets and pose prettily in photos showcasing the length of my upper arm in all its keratosis-y glory.

For those of you with no idea of what the hell I'm talking about, I'll post a few photos on here now. For those who find keratosis unsightly, I suggest you don't look.


My lower left arm.


My face - centre. My eyes are closed because of the flash.


One side of my face


My upper arm


Bonus picture of me doing... sexy glasses-lowering face? I dunno.

So there you have it. Enjoy