Remember: Nothing can truly get rid of your keratosis pilaris (since it’s part of your DNA), but certain in-office laser treatments can help reduce your redness/hyperpigmentation, along with your bumpy texture. Realistically, there are tons of different types of lasers and wavelengths your dermatologist might use on you, but here are the most common for KP:
IPL (Intense Pulsed Light)
IPL “uses different wavelengths of light to target the walls of the blood vessels and cause them to collapse,” says Dr. Lal. “IPL can help not only with redness, but also the hyperpigmentation that can come from keratosis pilaris.”
PDL (Pulsed Dye Laser)
PDL “targets and constricts red vessels in the skin,” says dermatologist Mary Thomas, MD. Unlike IPL, PDL is an actual laser that emits a concentrated wavelength of light to treat hyperpigmentation and flushing by heating up and destroying blood vessels to neutralize redness, and studies have shown PDL to be effective for treating KP on the face, as well as the body.
Nd:YAG laser
Nd: YAG lasers, like Aerolase or ClearSilk, are “great for KP because they act on the water in the skin—which is a big component of your skin—to heat it up without destroying the top layer of your skin,” says Dr. Lal. “It’s an amazing treatment for redness and texture, and it’s safe for all skin tones.”
Laser hair removal
“If a patient’s main concern is the roughness, then I usually try laser hair removal,” says Dr. Thomas. It’s theorized that trapped hair coiled in the follicle can contribute to KP bumps on the body (but not so much on the face, womp), so “if you destroy the hair completely, those bumps can’t happen anymore,” she says.
Are lasers really worth the $$$?
For what it’s worth, I’ve had my facial KP lasered a bunch of times over the years, and I’ve always seen a noticeable decrease in redness, but some lasers were far more effective than others for my specific skin type and color. So before you drop cash on a laser treatment, ask your dermatologist or plastic surgeon to give you an honest guesstimate as to what you might expect for results.
Of course, they can’t know for sure, but a potential 10 percent reduction may not be worth the money for you, while a 25 percent reduction may be, you know?