What Are The Best Treatment Options for Chicken Skin?

If you deal with chicken skin, someone might think you have perpetual goosebumps. These small bumps usually cluster on your upper arms or thighs, but you can get them anywhere you have hair follicles. You might also notice redness around the bumps or feel itchy where you have them. All told, while chicken skin doesn’t pose any threat to your overall health, you’re probably curious about getting rid of it. 

Fortunately, Elaine Phuah, DO, MBA, FACOI, and our team at Hanami Medspa in Fort Worth, Texas, can help you explore your treatment options. Some people get clear skin with home care and lifestyle changes, while others need more to get results. With our laser hair reduction, for example, we can stop your chicken skin at its source — for good. 

To help you find the best option for treating your chicken skin, let’s look more closely. 

Understanding and treating chicken skin

Effectively treating chicken skin starts with understanding it. You get these bumps, also called keratosis pilaris, because keratin, a protein in your hair, builds up in your pores, clogging them. This results in the little bump you can see and feel. If you’ve ever picked at your chicken skin, you might have even noticed that there was a small hair underneath the bump. 

Here’s the good news. Most cases of chicken skin fully resolve by the time the person turns 30. That said, if you don’t want to wait it out — or you’ve already reached your third decade and you’re still dealing with this unwelcome skin condition — we can help. 

Some people get rid of chicken skin by making relatively simple changes at home. Dr. Phuah can recommend a gentle but effecitve exfoliant to smooth your bumps and a good moisturizer to ease any symptoms. To deliver a deeper layer of exfoliation and help to unclog your pores, she might also recommend something like microdermabrasion. 

These treatments work well to treat your currently clogged pores, but your body will likely continue to build up keratin there. If your chicken skin persists, Dr. Phuah can treat it at the source with laser hair reduction. 

Eliminating chicken skin with laser hair reduction

The biggest, most obvious bumps in your chicken skin look that way because there’s a body hair trapped inside the clogged pore. With laser hair reduction, Dr. Phuah can put a stop to that.

Our laser targets the hair follicle, destroying it so that it can’t grow new hair. Many people see an improvement in their chicken skin shortly after starting laser hair treatment.

To treat all of their hair follicles while they’re in their active growth phase, you generally need a handful of laser hair reduction sessions. 

If you’re tired of living with chicken skin, don’t hesitate to call Hanami Medspa or make an appointment online today. Dr. Phuah and our team look forward to exploring your options to help you find the best treatment for your chicken skin.