What It Is

Rosacea is a very common skin condition and starts as redness in the center of the face, including the forehead, chin, nose, and cheeks. It occurs less frequently on the chest, ears, or neck area. Initially, rosacea will come and go. With time, the redness lasts longer and deepens. If left untreated, bumps and pimples start developing and the redness can become permanent. Visible blood vessels on the face can also cause permanent redness.
Rosacea is a chronic, auto-inflammatory skin condition that can be triggered with alcohol, stress, hot and spicy food, heat, and smoking. Although there is no cure for rosacea, it can be easily managed and redness can be minimized with the KTP or Broadband light (BBL) laser treatments.

How It’s Treated

Cutera Laser
The Cutera laser is one of the most powerful lasers available on the market and has been specially designed to treat prominent blood vessel accumulation on the surface of the skin. Furthermore, the Cutera laser can be used to target facial redness, broken capillaries, and red spots/dots (angiomas) in addition to rosacea. The Cutera laser works by gently stimulating the repair process in the skin after the light gets absorbed into the blood vessels close to the surface of the skin. Smaller blood vessels may disappear on contact with the laser but others may take up to 4 weeks to fully disappear. For lasting results, patients may require between 3 to 5 treatments. Fortunately, these follow up appointments can be completed with virtually no downtime or pain.

Broadband Light (BBL) Laser
Broadband light (BBL) lasers can also be an effective treatment option for patients suffering from rosacea and facial redness. This treatment uses heat and pulsed light to target and treat unwanted vessels and capillaries present on the face, neck, and chest that characterizes this condition. By targeting the blood pigment in the vessels, the wavelength of the laser will clot, shrink, and minimize them so that their appearance is reduced. As a result, you will experience a reduction in redness from the elimination of broken blood vessels and uneven colouration. Patients at The Centre For Dermatology describe this treatment to feel like a rubber band snapping on the skin, which is very tolerable and does not cause much discomfort. The results from the laser treatment are almost immediate, and the procedure time is relatively short.