While Botox treatment is one of the most common forms of cosmetic enhancements in America (the number of procedures rose by 8% from 2012 to 2013), vein laser treatment is quickly becoming a popular procedure as well. Varicose veins are enlarged, protruding, and twisted veins that stick out from the skin. While they cause little to no real harm to a person’s health, they are cosmetically unappealing and many people with them try hard to get rid of them. Unfortunately, they can be difficult to treat as you can’t really just take a pill and watch them disappear. One of the ways that has been found to treat them is through vein laser treatment procedures.
More and more vein treatment centers are popping up around the country to accommodate the superficial needs of the varicose vein community, but many people don’t have any idea how vein laser treatment works. Here are two of the most common areas people have treated and some basic information on the processes used.
1.) Facial Veins: The typical option for facial veins is vascular lasers. This laser uses a wavelength of light that is able to penetrate the skin and repairs the blood vessels without harming the top layer of skin, which is your face. Unlike a Botox procedure which takes 30 minutes on average, this form of vein laser treatment takes between five and 15 minutes. It can be used on anyone, except those with darker skin tones need to undergo a test patch to see how their skin will react.
2.) Leg Veins: While face veins are obviously more visible and prominent on a day-to-day basis, legs are probably the most common location to see varicose veins. This is where spider vein laser treatment comes into play. The lasers utilized in this process generally use a wider, slower pulse width so that the energy has a chance to slowly accumulate in the blood vessel causing it to seal, but is dissipated from the skin, allowing it to cool down and prevent any possible scarring. In some cases slight bruising can result, but other than that it is an entirely harmless procedure.
The advancements in the laser treatment industry have been steady over the past several years. As technology develops more the cost will continue to decrease and more and more people may turn from injectables, which was a $2.5 billion industry in 2013, to this less invasive and potentially more effective treatment.