How to Deal with Broken Capillaries

Just in case you ever wondered what you could do to make those red threads on the face or on your body go away, PopSugar has the answer. Sadly, it is not what you might have wanted because broken capillaries do no just go away like that – but we can still do plenty other things to make sure their appearance does not worsen in time.

For starters, to become familiar with our problem, broken capillaries are those threads, spider veins or uneven color in the cheeks that affect us cosmetically. They can appear on the cheeks, the nostrils or on the arms and legs, and are caused by weak blood vessels that break because of external factors. Moreover, they only get worse in time and are inherited. However, there is plenty we can do to make sure we don’t make them look even worse than they already do – granted we do not have the means to solve this problem surgically.

If we know for certain that we are prone to broken capillaries, the first thing we must do is stay clear of environments with extreme conditions, PopSugar tells us. Thus, thermal baths, saunas, hot baths and long showers, thermal facial masks and hot compresses, severe cold and high winds should be avoided at all costs, because they do nothing but irregulate our circulation and thus either lead to the appearance of more broken vessels or make the ones already existent all the more visible.

Another aspect that we must bear in mind is that any kind of picking, squeezing or pressure on the face is a major no-no, beauticians tell us. Should we suffer from broken capillaries and acne, they say, it’s best if we saw a dermatologist for proper advice and supervised treatment. Otherwise, we risk to only aggravate the aspect of our already inflamed skin.

Weak capillaries also make it impossible for us to tan artificially. Tan beds and tanning without proper sunscreen are not an option if we want to have a face like the women in beauty ads do – sans retouching. Furthermore, should that be our goal, then restrictions also apply to our diet. Spicy foods, caffeine and alcohol are almost altogether off-limits because they can accentuate the aspect of broken capillaries by increasing blood circulation to the face.

These being said, there are also some, rather expensive ways of fighting the unaesthetic red or purple threads. For one, there are several anti-redness cosmetic products that we can purchase, and that soothe irritated skin, but which should only be used after consulting with a specialist. More aggressive treatments, like laser light therapy and sclerotherapy (injection of a chemical irritant into a vein to produce inflammation and eventual fibrosis and obliteration of the lumen) are also available, helping “build up the capillary walls and calm inflammation,” PopSugar informs us.