Facial Veins: What You Need to Know? by Meredi Wagner-Hoehn

Small, visible veins trailing along the face, neck or chest can be a cosmetic frustration. Luckily, these facial veins can be treated.

What Are Facial Veins?

Facial veins are actually not veins at all – they’re dilated blood vessels. Facial veins, also called telangiectasias, can appear in a variety of different forms. Generally, they’re thin, short red or purple lines. Sometimes, they’re so small that to the naked eye, they just make the skin appear red. In the case of spider angiomas, a number of facial veins radiate out from a round red splotch, resembling a spider.

Where Do Facial Veins Come From?

Generally, the blood vessel’s dilation comes from its walls deteriorating. Why the walls deteriorate is still under scrutiny, but a few constants tend to accompany the facial veins. These include sun damage, liver disease, family history, radiation therapy and just plain aging. They appear most commonly in middle-aged women with pale skin.

Facial veins frequently make their appearance alongside rosacea, a chronic skin problem which reddens skin. Although dilated blood vessels generally don’t have any side effects (beyond the visibility), when they accompany rosacea, they can result in a slight burning in the specific area.

Additionally, any time your face reddens – due to blushing, exercise, sun exposure, etc. – it increases your chances of developing facial veins.

What Facial Vein Treatments Are Available?

Dilated blood vessels do not serve any valuable purpose to human health; your Austin cosmetic dermatologist can remove them without any potential for personal harm. A couple of different facial vein treatment options are available. Which vein treatment works for you depends on your unique skin condition and medical history. Discuss these with your Austin dermatologist before deciding which to pursue.

The DioLite Laser. This facial vein treatment involves directing a thin laser ray to each specific vessel, honing in on the red and ignoring the adjacent healthy skin.

Intense Pulsed Light. This option acts similarly to the DioLite Laser, but it can either select certain areas or affect the whole face. Occasionally, a combination of these two treatments offers the best results.

Sclerotherapy. Sclerotherapy involves collapsing the vessel in on itself. This dermatologic treatment is only applicable in certain facial vein cases.

If you’re tired of seeing a network of veins when you look in the mirror, call Zimmet Vein & Dermatology, a top-ranking Austin dermatology clinic.