Spider veins and broken blood vessels are cosmetic concerns that can negatively impact your appearance. Whether they appear on the face or body, unwanted blue, red or purple blemishes can take on many forms and may arise due to factors such as sun damage, aging or genetics. If you’re bothered by visible facial veins that appear on the cheeks, chin or nose, or want to reduce spider veins found on the legs, Coastal Dermatology & Medspa can help. Our vascular reduction treatments can help eliminate unwanted redness and visible veins on the face and body, helping you achieve clear, smooth skin without surgery or downtime. Keep reading to learn more about our vascular reduction treatments and how they can improve the appearance of broken blood vessels or spider veins.
What Are Spider Veins?
Spider veins are small, damaged blood vessels that become visible through the surface of the skin. They’re seen in up to 60 percent of adults and can be red, blue or purplish in appearance, most often occurring on the legs. Spider veins are related to varicose veins, which are large blood vessels that become twisted or knotted due to faulty valves that prevent blood from returning to the heart properly. As the blood is pulled downward by gravity and begins to pool, this creates extra pressure that leads to the formation of spider or varicose veins, depending on the size of the affected blood vessel.
Spider veins are noticeably smaller than varicose veins and don’t typically require any medical treatment, but the unsightly appearance can make some people feel self-conscious. If you have symptoms caused by spider veins or want to reduce their visibility, they can be eliminated with light-based lasers and sclerotherapy, effective treatment options that are performed in-office with no downtime or recovery. Sclerotherapy is usually more effective for larger spider veins that appear on the legs, while lasers are the preferred method for treating smaller facial veins.
Sclerotherapy
Sclerotherapy is an injectable treatment for spider veins. During treatment, your provider injects unwanted veins with a solution that causes them to swell and stick together. Eventually, treated veins begin to scar, shrink and close off before being naturally absorbed by the body, causing the blood to reroute through healthier blood vessels. A few weeks after treatment, the spider veins fade away and won’t reappear. While the results are permanent, it doesn’t stop new spider veins from forming, and larger veins may need more than one injection or treatment session to achieve the desired results. Treatments are safe, effective and nonsurgical, requiring no anesthesia and little to no downtime.
What Are Facial Veins?
Spider veins can also appear on the face, particularly around the nose, eyes, chin and cheeks. While blood vessels and capillaries are always present beneath the skin’s surface, they’re not normally visible. But as the skin thins with age or becomes damaged by the sun, they might become more noticeable. Other factors like genetics, lifestyle, rosacea or hormonal changes can also play a role and cause broken or visible blood vessels to appear, leading to unwanted redness that impacts your complexion.
Thankfully, there are a number of effective treatment options available for correcting the appearance of spider veins on the face. Since facial veins are smaller and finer than those found in the legs, they’re typically not injected with a sclerosing agent and treated instead using lasers. At Coastal Dermatology & Medspa, we utilize the VariLite Laser and IPL Photofacials to diminish redness, spider veins and other pigmented or vascular lesions that appear on the face. These treatments use light-based energy to target and destroy broken blood vessels or capillaries, giving you clearer skin with no downtime or surgery.
VariLite Laser
The VariLite Laser is used to treat vascular, pigmented and cutaneous lesions, including facial redness, broken blood vessels, spider veins, hyperpigmentation, rosacea and sun damage. It works by directing a concentrated beam of light into treatment areas, where it is absorbed by the red oxyhemoglobin within targeted blood vessels. As the laser energy is absorbed, it eradicates unwanted cells while leaving the skin’s surface intact, resulting in clearer skin free from redness or pigmentation issues. The VariLite Laser has dual wavelength options that allow your provider to customize your treatments, and results will typically develop a few weeks after treatment. While there is no downtime after treatment, your skin may be red or sensitive for a few days, but this is normal and should resolve on its own. Additional treatment sessions may be required depending on the amount of correction needed, but we will recommend a schedule tailored to your goals during an initial consultation to ensure optimal results.
IPL Photofacial
An IPL Photofacial can also help eliminate the appearance of facial veins, vascular lesions, rosacea, redness, pigmentation issues and more for a smooth, clear complexion. This treatment works by delivering multiple wavelengths of energy into the skin to target and destroy unwanted discoloration. As the light is absorbed by the blood within broken vessels or spider veins, it turns to heat, causing the walls of the veins to collapse. The surrounding skin and tissues are unharmed, but targeted blood vessels will form scar tissue and be reabsorbed by the body, fading away a few weeks after treatment. IPL Photofacials are most effective for smaller veins on the face that are visible at the surface of the skin. Treatments are nonsurgical and performed in-office, requiring no downtime or recovery. You may notice some redness, peeling or color changes after treatment, but this is temporary and should subside. Once treated veins fade, they shouldn’t return, but new spider veins can still develop. The number of treatments you’ll need to achieve your goals may vary, but our providers will develop a treatment plan tailored to your needs to help you achieve your desired results.
Contact Coastal Dermatology & Medspa
Vascular reduction treatments are a safe, effective and quick way to eliminate unwanted spider veins or redness that appear on the face or legs. All of our treatments for broken blood vessels and other vascular concerns require no anesthesia, downtime or surgery, giving patients a non-invasive way to achieve clear skin with minimal pain or discomfort. To learn more about our vascular reduction technologies and how they can help to reduce the visibility and size of broken blood vessels, redness or spider veins, contact or call Coastal Dermatology & Medspa today at 904-861-6497.