Capillaries

Capillaries are very tiny blood vessels that help connect your arteries and veins in addition to facilitating the exchange of certain elements between your blood and tissues. They occur when the capillary walls expand and contract too quickly, causing them to tear which results in blood to seep out. The capillaries on the face are small broken blood vessels that appear just below the surface of the skin. These appear on the face mainly through the cheeks, nose and chin areas. Most people can be affected from unwanted capillaries, they seems however more common in people with fair skin that also suffer from other skin conditions such as rosacea and sensitive skin.

What causes capillaries?

Exposure to free radicals such as sun exposure, excessive physical trauma, smoking and drinking can impair your and weaken your skin making it more susceptible to tearing. Once capillaries appear near the skin surface, they will not disappear on their own and potentially can worsen over time if left untreated.

Why Do Broken Capillaries Appear on the Face and Nose?

Broken capillaries can appear on the face for any number of reasons, including physical trauma, hereditary reasons, sun damage, ageing (integumentary  system thinning) or due to medical conditions. Broken capillaries are not to be confused with the visible capillaries that may appear as curvy red marks on the sides of the nose due to allergies or lots of nose blowing that represent capillaries under pressure.

Some of the most common reasons for broken capillaries include:

Genetics There are times when individuals are simply born with hereditary skin conditions that make them more susceptible to experience broken capillaries, due to having blood vessels that lay closer to the skin surface.

Sun Damage Broken blood vessels can also occur as a direct result of excessive sun exposure. The sun damage can extend to the region around the blood vessels as UV rays penetrate the skin, along with structures supporting the blood vessels, causing them to dilate permanently. Sun exposure over the years can weaken the elastin fibres and cause blood vessels to surface closer to the epidermis. Too much exposure to the sun hurts the blood vessels’ elasticity, particularly in areas such as the nose and cheeks that are often in the sun contributing to the likelihood of premature ageing.

Rosacea Skin conditions such as rosacea being another cause of broken capillaries. Rosacea is a skin condition that features a reddened face and at times includes spider veins, as the body tries to heal the perceived skin damage by inducing inflammation. With rosacea, the patient can experience a continual reddening of the face, so much so that the constant flushing can create dilated blood vessels.

Skin Trauma Physical trauma is another one of the common causes of tiny blood vessels breaking. A bruise or injury may cause capillaries to permanently dilate on the nose, chin, or cheeks, but so can certain facial treatments. Harsh microdermabrasion procedures experienced by people with sensitive skin or skin conditions that make them more apt to experience dilated capillaries may cause trauma. Likewise, popping pimples with too much force and excessive exfoliation can also break blood vessels.

Ageing Aging is another reason that broken blood vessels may happen, due to the weakening of the skin tissue as a person ages. Skin cells don’t turn over as rapidly, nor does collagen replace itself as quickly in older people, when compared to those with younger skin. As individuals age, they may find a reddish hue overtaking their nose area or cheeks.

Diet Certain foods and beverages that can cause swelling blood vessels, includes spicy foods, alcohol, or caffeine. Although those elements won’t create broken capillaries, they act as vasodilators that can make broken blood vessels appear more visible.

Weather Conditions Avoiding extremely hot weather, windburn, sun exposure, and extreme temperatures are just as important as treating the skin gently. If you can prepare for unforgiving weather conditions in advance, you will be less likely to experience the negative side effects that can accompany sunburns and high degrees of heat.