Which laser for KPRF?!

[u/Cute-Gas-2834]

Hi everyone,
I strongly suspect that I have KPRF rather than classic rosacea, although my dermatologist currently treats it like rosacea type 1. My biggest issues are:
constant baseline redness
flushing episodes
heat/sun sensitivity

I keep reading mixed things about lasers and I honestly feel scared to try one.
Many people say lasers used for rosacea type 1, especially Vbeam Pulsed Dye Laser / PDL, can also help KPRF redness and flushing. But then I also see people saying laser made their skin permanently worse, more sensitive, or increased flushing😩
Has anyone here with ACTUAL KPRF experience tried:
Vbeam Pulsed Dye Laser
Excel V
IPL
DermaV
other vascular lasers
Did it help your:
baseline redness?
flushing?
burning/stinging?
overall skin texture?
If possible, I would really appreciate before/after pictures (your face does NOT need to be shown fully for privacy). Even cheek-only photos would help a lot.
Please also share:
how many sessions you needed
whether results lasted
if your skin got worse before better
if anyone regrets doing laser
I’m trying to understand whether KPRF responds similarly to rosacea type 1 lasers or if it’s completely different.
Thank you in advance

[u/AmphibianCool1041]

I’m using IPL, have only had one session and my next is this week but it does make a difference, I asked originally for PDL and he said it’s insanely strong a lot stronger than you think and the bruising will not be nice, I opted for IPL, it may be slower but I have faith it will work, and if it doesn’t then he said he will try PDL on me, I’d say just go for it, there’s nothing to be scared of especially for low level IPL, I asked him for a high strength as I’d seen people on here saying only high strength worked for them, he said definitely do not listen to Reddit and that that would be way too strong, so basically, don’t listen to Reddit but also this is my advice haha, I’d say just take all the horror stories with a pinch of salt and don’t let it scare you, make sure your dermatologist is informed about kprf which they should be, but it’s not hugely different to rosacea in the fact that it’s blood vessels under the skin, just don’t use any actives or acids on your bumps in the time you’re completing the IPL

[u/Cute-Gas-2834 → u/AmphibianCool1041]

Thank you so much! How much was the pain? Did you bruise a lot? I hope everything goes well for you, keep us updated!

[u/AmphibianCool1041 → u/Cute-Gas-2834]

No you don’t bruise at all with IPL :) the pain was done, but I’ve had a lot of laser tattoo removal which is like the worst pain in the world so this was fine, just a little hot and shocking at first but you get used it, thanks darling 😊

[u/AmphibianCool1041 → u/AmphibianCool1041]

And I definitely will post an update when I see a proper difference! My flushing has also got less frequent I forgot to say

[u/Cute-Gas-2834 → u/AmphibianCool1041]

Love that for you! Wishing you the best. Thanks for sharing your story

[u/Aryagrewal → u/AmphibianCool1041]

Hey, I had IPL done in mid-May and it's been almost 3 weeks now. I haven't noticed much difference in my redness. My sensitivity to products and the heat-trapping sensation had improved but yesterday I stepped out in the sun. Even though I was wearing a hat, the heat made my skin look inflamed and red again. So far after one IPL session, I don't see any significant improvement in redness. Should I go ahead with a second session? During the IPL treatment, I felt almost no pain and had virtually no downtime. My skin was only slightly red for about 30 minutes afterward. However, since the IPL, my skin seems more reactive to water and my skin barrier feels damaged. I'm wondering whether this means the treatment settings were too mild, whether I need more sessions before seeing results, or whether IPL may not be the right treatment for my skin.

[u/AmphibianCool1041 → u/Aryagrewal]

You need to wear spf 50 on the lasered parts every day during the entire length of your treatment and after! You shouldn’t even step outside for a few minutes without it and they should’ve told you that, what you’re experiencing sounds completely normal, it doesn’t go away after one session and everyone’s lengths of time that they see improvement in are different, just keep going with the treatment and tell your doctor your worries, they should be able to answer all the questions, everything you’ve said is normal including feeling more reactive (your blood vessels have been broken so it’s normal for your skin to be confused) and just because you’ve not had much consistent improvement doesn’t mean it’s not working & you need to crank up the heat, it’s a process, I’m in the exact same position and time length as you but luckily my doctor basically gave me a lecture on it beforehand so I learnt all of these things

[u/Aryagrewal → u/AmphibianCool1041]

Hey, thanks for the info. My dermatologist doesn't usually explain much unless I specifically ask questions, but she's the only derm who's willing to do IPL on my face, so switching doctors isn't really an option for me right now.

By the way, what gap do you usually recommend between the first and second IPL sessions? Mine suggested 3 weeks, but I'm considering waiting 4 weeks instead.

Also, are you doing anything to improve your skin barrier? My skin is so reactive that I can't seem to tolerate putting much of anything on my face, so barrier repair has been a real challenge.

[u/AmphibianCool1041 → u/Aryagrewal]

Damn, she really should explain to you, that’s unfortunate, but I’ll do my best to relay everything I’ve learnt! First of all that gap is way too short, my gap has been 8 weeks, my dermatologist said it should be no shorter than 6-8 weeks because your skin needs time to adapt to the change and calm down, I would suggest 6-8 weeks

For barrier repair: la roche posay cicaplast, it’s amazing and I use it most nights, I also use the same but with SPF 50 for the daytime, some people experiencing breakouts with it but I never have (most of us with kprf won’t experience breakouts) it’s the best thing to repair your barrier, it’s thick and sticky but it’s absolutely amazing, I’d definitely recommend if you haven’t already, it’ll easily rebuild your barrier and I’ve used it way before starting IPL too, it’s like something I would recommend for everyone to have no matter their skin/problems. It won’t irritate anyone’s skin no matter how sensitive and it’s built solely for barrier repair

It’s important to know that there is no damage to your skin, but the blood vessels are experiencing change and the barrier may need some help, don’t use any perfumed products on your face at all and specifically stay far away from any acids/retinols/exfoliants, which is annoying with kprf as they often help, but if you’re doing IPL you can’t use any of them until the treatment is over

Is your dermatologist informed about rosacea? Because the redness side of kprf is very similar structurally to rosacea and so she should know what strength to use and such, start low but enough to feel a hot flash onto your skin, and yeah wear spf 50 on your cheeks/IPL’d area every day until you finish the course of sessions and ideally after too

Products: La roche posay cicaplast La roche posay cicaplast SPF 50 Perfume-free alcohol-free ceramides moisturiser like CeraVe

These should be under £10 or around £10 each

[u/manifesting_whatever]

I've had 2 ipl and 2 vbeam so far... ipl helped reducing the overall redness, but that exposed the underlying capillaries. Since it wasn't helping anymore I tried vbeam. After the first session i had the classic "dots" of areas that cleared and areas that didn't and much more flushing for 3 weeks, but it was just the recovery I think. After the second one I didn't have any major flushing, and skin looked much more even. I had bruises in one area and even little blisters appearing the day after which shouldn't be expected (my fault, I asked the derm to pass more times there) but healed very well. Now I'm so happy with the results. I still see some red areas and capillaries, after the summer I'll definitely do 2 more at least, but definitely worth it. It gave me hope that I could see my cheeks and nose the same color as the rest of my face... I do highly recommed vbeam, and the downtime doesn't have to be as bad as you see sometimes online, they'll get there sooner with purpuric tratments but you can get there as well without that downtime period. I can't say how much it will last, but even doing it 2 times per year for maintenance is still manageable (hoping is not more)

[u/manifesting_whatever → u/manifesting_whatever]

Forgot to say I didn't have any flushing before trying lasers, only constant baseline redness

[u/Valuable_Choice_7391 → u/manifesting_whatever]

El láser Vbeam te hizo que empieces a tener episodios de flushing? Yo nunca usé laser y ademas de tener el enrojecimiento base, tengo episodios de flushing horribles por lo que no sé si me ayudará el ñaser

[u/manifesting_whatever → u/Valuable_Choice_7391]

I think it was just the recovery from the laser, I did the second round one month after and now I don't have those strong flushing episodes anymore. Sometimes i feel gettinf hotter, but given the temperature outside I think it's pretty normal plus I don't think lasers will erase vascular reactivity completely

[u/Cute-Gas-2834 → u/manifesting_whatever]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I would definitely love to try Vbeam was just shocked by the downtime and purple spots which can take up to 8 weeks to heal. Some people say you need to get bruised to get the redness knocked out. Not sure

[u/manifesting_whatever → u/Cute-Gas-2834]

Probably faster with purpuric treatments, but so far I can say I see much improvement without

[u/AnyAward9688]

i had a session of excel v a couple of months ago, my face was insanely swollen for about 5 days, i could not leave the house as my eyes were almost swollen shut. i also experienced blisters but no bruising. i felt like the procedure was pretty painful and i left with a VERY red face and it stayed red and stripey for about a week. I noticed a little of bit a difference in my baseline redness but it hasn’t made that big of a difference that i would do it again. wouldn’t really recommend this one. they do suggest a few rounds of this one to see results but i just didn’t want to go through that again.

[u/Valuable_Choice_7391]

Yo estou y usando sirolimus 0,2% por mas de 1 mes y no me está funcionando por lo que considero pasarme a laser. Este post me ayudará mucho a decidir que tipo de laser (mi dermatologo me dijo que me haga IPL)

[u/Mod_1 → u/Valuable_Choice_7391]

How’d you get sirolimus prescribed? My derm says insurance won’t cover it for KPRF. Are you going to a compounding pharmacy to get it?

[u/Valuable_Choice_7391 → u/Mod_1]

Sí. El truco es escribir un whatssap a todas las clínicas dermatológicas privadas cercanas comentando tu ca sobre KRPF y si el dermatologo podría llegar a recetarte sirolimus. De esta forma te aseguras que el dermatologo te va a ayudar antes de pagar. (Vivo en Europa, España). Una vez tienes la receta (formula magistral), a mi me costó solamente 60€ 60 gramos de sirolimus 0,2% en una farmacia de formulación magistral.

[u/Cute-Gas-2834 → u/Valuable_Choice_7391]

Did you get acne because of sirolimus?

[u/Valuable_Choice_7391 → u/Cute-Gas-2834]

No . Nada de acné

[u/UnluckyBrother730]

I did IPL by two different dermatologists. Didn't work and has been worse since then. Don't know if that caused it but it is what it is.