Minimize Your Spider Veins with Microneedling

You had smooth, resilient, and blemish-free skin when you were younger. You can thank two fibrous proteins, collagen and elastin, that provide the scaffolding for your skin’s structure. You can also thank youth — it takes time for the sun’s damage to appear on your skin and veins. 

At 817 Surgical Arts, triple-board-certified facial and cosmetic surgeon Dr. Emily Johnson and her team use radiofrequency (RF) microneedling to encourage the body to heal itself from within, triggering collagen and elastin production and remodeling the skin to eliminate blemishes. Here’s how we can minimize your spider veins with microneedling.

More about collagen and elastin

Unfortunately, by the time you reach 25, your body starts decreasing its collagen and elastin production, losing about 1% per year. The remaining proteins are also subject to damage from the sun’s UV rays, smoking, and environmental pollutants. With less protein to support your skin’s structure, your face loses volume, leading to hollows, fine lines, and wrinkles. These are known as “static” wrinkles because they develop due to volume loss.

In the early stages of decreased volume, injectable dermal fillers can temporarily fill in the wrinkles and restore a younger look, but they don’t address spider veins. And sometimes, you need a longer-lasting option.

What are spider veins?

Spider veins are thin and visible, either because they’re close to the skin’s surface or because they’ve burst due to high blood pressure. These veins are mostly capillaries, the smallest type of blood vessel. They usually appear on the legs, but they can also appear on the face, manifesting as a reddish, branched pattern resembling a spider’s web.

Spider veins don’t affect the texture of your skin, unlike varicose veins, their larger cousins. They’re also not generally a medical issue. Leaving them alone puts you in no danger, but you may feel self-conscious about your appearance and want to have them removed.

The facts about RF microneedling

Also known as collagen-induction therapy, standard microneedling uses rows of ultrathin needles rolled over the skin to create tiny punctures. 

Your body senses the “injuries” and responds by sending healing and growth factors to the wound sites. These heal the tissue by triggering new stores of collagen and elastin, filling furrows and replacing damaged skin layers.

RF microneedling takes the process one step further, using radiofrequency energy delivered by a hand-held device into the wounds. It penetrates the dermis (middle) tissue layer, more quickly creating new stores of collagen and elastin in the skin layer where they reside.

The dermis also contains capillaries and superficial veins. The treatment effectively covers the damaged veins by remodeling the tissue, leaving your skin blemish-free.

RF microneedling produces more dramatic results than either microneedling or RF treatments alone; using the combination produces a synergistic effect.

In addition, RF microneedling works for all skin colors and types, and it’s generally safe for most patients. However, you're not a good candidate if you’re pregnant or lactating, have an active infection, and/or have poor wound-healing abilities.

If you’re tired of looking in the mirror and seeing a spider web crossing your face, 817 Surgical Arts can help. To schedule a consultation with Dr. Johnson, call our office at 817-241-5375 or book online today.