Couperose: how to treat red veins on the face

From a medical point of view, there is no health problem if there are fine veins on your face. The correct term for these symptoms is couperose: This is a harmless vasodilatation (telangiectasia) that is hereditary. It occurs more and more in women from the age of 30 and is considered an early form of rosacea – a chronic skin disease. There are three different stages, the first of which manifests itself as red veins in the cheek and nose area, which become visible through a widening of the blood vessels under the skin. In addition, the affected area may be temporarily red. You can find out how to correctly interpret and treat the symptoms here.

Couperose: These are the first signs

The red veins appear on the face mostly only temporarily at first, but can also persist permanently. They have unpleasant side effects, such as burning or itching, and often lead to the skin becoming drier and more sensitive. In the worst case, reddening of the skin can occur, which persists due to blood congestion – then one no longer speaks of couperose, but of rosacea: Once the capillaries (small veins) in the cheek and nose area are permanently widened, the skin looks steadily reddened . If you already tend to have a weak connective tissue and, as a result, to spider veins or varicose veins, the probability is very high that you will also get couperose. Unfortunately, this also applies to people with particularly light skin and blond or reddish hair – the red veins on their faces are more common than other types.

These factors promote couperose

As if it wasn’t bad enough that our genetic makeup can contribute to suffering from couperose – there are even more factors that can favor red veins on the face. The most common reasons for blood congestion or increased blood flow to the capillaries on the cheeks and nose are stress, high blood pressure, too much sun, excessive physical activity and a lot of sport or even strong temperature fluctuations. In other words, if you go to the sauna a lot, for example. This allows the blood vessels under the skin to widen temporarily or permanently; the exact course cannot be foreseen in any person. However, the fact is: You can alleviate the symptoms and counteract couperose.

Here’s how you can treat couperose

The bad news is that if you already have red veins on your face, they cannot be completely corrected. But the good news is: You can treat couperose. In such a way that the – or at least concealed. In order not to irritate the skin even more, you should only use products that are fragrance-free and contain no preservatives. The same applies to essential oils, as they promote blood circulation in the skin and thus couperose as well. It’s best to bet on one which due to its ingredients (including panthenol, niacinamide, coneflower, ergothioneine or evening primrose oil) has a calming and anti-inflammatory effect.

Conversely, you should avoid greasy products that clog your pores and thus irritate the skin. If you not only want to soothe and care for the red capillaries on your face, but also hide them, you can do one use – it counteracts reddened skin as a complementary color and softens visible veins. If the couperose is so advanced that no treatment methods noticeably work, you can consider laser treatment. It ensures a reduction of up to 75 percent in the red veins on the face. However, this method also has its proud price.

Tip: If your face really starts to glow, you can counteract acute couperose with these home remedies: Put a damp washcloth on the affected areas or cool the skin with a gel that contains eucalyptus and mint. Alternatively, you can also use a compress (e.g. made from black tea, horsetail, arnica and horse chestnut) to strengthen your connective tissue.

Red veins on the face: preventive measures

Since couperose is a hereditary predisposition, you can only prevent the red veins on the face to a limited extent. However, you can counteract vasodilation by taking the following measures:

Note: This article contains general information and is not a substitute for a doctor’s visit.

There is more information here.