Broken Capillaries/ Thread Veins/ Telangiectasia

Telangiectasias are small dilated blood vessels near the surface of the skin.  They can develop anywhere on the body but are more commonly seen on the face around the nose, cheeks, and chin. They can also develop on the legs, on the upper thigh, below the knee, and around the ankles. 

 The development of spider veins can occur at any age but usually occurs between 18 and 35 years, and peaks between 50 and 60 years. Females are affected approximately four to one to males.

Pregnancy is a key factor contributing to the formation of varicose and spider veins. The most important factor is circulating hormones that weaken vein walls. There's also a significant increase in the blood volume during pregnancy, which tends to distend veins, leading to blood pooling in the veins. Later in pregnancy, an enlarged uterus can compress veins, causing higher vein pressure, also leading to dilated veins. Varicose veins that form during pregnancy may spontaneously improve or even disappear a few months after delivery.

Acquired telangiectasia can be caused by factors such as; Acne rosacea, environmental damage such as that caused by sun or cold exposure, trauma to skin such as contusions or surgical incisions.

So, what are the best options to treat Thread Veins?

The most effective salon procedure to treat broken capillaries is IPL Thread Vein Removal. There are some other options if you don't want to go down the route of IPL; Vitamin C skin peels and the use of vitamin C products at home. These will help to reduce the appearance of the capillaries and calm the skin but will not give the same clear result. 

Intense Pulsed Light (IPL)

IPL stands for intense pulsed light. The machine contains a flash lamp, this is an extremely bright light source. The shorter dangerous wavelengths are filtered out. 

IPL technology is a treatment break through that can correct a variety of benign skin conditions, such as birth marks, sun spots, facial veins, unwanted hair and signs of ageing.

Many people suffer from broken capillaries and diffuse erythema, that cause them social embarrassment. For both women and men, IPL can successfully treat dilated blood vessels without injuring the surrounding healthy skin.

Until recently, a treatment for facial veins was a long, painful and invasive process using needles. Now veins can be treated with IPL technology allowing safe and effective removal of the facial veins

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H97hVp4QzOI

A cold gel is applied to the area to be treated. The smooth glass surface of the IPL hand piece is gently applied to the skin and pulses of light are applied. A course of treatments is recommended, generally between 2 and 4, depending on the severity of the vessels, which are spaced 4 weeks apart. The skin must be kept as pale as possible by wearing sun protective cream and avoiding sun exposure before and during your course of treatment. If the skin is tanned it is more difficult for the light to pick up the vessels. The treatment also makes your skin more photosensitive so an SPF is essential.  

This treatment is not the most comfortable, I would describe my experience of IPL as that similiar to tipping your skin against an iron or straightener. Its an instant burst of heat but once the light has flashed, the sensation is over. It is defiantly bearable, but if you have a low pain threshold you might want to consult with your therapist the possibility of taking mild analgesia prior to the treatment. 

The skin is a little red afterwards, perhaps some slight swelling, all of which subsides after a couple of hours.

Price varies between clinics but anything from 90Euro to 120Euro is typical.

Image Skincare Vitamin C Skin Peel

Known as The Signature Face Lift (30% Vitamin C Resurfacing Solution) 

This treatment is ideal for skin concerns such as rosacea, dull, dehydrated, pregnant and sensitive. This peel is a blend of Vitamin C, polypeptides, chamomile, and green tea. It exfoliates off dead skin cells and delivers highly potent vitamin C and soothing agents into the skin to leave it nourished, calm and healthy. A course of vitamin C peels will restore the skin back to its natural health, helping to calm and constrict dilated blood vessels. The peel itself can feel stimulating during the treatment and can sometimes result in a light post peel during the 3-7 days after treatment. As with all peels, a full consultation is required before every treatment to confirm the treatment is suitable for your skin.

It cost between 75Euro and 99Euro on avdrage per treatment 

4-6 treatments are recommended 2 weeks apart.

Vitamin C Products

Again, I recommend Image Skincare's Vital  C range.

These products are not available online, you need to visit an Image Skincare salon and speak with a therapist on how to use the products correctly.

See my post on Rosacea for more information on these products.

http://www.loveprotectreflecttheskinyourein.blogspot.ie/2013/04/rosacea.html

Also the post on Image Vital C Hydrating Anti- aging Serum.

http://www.loveprotectreflecttheskinyourein.blogspot.ie/2013/04/image-vital-c-hydrating-anti-aging-serum.html

I hope this helps to explain the treatments a little more, encouraging you to seek advice and hopefully get great results. All clinics should offer full consultations prior to treatment and a patch test is performed before all treatments. It is good to have your patch test done to get an insight as to what the treatment is like, as it is basically a mini version of the procedure.

Questions+ Answers

Thank you all for your emails!

I am currently creating a list of the posts you have requested and I will try to get them up as soon as I can.

I have also received some emails with specific questions regarding skin issues, without actually seeing the skin, it is difficult to diagnose the problem. I will try give advice on what I think the best course of action is for your skin!

This is one of the mails I have received;

"Hi I have red veins on my jaws is there any other way then have laser to remove them please help x"

I will have the post with some advice and solutions to follow very soon!

Fishtail Braids

Loving this.

So easy when you know how!

One of my friend's, Emma, is constantly pestered by my friends and I to do our hair on nights out as she makes it look so easy. She is great at braiding hair and I could never seem to pick it up. 

This is a look she created for me for my cousin's wedding last year. She had it up in five minutes!

I still haven't mastered it on my own hair but with this tutorial I found the fishtail braid so easy to try out on my friend!

 Happy Braiding :)

 

This is another variation where the hair was loosely curled first!

The same technique was used for the braid.

Wow Brows!

Always get your eyebrows professionally done, even if it is only a couple of times a year. 

This will give you an idea of what they should look like, and with regular maintenance they will remain perfectly shaped.

No two eyebrows are ever identical; so don't attempt to get them the same as you will end up plucking them to nothing. They say eyebrows are sisters not twins! Throw away your tweezers and WAIT…(and then wait some more.) It can take anywhere between 6 to 12 months to get your brows to grow back to their original shape.

Your eyebrows are vital to frame your face, over 70% of your facial expressions depend on them. That’s why the right brow shape and color can take years off you.

There are lots of different techniques out there to shape your brows and its hard to know what the best option is for you.

shown above.

The two most popular Brow Techniques trending at the moment are; 
HD (High Definition) Brows and BWB (Billion Dollar Brows). 

HD Brows

HD Brows is the unique, seven-step eyebrow shaping treatment that focuses on design. It involves an innovative combination of techniques, including tinting, waxing and threading.

Demand for HD Brows is growing at a rapid rate across Ireland, the UK and beyond. Celebrities are queuing up to experience the wonders of immaculate, high definition brows. Just recently Danni and Kylie Minogue actually sent their make-up artist for HD Brows training.

I find the HD brow look too severe with my coloring and blonde hair so I prefer a more subtle look, for me that's best achieved with BWB.

Billion Dollar Brows

The BWB method of shaping the brows is carried out using their 'Brow Buddy' , a device used to specifically measure the brow to ensure it is the best shape to suit each individuals face.

A white pencil is used to draw the new desired shape on to the skin.

Once the shape has been marked out, the brows are waxed, taking small sections at a time to ensure a very precise shape is achieved.

Next the bows are tinted to help pick up the fair hairs and define the shape more.

Once the tint has been removed the small gaps in the brow are filled in with brow powder. 
My brows are quite full naturally so I don't need to fill them in.

The result:

For those with over plucked brows, or naturally sparse growth, BWB have a great range of products for use at home to fill them in or to help stimulate growth.



Brow Boost
This is a deep conditioning treatment  designed to help strengthen & condition thin, over-tweezed brows.
You will see visibly fuller brows in as little as 30 days.
It contains a natural anti-aging solution giving fuller eyebrows to create a more youthful look, without any risk.
It’s so easy to use, it comes with a brush-on applicator, just apply Brow Boost to your brows at night and leave it alone. The natural formula dries instantly, in a matter of weeks your brows will begin to fill out!

The picture below shows a combination of using Brow Boost at home for 30 days and the professional BWB treatment.

BWB usually costs 30Euro for the shape without a tint, 40Euro with the tint but prices can vary. 
Treatment can take up to 30 minutes.

Yumi Lashes

This week I decided to remove my lash extensions and enhance my natural lashes.

YUMI™ Lashes is an advanced technique designed to boost and lift the lash without having to resort to false lashes. It is a powerful alternative to false lashes that enhances your own natural beauty and colouring.

All of my clients who have tried the Yumi Lashes treatment are delighted, and renew them on a regular basis. Instead of doing a traditional perm that simply curves your lashes, YUMI™ LASHES turns the eyelashes upwards, gives them length, height and volume, and an appearance of having longer and thicker lashes.

Treatment takes only 45 minutes and the effect lasts between 8 and 12 weeks, which is the natural life cycle of an eyelash.

As well as brightening and 'lifting' the eye area, the YUMI™ Lashes effect has some anti-ageing qualities due to the under eye pads used in the treatment.

Allergy sufferers need to do a patch test 24-48 hours prior to treatment

The Procedure:

To begin we place the anti-aging eye pads with q10 and antioxidants, to hydrate, on top of the lower lashes, ensuring the lower lash is covered, this prevents them turning up with the treatment.

Then we decide what size silicone roller to use, small, medium or larger. This is a silicone pad used to create the size of the curl on the lash. 

The process is then completed after five simple steps -

Step One is the YUMI™ Lift, which is a softening and curling lotion that is applied to each individual lash. This is what gives a new curve to the eyelashes and has a natural lifting effect.

Step Two is the YUMI™ Fix, a fixative that maintains the curl for up to 12 weeks.

Step Three, YUMI™ Nourish, involves coating the lashes with a nutrient-rich formula that protects repairs and hydrates the eyelash from root to tip. This will encourage each lash to maintain the YUMI™ effect.

Step Four coats the lashes with YUMI™ Clear Adhesive, a gentle, fragrance-free adhesive.

Step Five is the all-important YUMI™ Tint, this can be chosen to suit each different clients complexion, and is selected from a range of shades to enhance the overall look of the lashes, also setting the treatment.

The result:

The price can vary between salons but 50Euro to 75Euro is what you can expect to pay.

It is recommended to use the Yumi nourish mascara following the treatment.

It is also very important to follow the aftercare advice given as this will determine the length of time you get out of your yumi lashes. 

No water, heat, steam or eye make up for 24 hours following the treatment as the solutions continue to lift the lashes for the next 24 hours.

Have a look at the exposure on Ireland AM

http://www.tv3.ie/videos.php?video=39093&locID=1.65.74&page=1

Skin Needling

Skin needling, also referred to as Dermarolling, Micro needling or Collagen Induction Therapy (CIT), is a therapy that stimulates wound healing process to produce new collagen and elastin and therefore, reduces the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, scars and stretch marks. The technique is also applied to improve skin texture and tighten pores. By introducing active ingredients into the deep skin tissue at a high absorption rate, skin needling is applied to treat common skin conditions indluding wrinkles, ance and pigmentation.

Skin needling is performed to create a delivery system, allowing active cosmetic ingredients to penetrate to the deeper layer of the skin and stimulate collagen production by inducing wound-healing.

This is a relatively new concept to induce collagen naturally within your skin.

Generally speaking, the possibility of active ingredients penetrating the epidermal barrier is approximately 0.3% , and due to the characteristics of  certain cells even this amount of active ingredient penetration cannot be expected all the time.

In order to remedy this, skin needling has been developed. Disk-needle rollers increase the effective penetration rate of the skin by forging a new route to the dermis, allowing the products deeper into the skin.

Needling also stimulates a natural wound healing of the dermis, which in turn stimulates the natural production of collagen. This maximises the recovery rate of the skin by reducing wrinkles and pigmentation and improving skin tone.

Skin needling can restore aged skin by stimulating the natural induction of collagen, much like during laser, IPL or peeling, and there are almost no side effects but instead there is an increase in skin thickness making it the ideal anti-aging skincare solution.

Diskneedling creates minimal dermal damage without the removal of the healthy skin, which can happen with other resurfacing techniques. Because the skin is left intact, the healing period is more rapid.

This treatment is for all skin types except for those prone to keloid scarring, diabetes, allergies to metal, people on ro-accutane for acne, or with blood clotting disorders.

To perform the treatment an anesthetic numbing cream is applied all over cleansed skin. This is left on for 30 minutes to ensure as little discomfort as possible. 

Once the anesthetic has been removed, the skin is 

prepped with a de-greasing solution to lower the ph of the skin.

Starting on the forehead the roller is used in a star shaped pattern with 

little or no pressure to the skin. As the needles pierce the skin, no discomfort can be felt but a slight feeling of pressure is normal. Sometimes you will experience some blood spotting, particularly on the forehead.

Once the roller has covered half or three quarters of the face the nerves endings start to kick in and you begin to feel a warm, tingling sensation on the skin. When the entire face has been treated we apply our active serum. The active serums used immediately after the needling can penetrate right down to the dermis as the micro-channels remain open for approximately an hour after the procedure. 

The immediate result is a red, flushed appearance like that of a sunburn. This can last anything from 4-8 hours depending on the skin. 

If having this treatment make sure you do not have a major event or special occasion the following day as there may still be slight sensitivity in the skin and sometimes there can be a prolonged redness. This usually subsides the following day. 

This was my skin three weeks after the needling.

A course of 3-5 treatments are recommended with 6 week intervals between treatments. 

I always pre-treat my clients with vitamin C products as vitamin C is essential for the formation of collagen and using the products prior to treatment really helps encourage collagen synthesis afterwards.

Using an SPF30 after needling is extremely important as although it helps to treat pigmentation, it actually makes your skin photosensitive for approx 30days following the treatment.

You can expect to pay anything from 150Euro to 250Euro per treatment for skin needling depending on the salon. The use of active products before and after will dramatically improve your results.

Before and After:

Expression line between the brows and crows feet.

Acne Scarring

Scar formation after injury to the skin

Eve Lom Dynaspot

Eve Lom developed this product after years of research into the cause of blemishes. 

It really is your emergency breakout treatment.

Soothing antiseptic extracts are carefully balanced with Salicylic Acid to help eliminate spots quickly, without drying out the skin. Salicylic is an ingredient that gets down into the pores and helps clean out excess oil, helping to prevent breakouts. 

I use it under my make up, applied almost like a concealer, to help treat blemishes throughout the day. It is great to soothe redness and inflammation from sore unsightly spots. If you have a blemish under the skin that just isn't clearing up, apply on affected area and leave it on over night. It may cause slight peeling on the skin if used a couple of nights in a row so be sure to just apply to breakouts and not the surrounding skin.

I highly recommend this product!

Retails 28Euro

Image Vital C Hydrating Anti- Aging Serum

This serum has been voted BEST Image product worldwide!

You only need to use it for a very short period of time to see why.

It is ideal for all skin types but oily skin types should use it less often as they may find it slightly too much for their skin.

This product is a pharmaceutical grade Vitamin C serum that immediately minimizes and soothes the visible effects of environmentally damaged skin. Vitamins A,C and E and anti-oxidants nourish the skin to create healthy, youthful glowing skin. It is great for people suffering with Rosacea as it is very anti-inflammatory and really helps to strengthen capillary walls.

Vitamin C as an ingredient is essential for the formation of collagen and this serum has an almost botox like effect and it helps to soften wrinkles.

It really helps to brighten the skin and I love using it under my make up as it acts as a great base for my foundation.  

Liberally apply in morning and evening to cleansed skin followed by your moisturiser.
Retails 61Euro