© United Shades of Skin 2023
Vascular Laser Therapy is an innovative, minimally invasive procedure used to effectively treat dilated or damaged veins and capillaries.
Broken or dilated veins and capillaries can occur on the face and body for a number of reasons, but that doesn’t mean they have to stay there. Vascular Laser Therapy is a safe, quick, and effective treatment to eliminate visible veins, broken capillaries, spider veins, and vascular lesions such as cherry angiomas.
Vascular Laser uses a 1064nm Nd:YAG laser to specifically target hemoglobin and cauterize the damaged veins. The laser energy gently heats the unwanted vasculature and coagulates the hemoglobin (red blood cells), while also stimulating the body’s healing response.
This response will encourage the body to naturally reabsorb the pooled blood and vein so that it is no longer visible at the surface of the skin.
Downtime following Vascular Laser Therapy is minimal to none. Immediately post treatment your skin will be slightly flushed and can be slightly raised, which will return to normal within a few hours. Bruising and swelling may result, which usually resolves within a few days to week.
After your treatment you will be advised on specific homecare, which will include avoiding activities that draw heat and/or sweat to the skin for the first 24 hours after treatment, including exercise, hot tubs, tanning or sun exposure, saunas, hot showers or baths, etc.
Many different types of vasculature can be treated with Vascular Laser Therapy, including facial veins, leg veins, spider veins, reticular veins, and cherry or spider angiomas.
If you are experiencing varicose veins or large bulging reticular veins, it is best to have these treated with an injection-based method called Sclerotherapy. This type of vasculature is not suitable for Vascular Laser Therapy.
Nope, quite the opposite actually! When we experience visible or dilated vasculature, that itself is negatively impacting our circulation as blood is unable to flow easily and often pools or becomes ‘stuck’ in that area. By treated affected veins and vessels, we are actually able to redirect blood flow to healthier pathways, thereby improving overall circulation
While IPL is able to help reduce the appearance of some vasculature, it is often best suited for very small thread veins or ‘telangiectasia’. If you are experiencing overall redness and some small areas of visible vasculature, along with other skin concerns, IPL is a perfect solution.
However, if you are experiencing vascular lesions elsewhere on the body that are more defined or pronounced, then Vascular Laser Therapy may be a better solution for you.
Lasers are a single wavelength of light, meaning that the light is pure in one singular colour and form. This allows the treatment to be very precise, which allows the beam to target the hemoglobin in a vein that may be sitting deeper in the skin.
With IPL, on the other hand, energy is produced as the result of several wavelengths which cannot be focused into a specific beam. This means that it is not as precisely targeting one particular thing, and will be much shallower in the skin, which is why it is a better choice for very faint vasculature that is the result of inflammation, such as with rosacea.
© United Shades of Skin 2023
