Freckles. Brown spots. Red veins. Sound familiar when you look in the mirror? You are not alone – as many as 70% of us suffer some sort of pigmentation or vascular skin disorder.
Whether they come in the form of freckles, age spots, broken capillaries or port wine stains, skin imperfections and discolouration can have a serious impact on self-esteem.
Vascular skin conditions are typically caused by broken or abnormal blood vessels in the skin. The dreaded rosacea is a common example of this, where the facial blood vessels dilate excessively and cause redness and flushing.
Similarly, pigmentation is also a common skin disorder, caused by dysfunctional melanin production. It can be triggered by a number of factors, including exposure to sunlight, hormonal changes, skin inflammation or injury, and genetics (thanks, mum!)
If you have a skin condition, the chances are you have already tried every trick in the book – including all the lotions and potions with lofty claims that they can whiten and brighten skin. The reality is that pigmentation and rosacea are frustratingly resistant to treatment.
Until now. Exciting new technologies are providing much promise in treating these traditionally hard-to-treat skin concerns.
Here we check out Excel V, which is shaping up to be the go-to treatment for pigmentation and vascular lesions.
What is it?
Excel V is a laser skin treatment that emits a pinpoint beam of light that helps eliminate pigmentation and vascular lesions (as well as smoothing and evening your complexion).
The laser, manufactured by Cutera, uses two laser wavelengths (532/1064nm) to treat just about every skin imperfection you can think of – from freckles, age spots and other forms of pigmentation to vascular concerns such as rosacea, small superficial “spider veins” (telangiectasia) on the face, leg veins, port wine-stain birthmarks and cherry angiomas.
Excel V can also treat more general cosmetic concerns such as superficial blemishes, discolouration or scars (bonus!)
How does it work?
Excel V works its magic by using a high power laser that is absorbed by abnormal blood vessels in the skin (for vascular lesions) and excess melanin in the skin (for pigmentation).
This laser heats and destroys the abnormal vessels or cells in the skin, achieving a more even skin tone and colour, and in some cases completely eradicating those pesky brown spots and vascular irregularities.
What should you expect?
No injections or topical anaesthesia are required and treatment is quick, taking around 30 minutes in most cases.
Excel V uses a cooling mechanism that delivers continuous cooling before, during and after each laser pulse, so treatment is quite comfortable.
Every skin condition is different, so the number of sessions varies depending on size, thickness and colour of the pigmentation or vascular lesion. But you should see significant improvement after just one treatment.
After the procedure, you can expect some temporary swelling of the treated skin and slight reddening. The best part? In experienced hands, the device has an excellent safety profile, there’s no downtime and all skin types can be treated.
It looks like pigmentation and vascular lesions have finally met their match!
