The 1064nm Long Pulsed Nd:YAG (neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet) is the laser we reach for when there's a visible vessel or a little red spot you want erased. Its light slips past the surface of your skin and is absorbed by the blood inside the vessel — that energy turns to heat, the vessel wall coagulates, seals shut, and your body quietly clears it away over the following weeks. Because it targets blood and barely touches the skin's own pigment, it's gentler on the skin around the vessel than most vascular lasers. Two honest things up front: it's built for small, discrete vessels and red lesions, not large bulging veins — for leg veins it can't reach, we use sclerotherapy instead — and facial spots often clear in a single treatment while leg veins take patience and a series. Every treatment is performed by a licensed registered nurse (RN) or nurse practitioner (NP).
What if that broken capillary on your nose, or the red dot on your cheek,
wasn't something you covered up — but something you could simply be rid of?
A visible vessel is just blood sitting in a channel close enough to the surface to see. The 1064nm Nd:YAG fires a wavelength that passes cleanly through the outer layer of your skin and is absorbed by the hemoglobin — the red pigment in that blood — far more than by the skin around it. The light becomes heat, the heat coagulates the blood and damages the vessel wall, and the vessel collapses and seals shut. From there your body does the rest: the sealed vessel is broken down and reabsorbed by your lymphatic system over the following weeks, and the redness fades. Think of pinching a drinking straw shut and the liquid inside slowly draining away — the channel is closed, so there's nothing left to see.
The YAG fires pulses at 1064nm — a wavelength hemoglobin, the red pigment in blood, absorbs far more readily than the skin around it. Because that long wavelength passes through the surface instead of being soaked up by it, the energy travels down to the vessel and leaves the top of your skin largely untouched. That's also why it's one of the safest vascular lasers for deeper vessels and for medium and olive skin that shorter-wavelength lasers struggle with.
The absorbed light becomes heat right inside the vessel. That heat coagulates the blood and injures the vessel wall — enough to make the walls collapse inward and seal the channel shut, like cauterizing it from the inside. A cooled handpiece chills the surface so the heat stays where we want it: in the vessel, not on your skin. A faint "cat-scratch" line right after is completely normal.
A sealed vessel has no blood moving through it, so there's nothing left to make it visible. Over the following days to weeks your body's lymphatic system breaks the closed vessel down and reabsorbs it, and the redness fades. Facial vessels and red spots often clear after a single session; deeper or stubborn ones — especially on the legs — need a series, because the body clears them gradually.
This is the single most important thing to understand before you book, and most ads won't say it plainly: this laser works by heating the blood inside a vessel small enough for the energy to seal completely. Fine, discrete vessels and little red lesions are its sweet spot — they often vanish fast. But large, raised, ropey varicose veins are a different problem the laser can't safely close — and that's exactly where our other vein tool, sclerotherapy, takes over. We'd rather match you to the right tool than sell you laser sessions that physically can't deliver.
Two honest notes. First: this laser loves a vessel it can trace — a single broken capillary, a defined red spot. Diffuse, "matted," all-over facial redness responds far less predictably, and we may steer you toward intense pulsed light (IPL) for that instead. Second, on skin tone: because the YAG targets blood and barely touches pigment, it's gentle on the skin around the vessel and handles a wider range of tones than most vascular lasers. We offer this treatment for Fitzpatrick skin types I through IV — if your skin falls outside that range, we'll tell you upfront at your free consult and point you to the right provider for it.
The same handpiece treats both, but the plan changes completely depending on where the vessel lives. Facial vessels sit close to the surface and clear quickly. Leg veins are deeper, under more pressure from gravity, and far more patient about giving up — so we use more energy, space sessions further apart, and set honest expectations about a series.
Vessels on the face and small red lesions are close to the surface, so a lower energy seals them cleanly. Telangiectasia, broken capillaries, cherry and spider angiomas — these are the bread and butter, and they frequently clear in a single session. If anything lingers, we retreat at four to six weeks. This is the dramatic, satisfying side of the treatment.
Leg veins are deeper and sit under constant pressure from gravity, so with the laser they need more energy and more patience — and the laser only handles small spider veins up to about 3mm, never large bulging ones. Honestly, for many leg veins we reach for sclerotherapy first. When we do use the laser on legs, we space sessions eight to twelve weeks apart, recommend compression afterward, and are clear that the further down the leg a vessel lives, the more stubborn it is. Plan on a series.
From a single broken capillary on the nose to a scatter of cherry angiomas to fine spider veins on the legs, the YAG handles a wide range of visible vessels and vascular lesions. Pick one — we'll tell you straight how we'd handle it and what to expect.
Here's what sets the 1064nm YAG apart: because its long wavelength passes through the surface and locks onto blood instead of skin pigment, it's one of the gentlest vascular lasers on the skin's own pigment — it safely handles a wider range of tones than the short-wavelength lasers and IPL, which get risky on medium and olive skin. Two honest notes. We offer this treatment for Fitzpatrick types I through IV; for types V and VI, we'll refer you to a provider who treats those tones. And for everyone we do treat, the bigger question isn't your skin tone — it's the kind of vessel you have. Answer six quick questions for an estimate; we always confirm it in person.
Most people walk out and go straight back to their day — a single small area takes fifteen minutes or less, and there's essentially no recovery. What takes patience isn't downtime, it's clearance: the laser seals the vessel during your visit, but your body needs days to weeks to break it down and reabsorb it. Facial vessels often clear after one session; leg veins are slower and need a series. Tap through to see how it actually unfolds.
A single area takes only 10–15 minutes. The care around it — your prep, the right settings for your skin and vessel, the cooling, the eyewear, the after-plan — is what makes it safe and gets you the result. Here's exactly what a Long Pulsed YAG laser session at Brains & Beauty looks like. A sclerotherapy visit runs a little differently, and we'll walk you through that at your consult.
For about a week beforehand, stop anything that thins the blood — aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen, fish oil, and similar supplements — since they make bruising more likely. One important exception: if a blood thinner is prescribed by your doctor, do not stop it on your own; tell us and we'll coordinate. Stay out of the sun and off self-tanner for about four weeks, and if we're treating your legs, bring a pair of shorts. Come in with clean skin — no makeup or lotion on the area.
Everyone in the room wears 1064nm-rated eyewear. We apply a thin layer of gel, confirm your settings, and trace the vessel we're treating. We start at a low energy and step it up until we see the vessel respond, keeping the handpiece in gentle contact without pressing — pressure empties the vessel and gives the laser nothing to target. Most people compare the feeling to the snap of a rubber band; we cool between pulses and pace to your comfort. We watch your skin closely the entire time and stop the instant it tells us to.
Before you head out, we walk you through your aftercare. Use cold packs for any redness or swelling and wear sunscreen with SPF (sun protection factor) daily. For legs, wear compression for three to five days — longer is better. For two to three days skip the gym and anything that makes you flush: hot showers, hot tubs, saunas, spicy food, and alcohol; avoid over-the-counter blood thinners like aspirin, NSAIDs, and fish oil for five days. Don't pick any scab that forms — that's how scarring happens. Treated vessels darken and fade over days to weeks; let them.
This clears existing vessels — it doesn't stop new ones from forming. Facial spots and small vessels often vanish after a single treatment, but a general recommendation is a series of around three, and leg veins almost always need several sessions spaced eight to twelve weeks apart. Even after a perfect result, the things that made the vessel in the first place — sun damage, rosacea, genetics, hormones, pressure on the legs — keep working, so new vessels can appear over time and occasional maintenance is normal. Some vessels also respond faster than others, and the further down the leg they sit, the more stubborn they are. Do the recommended series, keep your spacing, protect against the sun, and that consistency is what separates a great result from a frustrating one.
Treating a vessel looks simple on a menu, but doing it safely — and being honest about which veins a laser physically can't close — takes a real clinician. Every patient is medically screened before we book a thing: we review your skin type, the type and size of your vessel, your medications and any blood thinners, your sun and tanning history, and your bleeding and clotting history to confirm you're a safe candidate. The treatment itself is performed by a licensed clinician on our medical team, who sets the energy, pulse, and cooling to your skin and starts conservatively. We'd rather lose a sale than treat a vein with the wrong tool. If your leg veins are better suited to sclerotherapy, we'll tell you — and we do that here. If they're large, ropey, or symptomatic, that's beyond what we treat and we'll point you to a vascular specialist. And if IPL or another tool fits better, we'll say so.
Every patient is screened for safety first — skin type, vessel type and size, medications and blood thinners, sun history, and clotting and bleeding factors — before a single pulse.
We begin at the lowest effective energy and step up only until the vessel responds, cooling throughout and stopping the moment your skin signals we should — that's how the YAG stays safe across tones.
Your skin tone and the vessel's size and depth set the energy, the pulse length, the spot size, and the cooling. We never run one template across every face, every leg, and every lesion.
If your vein is better treated by sclerotherapy, or it's large enough to need a vascular specialist, we'll tell you — and get you to the right place, here or elsewhere. Honest guidance beats a package you'll regret.
The area and number of vessels set the price — a single red spot or a small patch on the face sits at the low end, while broader work or legs runs higher. Most facial spots and small vessels are one-and-done, so we price by the visit, not by a package you don't need.
No marketing-speak. The real questions, with the real answers, from people considering Long Pulsed YAG for visible vessels and red spots.
We'll look at your skin and your vessel, confirm whether the YAG is the right tool, map out how many sessions you'll really need, and answer every question.
Book Now →The information on this page is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Long Pulsed 1064nm Nd:YAG treats small, discrete vessels and vascular lesions; it is not a treatment for large, raised, ropey, or symptomatic varicose veins, which usually indicate a deeper venous problem and are referred to a vascular specialist. We treat Fitzpatrick skin types I–IV; if your skin falls outside that range we will tell you at consult and refer you appropriately. Sealed vessels are cleared permanently, but treatment does not prevent new vessels from forming, and periodic maintenance is expected. Facial vessels may clear in one session while leg veins typically require a series spaced weeks apart. Risks include but are not limited to redness, swelling, bruising, scabbing, temporary or lasting pigment change (more likely in darker skin tones), and rarely blistering or scarring. Treatment is not performed during pregnancy or nursing, on recently tanned or sun-exposed skin, or within twelve months of isotretinoin (Accutane); additional conditions are screened at consult. Candidacy, treatment plans, session counts, and expected outcomes vary by individual and are determined only after an in-person clinical evaluation; individual results vary and no specific outcome is guaranteed. Pricing shown reflects typical ranges and is confirmed at your consult. The interactive tools and quizzes on this page are for general guidance only, do not constitute a medical determination, and no responses are stored. A full list of risks, benefits, and alternatives will be reviewed with you and documented via informed consent prior to any treatment. If you experience a severe or unexpected reaction following any treatment, seek immediate medical care or call 911. This page does not replace a consultation with a licensed medical professional. All treatments at Brains & Beauty Aesthetics are performed or supervised by licensed medical professionals in accordance with Arizona state law and the Arizona State Board of Nursing standards of practice.