How does laser thread vein removal work?

Do you suffer from red veins and blemishes on your face?  They can be hard to cover up and don’t go away by themselves, plus no serum or cream can get rid of them. The most successful treatment for red face veins is IPL or Laser. But how does laser thread vein removal work? And will it really give you the improvement you’re looking for?  I’ve been removing red face veins for 15 years – so here’s my guide, including a little overview of thread veins and what causes them.

What causes red face veins?

Red face veins also known as thread veins or spider naevii, are just broken capillaries.  So what you’re seeing is a collection of blood vessels near the surface fo the skin – this is what gives them their red appearance.

They can spring up after an injury to the skin, because of high blood pressure, sun damage, exposure to heat and excessive alcohol intake. You can also just be genetically prone to getting face veins.

An increase in oestrogen in the body (such as during pregnancy) can also cause thread veins in the face.

How does laser thread vein removal work?

Laser is one of the best treatment for thread veins. If the veins sit more deeply in the skin, such as around the nose (and also on the legs), then Laser is the best option.  If the veins are very surface level and very fine, then IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) is the better choice.  They are both light based treatments – it’s just that the light is delivered in a different way. However IPL and Laser treatments use the same principles to improve red face veins.

The light is flashed into the vein, and the blood absorbs the light, causing a heating effect.  The heat then makes the blood vessels break down and the capillary wall sometimes collapses. Your body’s immune system then removes the particles which are left over.  This can take around 2-4 weeks.

The treatment feels like hot pin pricks or like the ‘fat’ spitting at you when frying an egg. It’s a little unpleasant but very bearable – especially if the laser clinic has a cooling device to blow cold air at the skin at the same time.

How many sessions do you need?

If you have a single spider naevus or a very small collections of broken capillaries, then a single session will sometimes be enough.  With more widespread veins, you could need anything from 2-5 sessions, spaced around 4 weeks apart. You will just see a gradual fading away of the veins.

Immediately after you’ll look pink, and can possibly get some swelling.  However in most cases this will go down within 24 hours.  You could also get a bruise – although this is very unlikely, unless you have a vast collection of broken thread veins. In some cases, a client can walk out of the clinic after a treatment, and no-one would guess they’d had a laser treatment.

How long will the result last?

You can never say that the result is completely permanent. Remember how I talked about what causes veins? Well if you know what caused your face veins to pop up – then you can eradicate it. In most cases clients don’t know why their thread veins came in the first place.  Plus it can be a combination of factors.

So there’s a good chance that at some point you’ll get thread veins appearing again.  It may take years for more to spring up again – but it’s entirely based on your behaviour and/or the cause.

One of the most difficult areas to treat is thread veins around the nose. This is because there’s a huge supply of blood vessels in this area.  Often it can look like a great success after just a single treatment, however the vessels can just fill up again a few weeks later.  This is because (unlike on the cheeks or chin), you can’t always get to the source of the problem.

Imagine a hosepipe which has a leak at the top but the water is trickling down the road and you see the leak at the bottom.  Mopping up the water at the bottom doesn’t solve the leak at the top. This is why nose veins need more treatments, and you can never be sure if they’ll just fill up again.

I hope this article has helped you understand more about laser thread vein removal. If you have any more questions feel free to contact me at: rach@radiantliving.co.uk

Alternatively you can visit our thread vein removal page here – where you’ll find prices and photos.