If you’ve ever noticed spidery, red lines on your face, here’s what you can do about them.
If you’ve ever noticed little red, starburst-shaped veins across your face, then you are dealing with broken capillaries, also known as spider veins. Broken capillaries on the face are often accompanied by skin concerns like redness, dehydration, rosacea and over-exfoliation. While they’re every bit annoying, they're actually more common than you think and all skin types deal with them.
The good news is that there are ways to address broken capillaries with your skin care and makeup routines. Below, we’re sharing what you should know about broken capillaries, including what broken capillaries look like, plus how to reduce their appearance and how to prevent broken capillaries in the first place.
What Are Broken Capillaries?
These red marks on your face are blood vessels that can be seen near the surface of your skin. Also known as facial telangiectasias (say that three times fast), broken capillaries are a superficial skin concern that can appear as linear red, blue or purple marks, according to the World Journal of Plastic Surgery. They tend to occur most in areas where the skin is thinner like the nose, under-eyes and cheeks.
4 Causes of Broken Capillaries
- Over-Exfoliation
- Excessive Alcohol
- Rosacea (According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), rosacea is a skin condition that causes redness to slowly spread beyond the nose and cheeks to the forehead and chin. Rosacea can be triggered by heat, alcohol, stress and sunlight and it manifests as skin sensitivity, rashes, redness, inflammation and as you probably guessed, broken capillaries.)
- Sun Damage
Treatment Options for Broken Capillaries
Depending on what course of action you determine with your doctor, here are some helpful ways to temporarily camouflage broken capillaries on your face.
- Laser Treatments
- Anti-Inflammatories
How to Prevent Broken Capillaries
- Wear SPF Daily
- Avoid Harsh Facial Treatments and Picking at Your Face
- Hydrate Your Skin
- Avoid Hot Environments
Source:
L'Oréal
