Facial Capillaries

When you look in the mirror, is your eye immediately drawn to networks of small red or bluish lines under your skin? These are blood vessels, especially seen around the nose area, called facial capillaries. You may even see small spider shaped bursts of blood vessels or have “polka dots” of red color on your face and body. These red blotches affect millions of people. Although they are not medical emergencies, most of our patients would like to be rid of these unsightly and sometimes embarrassing distractions to their natural beauty.

What causes facial capillaries?

The main cause of these red blotches is genetics, as they tend to run in families. Sun damage that occurred earlier in life is another reason that red facial capillaries appear. Other causes are the same as you see for rosacea: hot spicy foods, alcohol and hot beverages, certain cheeses, and environmental impact. Facial capillaries seem to be more dominant in fair skinned individuals.

What are some ways of treating facial capillaries?

Once facial capillaries develop, there is no way to permanently shrink them. However, they can disappear safely with laser treatment. The intense, pulsating beams of laser light target the damaged vessels under the surface of the skin and blast them into nonexistence. Another method for treating facial capillaries is the FotoFacial™. FotoFacial™ utilizes intense pulsed light and radio frequency energy, and the treatment is gentle with minimal discomfort. Treatment options will depend on the nature and severity of the capillaries and spider veins.

What type of laser do you use, and how does it work?

One of the many lasers at Laser Esthetica is the DioLite™ pulse dye laser, a laser specifically designed to remove spider veins, cherry angiomas, age spots and freckles. The DioLite™ laser generates an intense beam of light that is absorbed by your red blood cells. The laser heats up these cells and destroys them, but leaves healthy skin cells intact. The procedure is simple and straightforward, and the use of the DioLite™ laser allows the specific treatment area to be tightly targeted.

How many treatments does it take?

If you are like most people, you’ll need a total of 2-4 treatments to get the results you want, generally one every 4-8 weeks. Most sessions last about 10-15 minutes, although longer sessions may be required depending on the area of your face affected and the amount of damage to be repaired.

How permanent are the results?

Most people who develop facial capillaries find that new ones appear throughout their lives. Sun protection, treatments of underlying conditions such as rosacea, and changing any habits that may have contributed to the initial problems will help prevent or minimize their recurrence. However, periodic maintenance treatments every year or so will probably be needed regardless of how well the procedure is performed or how carefully you protect your skin.