L11: Other acantholytic disorders

L11.0: Acquired keratosis follicularis

Every hair is anchored in a small bulb, the hair follicle. Sebaceous glands are usually attached to these hair follicles. The sebaceous glands produce an oily substance for the skin called sebum. Sebum prevents the skin from drying out.

Your hair bulbs are blocked in some places. The sebum remains in the skin and the bulbs are expanding. The affected areas of the skin usually feel dry and rough. The precise cause of this skin disorder is unknown.

The bumps on the surface of the skin can be skin-colored, whitish, or reddish. These skin areas resemble the goose flesh caused by being cold. It is usually the buttock, and the outsides of the upper arms and thighs that are affected.

This skin disorder may be perceived as a cosmetic nuisance, but it usually causes no further damage to the body. The patient may lose the small, delicate hairs in the areas affected. Occasionally the dark, thick hairs, for example, in the eyebrows or the forehead, fall out.