Why Do I Have Strawberry Legs? (Laser and Electrolysis May Help)

Strawberry legs. Chicken skin. Keratosis pilaris.

Whatever you call it, it’s a condition on your skin – arms and legs most notably – where red dots develop that kind of give the appearance of strawberry legs or chicken skin.

Strawberry legs is a non-medical term for a condition that occurs on the legs and arms caused by clogged pores resulting in small black dots resembling the seeds of a strawberry. Typically caused by shaving or genetics, strawberry legs can be treated by adjusting cleansing and shaving habits and through laser or electrolysis hair removal.

Why do I have strawberry legs and how can laser hair removal and electrolysis help? Let’s take a closer look to find out why this condition occurs and what you can do about it.

What is strawberry legs?

Strawberry legs refers to the condition where pores in your skin get clogged with dead skin, body oils and bacteria and result in reddened skin and small black dots similar to a strawberry appear on various parts of your body.

While the name strawberry legs is commonly used, the condition can also occur on other parts of your legs and your arms as well. It often occurs on parts of your body that you shave.

While the condition isn’t dangerous and your skin doesn’t tend to be itchy, the visual appearance can be embarrassing for people. Given the lack of annoying symptoms other than the visual component, people often aren’t sure what to do and perhaps aren’t motivated to see a doctor to get it sorted out.

Many sufferers of strawberry legs might not even be aware of the reason(s) that they have the condition and thus aren’t able to make a change in their life that could help to eliminate or at least reduce the chance that the condition occurs.

Why do I have strawberry legs?

There are several reasons you can get strawberry legs and at least a few of them are self inflicted as we’ll see below.

Shaving habits can cause strawberry legs

Your poor shaving habits can help to cause strawberry legs when you overuse the same razor blade and it becomes blunt. Shaving with a blunt or dulled razor blade can result in ingrown hairs and clogged pores.

Dry shaving – shaving without use of shaving cream – can also add to the problem so ensure you properly lubricate and protect the skin with a decent shaving cream applied before shaving.

Some people are also more predisposed to ingrown hairs and razor burn than others. This applies to both men and women so your shaving products and shaving style can certainly impact the condition.

Of course, it also depends on where you’re getting strawberry legs because if it’s not on an area that you frequently shave, it could be caused by something else.

Clogged pores can cause strawberry legs

Clogged pores typically occur due to a blockage caused by dead skin accumulation, body oil build up and associated bacteria that prevents hairs from growing out from underneath the skin. If you have particularly oily skin this condition can be made worse unless you take steps to rectify it.

Exfoliating your skin can help to alleviate symptoms when it is ongoing. This involves using a loofah or other method to lightly rub the skin while bathing or showering to remove dead skin to help keep pores open and clear.

Properly washing with a body wash in conjunction with the loofah can also help to reduce body oils and help to keep pores clear.

Folliculitis can cause strawberry legs

Folliculitis is a condition that involves an inflammation of the skin that is usually caused by an infection that is either bacterial or fungal in nature. It often occurs on the thighs and legs among other body parts.

There are a number of medical treatments that you can be prescribed for folliculitis including antiobiotic creams or pills, antifungal creams, shampoos or pills or steroidal creams or pills. It depends on your specific condition and what you’re experiencing.

You can also (in more extreme cases) benefit from minor surgery or even laser hair removal which we’ll discuss more below.

Keratosis pilaris can cause strawberry legs

Many people who get strawberry legs experience it because of a condition called keratosis pilaris which results in dead skin clogging our pores. It’s due to genetics so in this instance, you might not be doing anything wrong per se and just have to adjust your grooming habits to help deal with it. Keratosis pilaris isn’t dangerous but is something that you can deal with.

Keratosis pilaris tends to manifest itself early in life so many kids and teenagers have it but it can also gradually fade and disappear over time. In that regard, adults often don’t have it as it can clear up on its own as you age. People that do experience it tend to suffer it most on the back of their upper arms as well as the thighs, legs and butt.

Exfoliation is again a possible solution to at least address and assist in this instance.

Exfoliating the skin is something that men and women can both benefit from especially those with particularly oily skin or those who tend to suffer from ingrown hairs from shaving.

Dry skin can exacerbate strawberry legs

While dry skin won’t cause strawberry legs on its own, it can exacerbate the situation and make it worse. In particular, dry skin can make shaving problematic by further irritating your skin.

So if you’re experiencing strawberry legs due to shaving, it can be made worse when you additionally suffer from dry skin.

What can I do for strawberry legs?

As mentioned above, you can at a minimum address your shaving issues and ensure that you are not keeping razor blades too long and are replacing them regularly. Blunt blades that are past their lifespan can cause you to press harder on your razor which has the effect of irritating skin and causing cuts and poorly cut whiskers which may lead to ingrown hairs.

Also consider changing your style or type of razor. Multi-blade razors can often make ingrown hairs more likely for people who are prone to suffering from them. You might consider switching to a single blade razor – guys might opt for a single blade double edge razor for face shaving – and ditch the 2, 3 or 4 (or more) blade razors. The more blades you have the more likely you will experience irritated skin that can lead to ingrown hairs.

Multi-blade razors and lift and cut electric shavers cut hair below the skin which can increase the chance of ingrown hairs in some people.

Side note: Shaving with a fresh razor blade actually decreases the chance of cutting your skin as long as you shave properly. Plus, a benefit of shaving with a razor is that it naturally exfoliates by removing the top layer of skin which when combined with gentle exfoliation afterwards, can help to remove dead skin and keep pores clear.

Here’s what else you can do to decrease the chance of strawberry legs.

A good exfoliator can help with strawberry legs

We’ll talk more below about exfoliation the verb but specifically you can also purchase an actual exfoliation product to help with strawberry legs. A cleanser with glycolic or salicylic acid will help to alleviate skin inflammation, unclog your pores and remove dead skin cells from affected areas. Also look for products with ammonium lactate and urea.

In addition to using the aforementioned single blade razors to shave, you can also use a colloidal oatmeal cream or a product with ceramides which aids in soothing your skin following washing and shaving.

So there are a few things you can quickly do in terms of your cleansing and shaving regimen to help you with your strawberry legs symptoms. Look for products that are fragrance-free and non-comedogenic that won’t further clog your pores.

Laser hair removal can help strawberry legs

Laser hair removal won’t permanently remove hair with one treatment but over time can reduce the total amount of unwanted hair you have. It can clear large areas of coarse dark hair and if there is no hair regrown, the chance of strawberry legs anywhere on your body will decrease since there is no longer a hair that can be blocked from growing.

Laser hair removal can permanently disable a hair follicle’s ability to regrow a hair and if so, the chance of strawberry legs no longer exists in that area.

If you’re not an ideal candidate for laser hair removal, you might benefit from another hair removal option.

Electrolysis can help strawberry legs

Electrolysis is the only method of hair removal currently approved by the FDA to provide permanent hair removal. It zaps hairs on a strand by strand basis with an electrical current and then each treated hair is physically removed with tweezers.

With repeated treatments as necessary, electrolysis can permanently disable a hair follicle’s ability to regrow hair which will eliminate the chance of strawberry legs. Electrolysis doesn’t require a specific skin type or hair type to offer successful treatment which are advantages over laser.

Electrolysis can be time-consuming given that each hair is treated individually so it may only be suitable for parts of the body with limited amounts of hair. For areas with more significant hair growth, laser hair removal may be more suitable due to cost and time considerations.

Epilation can help strawberry legs

An epilator is a device that removes hair so it is a broad term that not only refers to the aforementioned laser and electrolysis forms of hair removal but may also refer to waxing, tweezing or plucking.

It can also refer to a product called an epilator which is usually a battery-powered device that looks kind of a like an electric shaver but physically pulls hairs from the skin rather than shaving it at skin level.

You do need to be careful here though: Waxing for example pulls hairs out from the root to offer several weeks of hair removal. The hair grows back exactly as before – it won’t grow back thinner or thicker – but waxing can lead to ingrown hairs or whiteheads as the hair eventually grows back.

While epilation may help to remove hairs for a longer period of time than shaving, you should gently exfoliate afterwards to remove dead skin to ensure that the hair that will begin to grow back is not blocked which can lead to ingrown hairs and thus strawberry legs.

Celebrities with strawberry legs

Just in case you think you’re the only person with strawberry legs somewhere on your body, you aren’t. It’s a condition that is difficult to treat for some people and also equally difficult is finding out which of your favorite celebrities suffer from strawberry legs to commiserate.

Having said that, popular YouTubers like Lifestyle with Isabella, thealyssamorrison, Jacklyn and abetweene are just four women who discuss their experiences with it and how they’ve dealt with specific symptoms.

There is some genetic association to keratosis pilaris and particularly in people who have eczema, allergies and asthma in their family history. A study from the Cleveland clinic shows that 50% to 80% of teenagers and 40% of adults will develop keratosis pilaris during their lifetime. People with dry skin also tend to be more prone to it.

People who have keratosis pilaris tend to be younger (teenagers) and younger than 30 so it’s difficult to find celebrities that are known to suffer from it. Some people find that once they hit 30, it may not disappear completely but often decreases in severity.

Based on what I found online, many people – particularly women – who experience strawberry legs suggest that it’s the family and they often find that they aren’t the only person in their family suffering from strawberry legs.

Summary

Strawberry legs involves small dark spots and often reddened skin occurring on several parts of your body, typically your legs (hence the name) and arms due to clogged pores that prevent hairs from growing. There are numerous reasons for the condition and you can treat it to at least reduce the likelihood you experience it.

The condition may be caused by shaving habits or could be a genetic condition that you’re predisposed to and must deal with. Strawberry legs is not dangerous but is more of an annoyance that can be visually embarrassing to some people.

Laser hair removal and electrolysis may help as they both involve removing hairs and disabling – and possibly eliminating – the chance they ever grow back again. Since strawberry legs involves an irritation of the skin due to hairs being trapped and unable to grow, the elimination of hair would prevent the condition from occurring.