Last year, I started a totally new beauty treatment – going a bit more invasive than I ever had before. I wrote all about why I decided to have laser thread vein treatment here and how I chose to go to Aspen Beauty in Stannington for it. Now I’ve had my first appointment, I thought I’d report back on what actually happened.
Choosing the laser sites
I have little thread veins all over my legs, but they are most prominent around my knees and the back of my legs. My therapist, Lorna, told me that even though I had light thread veins around my ankles and feet, the treatment would probably not be successful here. That’s because the skin on your ankles and feet is crepey and thin, and thread veins form here frequently because you’re constantly on your feet, causing small amounts of pressure points, which impacts your capillaries.
We picked three areas on my legs that I felt particularly self-conscious about – to the right of my knee, the back of my left thigh and the back of my right calf.
I have also been conscious about the redness of my nose and so wanted both sides of my nose doing as well. Lorna didn’t think the redness was that bad for me here, but I don’t feel comfortable without concealer on my nose, so I definitely wanted that doing as well!
Image courtesy of Aspen Beauty
What happened at the session?
The session room is bright and comfortable, although a little compact. Lorna asked me to take off my trousers (leaving my knickers on) and pop up on the bed – she left a towel for me to cover myself with.
Lorna talked me through the procedure, double checked the areas that we were doing and then handed me some black goggles that looked like tiny swimming goggles. She advised me these were to protect my eyes during the procedure, but to also keep my eyes shut underneath them. She gave me a couple of cotton pads to put underneath so the goggles didn’t dig into my skin.
The treatment started with cool jelly being applied thickly to the areas I wanted lasered. It’s a bit like ultrasound jelly (if you’ve ever had one of those). It isn’t sticky and rubs off easily.
Lorna then put her protective goggles on and turned the laser machine on. It’s a large machine, with a small handheld device that emits the laser. I was warned that it would feel a bit like being pinged with an elastic band and that each area would be gone over twice.
Does it hurt?
I was a little nervous about the pain, but I have got a few tattoos, so figured I’d be able to handle it! The first laser over my legs wasn’t too bad – it is like a sharp, stinging sensation, but it’s over as soon as the laser stops firing.
Each area on my legs took probably three fires of the laser to cover once, and I had each area gone over twice. The second time wasn’t as pleasant – maybe because my body knew what was coming then! The three areas on my legs were over in a matter of minutes and then it was onto my nose.
What was it like on my face?
Whilst I could handle the pain, and knew what was coming because of my legs, I found the face laser quite uncomfortable. I was wearing goggles to protect my eyes, so even though Lorna warned me when she was going to fire the laser, I still jumped every time because I couldn’t see what was coming.
Again, each side of my nose took about three fires of the laser to cover once and each side was gone over twice.
By the time I’d had my legs and my nose done, I was glad it was over, although I was in no lasting pain.
Pre-treatment thread veins
Did I see an improvement?
This is a tricky question to answer. I only had one session, and Lorna told me that I might not see huge results after just one. Immediately, there was a noticeable reduction in the depth of colour of the veins – they looked paler and less red.
The plan was for me to have at least four sessions and then see how much they had changed by the end, but then I fell pregnant! You are not recommended to carry on with the treatment when pregnant, so unfortunately I can’t deliver a complete review.
Would I do it again?
If I hadn’t become pregnant, absolutely!! The pain was a little uncomfortable, but not enough to put me off and I was definitely intrigued to see what would change. Who knows how my body will change as it grows to accommodate a baby, so I don’t know whether this is something I will pick up again in the future, but if it’s something you’re thinking about, I think Aspen Beauty are a great place to pick. It’s a small salon, but with friendly, knowledgeable staff. The rates are very reasonable and they can be really flexible.
♥ JH
Disclaimer: I was provided my thread vein treatment at a 50% discount, but all decisions to have the treatment and reviews of it are, of course, my own.
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