Not only can the appearance of these facial blemishes be treated, writes Dr Lisa Chan, but changes in lifestyle could help keep them at bay altogether.
They’re the tiny, spider-like veins that suddenly appear on our faces or across our noses and mar our otherwise flawless complexions, like a cobweb spun by night across the wall of an immaculately decorated living room.
Visible red capillaries – known as spider veins – pop up for a variety of reasons. You might be genetically disposed to them. They can be caused by long-term sun exposure or drinking too much alcohol, resulting in broken blood vessels and redness of the face.
They may also be caused by trauma or by sudden changes in the weather, which can affect blood circulation and lead to bursting blood vessels. They sometimes appear during pregnancy or as a symptom of the skin condition rosacea.
Whatever the cause, spider veins are an unwelcome surprise when you look in the mirror and see them staring back at you. Fortunately, there are several straightforward steps you can take to stop them appearing in the first place.
Always wear sunscreen: Sun damage is a common cause of broken or dilated blood vessels, so always use a sunscreen with a sun protection factor of at least 30, and wear a hat or visor to shade your face from direct sun.
Drink cold water: When you get hot and flushed after a gym workout, drink ice-cold water to lower your temperature and constrict your blood vessels to prevent them breaking.
Keep your skin moisturised: Dry skin becomes irritable and prone to damage, affecting blood cells below the surface, so moisturise regularly with a vitamin-rich product to prevent inflammation.
Mind your diet: Caffeine, spicy foods, smoking and alcohol can cause spider veins. Even drinking a moderate amount of alcohol causes redness and broken blood vessels in some people.
A sensible skincare routine will help prevent the appearance of spider veins but it won’t make them disappear once they’re there. If this happens, you should consult a skincare professional to decide what treatment is best for you.
Cosmetically, you may choose to use a colour-correcting concealer in a yellow or peach shade to hide the spider veins and then cover it with your regular foundation and face powder.
Laser treatment may be needed to remove them altogether and one option for cases of pronounced spider veins is pulse-dyed laser treatment – a vascular laser therapy that destroys red components in the skin and can target tiny vessels on your face and around your nose. The treatment uses a yellow laser light that specifically targets red blood vessels, destroying them with heat and eliminating the veins that form around your nose. The laser has a cooling system that enables it to target vessels while keeping the surrounding skin undamaged.
A milder alternative approach that involves less recovery time and causes less skin damage is intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy. This uses a special spectrum of visible lights to tackle the haemoglobin, and hence, erythema and red spots of the skin. IPL therapy is more suitable for sensitive skin and has fewer side effects on the surrounding skin. It works in a similar way but may require several sessions of treatment to achieve the required results.
Spider veins can also be treated with topical retinol – a Vitamin A-based cream often used for acne which promotes cell turnover and increases the production of restorative collagen. Retinoids make spider veins less visible and boost the general health of skin.
So should spider veins creep up on you and take you by surprise, stay calm and don’t take fright. There are common-sense health steps to keep them at bay, and treatments available to brush them away.
Learn more about Dr Lisa Chan‘s treatments here
Dr Lisa Chan
DR LISA CHAN, MBChB (CUHK), MScPD (Cardiff), PgDipPD (Cardiff), PGDipClinDerm (Lond), DipMed (CUHK), DCH (Sydney), is a general practitioner with a keen interest in aesthetic medicine. She also holds a Master’s in Practical Dermatology with Distinction at Cardiff University.