Fix Broken Blood Vessels On Face

How to get rid of broken capillaries on the face

Have you ever noticed tiny red veins on your cheeks or around your nose that seem to be getting more visible over time? These might not just be a cosmetic quirk—they could be the early signs of couperose, also commonly referred to as broken capillaries, spider veins, or visible vascular.

At first, you might see faint red lines. Later, they turn into persistent redness, and eventually, a more noticeable web of spider vessels under the skin.

Hi everyone, I’m Maria, a beauty expert and licensed aesthetician at Metodica Med Spa. In this video, I’ll walk you through how to recognize couperose, whether it can be managed at home, and which professional treatment delivers the most visible and lasting results. Stay with me—I'll show real before & after photos and give you  some tips for at-home skincare.

What Is Couperose?

Couperose is a condition where small blood vessels (capillaries) near the skin's surface dilate, lose elasticity, and become visible. It’s not just temporary redness from the cold or a workout — this is long-lasting vascular dilation that tends to progress over time. It most commonly appears on the cheeks, nose, chin, and sometimes the forehead. For some people, it shows up as a fine red web of capillaries, while for others it’s one or two bright red veins that are especially noticeable in natural light.

Couperose isn’t a disease — it’s a condition caused by poor microcirculation and weak capillary walls. Without treatment, it doesn’t go away on its own. In fact, it can worsen and lead to more significant skin issues if left unaddressed.

How Do You Know If You Have Couperose?

You may notice persistent facial redness that doesn’t fade throughout the day. It can become more intense after a hot shower, emotional stress, cold weather, or alcohol. You might see visible thread veins or “spider veins” under the skin. These areas can feel more sensitive, sometimes with burning, tingling, or tightness. If you’re seeing capillaries on your cheeks or nose that don’t go away, that’s a clear sign of couperose.

What Causes Couperose?

There are several causes of couperose, and they often combine. One of the main factors is genetics. If your parents — especially your mother or grandmother — had spider veins or visible capillaries on their face, you’re more likely to develop them too. Fair, thin, and sensitive skin is also a risk factor.

Lifestyle plays a big role as well. Too much sun exposure, regular use of saunas or hot baths, and extreme temperature changes can all weaken the blood vessel walls. Overheating the skin, washing with hot water, or using facial brushes and scrubs also contribute to capillary damage. Even stress can impact your circulation and trigger flare-ups.

Your diet matters too. Spicy food, alcohol (especially red wine), hot drinks, vinegar, strong coffee, chocolate, and smoked foods can all cause blood vessels to expand and possibly break, especially if they’re already weakened.

Can You Get Rid of Couperose at Home?

Let me be honest with you — you can’t completely get rid of existing broken capillaries at home. A good skincare routine can improve overall skin health, reduce sensitivity, even out skin tone, and slow down the appearance of new broken capillaries, but professional treatment is necessary to remove the existing ones.

However, you can still support your skin. Use skincare made for sensiti ve skin with ingredients that strengthen blood vessels. Look for creams and serums that contain vitamin C, vitamin K, centella asiatica, horse chestnut extract, niacinamide, and azelaic acid. Avoid harsh foaming cleansers, acids without a doctor’s recommendation, brushes, and physical exfoliants. Always wear SPF 30 or higher — even on cloudy days. And be sure to avoid known triggers like extreme temperatures, spicy food, alcohol, stress, and overheating.

The Most Effective Solution

When visible capillaries appear and redness doesn’t fade, the most effective solution is IPL phototherapy. This treatment uses intense pulsed light to target hemoglobin in the blood vessels. The light heats and coagulates the vessels, which causes them to collapse. Over time, the body naturally eliminates them through the lymphatic system. Your skin becomes clearer, redness fades, and the broken vessels disappear.

At Metodica Med Spa, we use IPL with the M22 system by Lumenis. We trust its effectiveness — and so do dozens of our clients with couperose. M22 allows us to customize settings for each person’s skin, ensuring safe, precise, and effective treatment. It’s a quick procedure with no surface damage, and you can see results after just one session. For lasting improvement, we typically recommend a course of 3 to 5 sessions, 3 to 4 weeks apart.

Our clients with couperose on their cheeks, nose, or chin often achieve clear, even-toned skin after IPL photofacial. For some, broken vessels disappear after just one treatment and never come back. For others, a full course of three treatments is needed. In all cases, the skin becomes calmer, more even, and less reactive. Redness fades, and the complexion looks more balanced.

How to Maintain Your Results and Prevent New Capillaries

Once you’ve finished your IPL sessions, maintenance is the key. Use gentle skincare for sensitive skin, avoid hot baths or steam, don’t overheat your face, and skip saunas. Don’t rub your skin with a towel, and stop using scrubs or harsh brushes. Always protect your skin from the sun — this is the most important step for preventing couperose. Even in winter, apply SPF daily. On cold days, use a thick, protective cream to prevent frost damage and reduce vascular reactivity.

At home, look for ingredients like vitamin C, vitamin K, centella asiatica, azelaic acid, panthenol, allantoin, and niacinamide. They help strengthen capillaries, reduce inflammation, even out your skin tone, and support long-term results after professional treatments.

Couperose isn’t just a cosmetic concern — it’s a sign that your skin needs care and proper support. If you’re seeing visible blood vessels, don’t wait for the issue to get worse. The sooner you start addressing it, the easier it is to manage. Today’s skincare and aesthetic treatments make it possible not only to remove broken capillaries but also to dramatically improve the overall health and appearance of your skin.

Visit us at Metodica. We’ll do a full skin analysis, build a customized treatment plan, perform effective procedures, and teach you how to care for your skin so broken vessels don’t return. All the links are in the description. Don’t forget to subscribe — see you in the next video!