23 Jun How effective is Laser in treating Facial Thread Veins?
It is estimated that one in four of us at some time in adulthood will be affected with broken veins or telangiectasia on the face. ** (results may vary from person to person)
They can be seen as small linear red or blue veins, located on all parts of the body but typically and annoyingly for thus suffering with the condition, they frequently occur on the cheeks and nose. They can also spread out from a single source with a network of ‘legs’ called spider naevi or spiderlegs.
For some, the condition may be extreme, causing embarrassment or a lack of self-esteem with many clients resorting to heavy makeup or even camouflage makeup to hide the excessive redness.**
There is no single cause for the condition and many medical professionals and practitioners feel that some people are genetically predisposed. Hormonal factors are also considered contributory such as pregnancy or menopause.
Clients often ask what if any preventative measures can be taken to avoid a recurrence of the condition post treatment. Things to avoid include exposure to extremes in weather such as severe cold or heat, winds and of course excessive sun exposure. It is important to protect the skin from the damaging effects of too much UVA and UVB rays, a sunscreen with spf 30 or 50 is a good start. Also moderation with regard alcohol, spicy foods and non smoking will help reduce the risks of recurrence.
The laser beam emits a gentle burst of energy using a long pulsed duration that penetrates deep in the dermal tissue. The light is monochromatic, collimated and coherent with means that is uses a single colour in a straight line (not scattering as with an IPL light). It is target specific (the target being haemoglobin) thereby minimising risk to surrounding skin tissue.
Sometimes clients are confused whether they should be having IPL or laser thinking mistakenly that they are the same thing. IPL (intense pulsed light) is less efficient when treating veins as it is polychromatic, non collimated and incoherent. Meaning it has many colours that are non specific sending scattered beams of light that targets other chromophores other than haemoglobin, such as melanin, with an increased risk of skin damage and side effects, burns and hyper/hypo pigmentation.
By comparison excellent results are achievable when being treated by a knowledgeable practitioner using the NdYag1064 laser, ensuring the correct parameters are selected according to the specific thread vein condition.
Treatment after two sessions. Cynosure Elite Laser NdYag 1064. Pulse width 10msec, spot size 1.5mm, fluence 300j.**
Treatment after 2 sessions. Cynosure Elite Laser NdYag 1064. Pulse width 20msec, spot size 3mm, fluence 300j.**
** Results may vary from person to person.
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