Photo: Robert Trachtenberg

A: I had broken capillaries, too, and several years ago had them treated with a pulsed dye (V-beam) laser. It left dark purple squiggles on the treated areas (basically, both cheeks) for ten days. I looked, my concerned husband said, as if a glass had exploded on my face. Fortunately, today there are lasers that won't cause "purpura" (meaning they don't leave you temporarily looking like a Jackson Pollock painting). Of these, the newer V-beam and the KTP (Gemini) are the best choices, says Arielle Kauvar, MD, clinical professor of dermatology at NYU Langone Medical Center. They heat the blood vessels, which then collapse and disappear. Two to four treatments may be needed (at about $400 each).