Some things people bring to a med spa need a doctor rather than a treatment room. Some things people bring to a med spa are not aesthetic problems and need a doctor rather than a treatment room. See a physician or a dermatologist, not us, if you have a mole or a mark that has changed shape, colour or size, or that bleeds, itches or will not heal; a sore anywhere that has been there more than three weeks; a rash you cannot explain; a patch of skin that is newly numb, hard or ulcerated; sudden hair loss in patches, or hair loss alongside fatigue or weight change; or swelling, heat and spreading redness that could be an infection. And if you have had filler treatment anywhere and the area becomes white or mottled, severely painful, or your vision changes, that is an emergency — telephone us immediately if we treated you, and go to an emergency room if you cannot reach somebody within minutes. We would far rather you rang a doctor and never rang us at all.
The blood inside a small vessel absorbs certain wavelengths of light far more strongly than the skin around it does. Enough light delivered quickly enough heats that blood, damages the vessel wall, and the vessel collapses and is gradually cleared by the body over two to six weeks. Neighbouring vessels carry the blood that one was carrying, which is why removing a thread vein has no effect on circulation.
On the face this is one of the most reliably rewarding treatments here: the fine red vessels around the nose and on the cheeks that most people have accumulated by their forties often clear in one or two sessions. On the legs it is more variable and takes more sessions, because leg veins are under more pressure and are frequently fed by larger vessels below the surface that light cannot reach.
Which brings us to the boundary. Small flat red or blue thread veins on the legs are cosmetic. Veins that bulge, that ache or throb at the end of the day, that come with swollen ankles, or where the skin around them has become brown, hard or itchy are not cosmetic — they are signs that the deeper venous system may not be working properly, and treating the surface without investigating that is both futile and, occasionally, harmful. We send those clients for a scan first, and a good number of them turn out to need something quite different from us.
What responds, and what needs a doctor
The first three are treatments. The fourth is a referral.
Facial vessels
Fine red lines around the nostrils, across the cheeks and at the sides of the nose. The best-responding target we treat: often gone in one or two sessions, and the improvement is visible immediately as the vessel blanches under the light.
Cherry angiomas and small red spots
The small bright red raised dots most people accumulate on the trunk from their thirties onward. Easily and quickly treated, usually in one session. They are harmless, and we will say so rather than imply they need removing.
Leg thread veins
Fine flat red and blue vessels, most often on the thighs and behind the knee. They respond, but more slowly than facial vessels and often across three sessions, and they are prone to returning if the underlying pressure that produced them has not changed.
Varicose veins — not us
Rope-like, raised, often visible standing and better lying down, frequently aching or heavy by evening. These need a vascular assessment and usually an ultrasound scan. Treating the visible surface veins while an underlying problem persists does not work and can mask something worth diagnosing. We will refer you rather than treat you.
The session and the weeks after
Quick to do, slow to clear, and it looks worse before it looks better.
The session
Ten to thirty minutes depending on area. Eyewear on, cooling applied, and a series of pulses that feel like a hot pinprick or an elastic band. Treated facial vessels often blanch or disappear as you watch, which is momentarily dramatic and not the final result.
The first week
Redness and slight swelling along the treated vessels, sometimes a fine crust on the face, and on the legs frequently a brownish or bruised line where the vessel is. This is the vessel being cleared. It is expected and it does not mean anything has gone wrong.
Weeks two to six
Gradual fading. Facial vessels usually clear within a fortnight; leg veins take up to six weeks and sometimes leave a faint brown line that fades across several months. Compression stockings for a few days help leg results considerably and are worth the inconvenience.
Repeat sessions
One to three for facial vessels, two to four for legs, at least six weeks apart so the previous session's result can be judged. Treating again too early wastes a session on vessels that were already closing.
Risks and reasons we decline
Modest, and largely to do with pigment and with sun.
Pigment change
A brown line along a treated leg vein is common and usually temporary, though it can take months to clear and occasionally does not entirely. Sun on treated skin makes this considerably more likely, which is why treated areas need covering or protecting for a month.
Blistering and crusting
Uncommon, and usually the consequence of too much energy or of a tan. Small crusts on the face after treatment of larger vessels are normal and must be left alone rather than picked.
Vessels returning
Particularly on the legs. The treatment removes the vessel that is there; it does not change the pressure that produced it. Some people need occasional maintenance and some are better served by having the underlying problem looked at, which is a different specialty.
We will not treat
Varicose veins or any leg vein with aching, swelling or skin change, before a vascular assessment; anybody with a history of blood clots without their physician's input; anybody pregnant; anybody with a recent tan; and anybody with an undiagnosed lesion in the treatment area.
Laser Vein Treatment in western Queens
Light absorbed by blood inside a small unwanted vessel heats it enough to close it, and the body clears it over weeks. Good for facial vessels and fine leg veins — and not a treatment for varicose veins.
Every treatment here starts the same way: a full hour at a table in a room with no treatment couch in it, a proper medical history, your skin looked at in daylight, and then a plain statement of what we think would achieve what you described. You are told what it costs, how many sessions it usually takes, how long it lasts, what the recovery looks like and what can go wrong — on paper, to take home and read somewhere other than a treatment room. If the honest answer is a different treatment, or nothing, or a dermatologist, that is what you get instead, and it costs exactly the same.
Aesthetic treatment is elective medicine, and this page is not medical advice for you. Aesthetic treatment is elective, it is medicine wherever it breaks the skin, and nothing on this website is medical advice for you in particular. We do not diagnose disease. Every treatment here begins with a consultation and a medical history, because your health, your medication, your skin type and what you have had done before all change what is safe and what is sensible. Some people are told no. Being told no is a normal outcome of a consultation here rather than a failure of one, and it costs exactly the same as being told yes.
No before-and-after photographs, and no promised outcome. There are no before-and-after photographs on this website and there never will be. Every set you have seen somewhere else was chosen from a much larger pile, and the second picture is usually taken in different light, at a different angle, at a different time of day, often with makeup and frequently after retouching. Even an entirely honest pair shows you what happened to somebody else's face. What we publish instead is what a treatment typically changes, by roughly how much, how long it lasts, how many sessions it usually takes and how often people are disappointed. We do not guarantee an outcome, we cannot, and anybody who does is either guessing or selling.
The risks, plainly. Every treatment on this site has side effects and some carry real risks. The common ones are minor and short-lived — redness, swelling, tenderness, bruising, a day or two of looking like you have had something done. The uncommon ones matter more: burns, blistering and long-lasting pigment change from light-based treatment, which is a greater risk on deeper skin tones and on recently tanned skin; infection anywhere the skin is broken; and lumps, asymmetry and, very rarely, a blocked blood vessel from injectable filler, which is the one true emergency in this field. We screen for what makes each of these more likely, we tell you your own risk rather than the average one, and we decline to treat when the answer should be no.
What a med spa does not treat. We treat the appearance of healthy skin, hair and body. We do not diagnose or treat disease. If you bring us a mole, a changing mark, an unexplained rash, a sore that will not heal, skin that has become hard or numb, psoriasis, eczema, an autoimmune skin condition, or hair loss that came on suddenly or in patches, what you will get is the name of a doctor rather than a treatment plan. Aesthetic treatment applied on top of an undiagnosed skin problem can mask it, delay the diagnosis and occasionally make it worse. We would rather lose the booking.
Questions
Laser Vein Treatment — the questions we are asked most
Will removing a vein affect my circulation?
No. The vessels treated here are tiny surface veins carrying a negligible amount of blood, and neighbouring vessels take over immediately. This is a common and reasonable worry and the answer is genuinely reassuring — which is different from the varicose vein question, where the underlying circulation is exactly what needs assessing first.
Can you treat my varicose veins?
No. Rope-like raised veins, and any leg vein that aches, throbs, swells or has changed the skin around it, need a vascular assessment and usually an ultrasound before anything is done. Treating the surface while an underlying problem persists does not work, and it can delay a diagnosis worth having. We will point you at the right specialty rather than treat you.
How many sessions will I need?
One or two for facial vessels, two to four for leg thread veins, spaced at least six weeks apart. You are assessed before each one and stop when you are happy. Nothing is bought in advance.
Does it hurt?
A hot pinprick per pulse, over a short treatment. Most people find facial vessels easy and legs slightly sharper. Cooling is applied throughout and numbing cream is available if you would prefer it.
Will they come back?
The treated vessel does not, but the tendency that produced it remains, particularly on the legs. Some people want an occasional maintenance session; others find one course lasts many years. On the face, sun protection makes a real difference to how quickly new vessels appear.
What is the mark left on my leg afterwards?
Usually a brown or bruised line along the treated vessel, which is the vessel being cleared by the body. It fades over weeks to a few months. Keeping the area out of the sun and wearing compression for a few days after treatment both shorten it noticeably.
Related
Often seen alongside this
Laser & Light
Laser Hair Reduction
The most reliably satisfying treatment in this building, provided the expectation is right: it is a permanent reduction rather than a permanent removal, and it takes a course spread across months.
Read more
Laser & Light
Laser Skin Resurfacing
Controlled removal of the surface of the skin so that it heals back smoother, or controlled heating beneath it without breaking the surface. The first works better; the second costs you nothing in downtime.
Read more
Laser & Light
IPL Photofacial
A broad flash of filtered light absorbed by brown patches and red vessels, which breaks them up so the body can clear them. Excellent for sun damage on lighter skin — and genuinely risky on richer skin.
Read moreA written plan and a written price before anything is booked
Book a consultation
Pick a clinician and an hour from the calendar — it shows only the times each of them genuinely has free. A consultation is a full hour at a table with no treatment couch in the room, and it costs $85, or $120 with the medical director. If you go ahead, that comes off your first treatment. If we tell you the answer is nothing, or a dermatologist, it costs exactly the same.