What are facial veins and broken capillaries?
The clinical term is telangiectasia, referring to blood vessels that have either widened in size or come closer to the surface (they’re not actually broken). They are often located around the nose and cheeks.
What causes the spidery facial veins?
Many factors:
- Age: As you get older, the collagen framework of your skin breaks down – from actual age and from sun damage. As the collagen framework breaks down, the support that keeps the blood vessels deeper down no longer “pushes” them down, so they come to the surface.
- Rosacea: if you have, or are prone to, rosacea, you will likely experience facial veins as part of your rosacea flare-ups or your skin will be prone to inflammation and sensitivity, which promote the appearance of veins
- Genetics: like rosacea, these veins are highly genetically influenced
- Allergies: people with a history of seasonal allergies and asthma are generally predisposed to more visible facial capillaries
- Pregnancy: growth factors for blood vessel formation increase during pregnancy – if your veins only just appeared during pregnancy, wait 6-12 months after giving birth before considering treatment, because they may go away on their own
- Excessive topical steroid use: topical steroids thin the skin, so they can speed up the appearance of (or even cause) telangiectasia
How can I get rid of facial veins and broken capillaries?
The best treatment dermatologists have is PDL (pulse dye laser) or diode laser; it targets the blood vessel specifically, causing the oxyhemoglobin to be “destroyed” within the cell, which the body carries away and absorbs.