How to remove broken capillaries and visible small blood vessels on my face?

Hi Amber!

Broken capillaries appear on our face because our skin thins out due to aging and sun damage. The amount of collagen and elastin in the dermis decreases and blood vessels expand, looking more obvious. They can be quite annoying if they get really obvious around the lower face (nose, cheeks, lips), and covering them with makeup is difficult.

At my practice we use IPL and long pulsed 1064nm/755nm wavelength laser to treat your problem. The intensity and wavelength selected would depend of the colour of your skin and the diameter of the capillary. It is normally quite pain free as we cool the skin rigorously after the treatment. There is also no associated downtime. A few (3-4) sessions would normally be required for complete clearance of all your visible capillaries.

Do get you skin looked at by a doctor who can give you further advice as there could be underlying skin conditions (e.g. rosacea) that would require treatment as well.

Hope this helps!

Dr Harvey Ho

Broken capillaries and facial telangiectasias are usually not that common in the Asian population but I am definitely seeing more of these problems than 5 years ago. They are usually present in those with thin skin, too much unprotected sun exposure and also due to Aging .

Of more recent interest is the association of increased vascularity which can manifest as such with a condition known as Melasma.

The treatment options will usually be the use of a IPL ( Intense Pulse Light ) device which has multiple wavelengths or colours of light in the same pulse or vascular lasers with dedicated fixed wavelength of light eg 532 nm ( green ) or 595 nm ( yellow ) . Generally it will require less treatments with the vascular lasers compared to IPL to achieve the same results.

In my practice I use the Excel V laser from Cutera which is a tunabke laser system with 2 best in class wavelengths ( 532/ 1064 nm ) in one device. To treat facial telangiectasia I use the 532nm wavelength with sapphire contact cooling which offers continuous cooling before, during and after each laser pulse to ensure a high level of patient comfort and eliminating the risk of undercooled and over treated areas.

What the laser does is that 532nm is optimised for absorption for oxyhaemoglobin ( what is present in the blood vessels ) . The absorption of the laser energy causes a coagulation like effect causing the vessels wall to collapse. The resulting “ dried up “ vessels will then be cleared by the body’s system much like in the clearance of a bruise.

Depending on the severity and size of the broken capillaries it may take 1-3 sessions to clear them . The procedure is safe with little to no downtime.

Hope this helps .

Regards Dr Chew