How does IPL remove thread veins?

Posted on 18 Mar, 2012

Thread veins can be an embarrassment: they can appear anywhere on the body, although they are most common on the face and legs which can make them an obvious and visible problem. Those on the face could be camouflaged using make up; this is, however, a less practical solution for hiding those on the legs.

Another option is thread vein removal using Intense Pulsed Light treatment. This form of treatment can target problematic thread veins and effectively eliminate them, causing them to fade from view. But how does it work?

The light is applied to the skin in very short and intense bursts, where the energy is absorbed by the haemoglobin in the blood. The light energy becomes heat energy, and the blood begins to heat up. Once it reaches somewhere between 65°C and 70°C, the cells lining the walls of the blood vessels are denatured, and the vessels begin to collapse and disintegrate.

Once this happens, the blood vessel that was visible on the surface of the skin fades away, and the spidery blue or red lines disappear. IPL offers an effective and safe way to permanently remove those vessels that are causing problems.