Cherry Angiomas
Those tiny bright red dots that arrived in your thirties and quietly multiplied are usually benign, and at our Berkhamsted clinic most are treated in a single appointment. Body lesions go with the plasma pen, facial ones with the vascular laser, which leaves nothing to hide on a visible area.
At a glance
- Appearance Bright red, small, slightly raised
- Benign Yes
- Removal Plasma pen or vascular laser
- Sessions Usually one
What it is and why it happens
Cherry angiomas are the small bright red or purple domes, a millimetre or two across, that settle on the chest, trunk, arms and back from around thirty onwards and quietly multiply over the years. Each one is a little cluster of dilated capillaries, typically benign, and having twenty where you once had two is simply what they do. They run in families, and they have nothing to do with diet, liver health or toxins, whatever the wellness corners of the internet suggest.
Most people want them gone for one of two reasons: they catch and bleed with surprising enthusiasm for their size, being made of blood vessels, or they have landed somewhere visible. Both are good reasons, and both are straightforward to deal with at our Berkhamsted clinic. Body lesions go with the plasma pen and facial ones with the vascular laser, which collapses the vessel without breaking the skin.
Treatments that address it
| Plasma Pen Removal Vaporises the lesion without cutting, and a small crust flakes away over five to seven days. Priced by number, so several can go in one visit. From £180 for one to three. | Vascular Laser Energy absorbed by the haemoglobin collapses the vessel without breaking the skin, so facial lesions heal with nothing to hide. From £160. | |
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| £180 | £160 | |
| Explore Plasma Pen Removal | Explore Vascular Laser |
- £180
- £160
Compared side by side
How we assess and treat
Every lesion is looked at with a dermatoscope before anything is treated, which takes a moment and tells us a great deal. Anna Stenekova and the skin therapists check colour, border and surface, so what is removed is exactly what we think it is, and your clinician talks you through anything that deserves a closer look before a plan is made.
Then it is about matching the method to the site. On the trunk, chest and arms the plasma pen vaporises each lesion in seconds, priced by number so several can go in one visit, with a small crust that flakes away over five to seven days. On the face the vascular laser is the elegant option: the energy is absorbed by the haemoglobin in the vessel, which collapses without the skin being broken, so nothing crusts on the cheek for a week. Most people need a single session. Your clinician covers suitability, timing and aftercare at your consultation, and the team is a phone call away afterwards.
Can you treat it at home?
There is nothing to do at home, and one thing worth saying plainly: please do not try to remove one yourself. They are made of blood vessels and bleed a great deal for their size, and the home remedies circulating online tend to leave infection and a scar where there was once a tiny red dot.
Nothing prevents them either. They are genetic and age related, so no diet, supplement or cream changes how many appear, and the links drawn between cherry angiomas and liver problems or toxin build-up have no evidence behind them. They are not a health warning, just a feature of skin that has lived a little, and one that is very easy to tidy away when you decide you would rather not have them.
Meet our team of experts
Lesion removal at our Berkhamsted clinic is carried out by Anna Stenekova and the skin therapists, with Kay Greveson or Dr Grace Adamson on hand for anything injectable.
Frequently Asked Questions
They are typically benign clusters of dilated capillaries, and every lesion is checked with a dermatoscope before treatment so you know exactly what is being removed.
They are genetic and age related, appearing from around thirty and increasing in number with the years. They have nothing to do with diet, liver problems or toxins, whatever you may have read online.
That is the normal pattern. Numbers increase with age, and having twenty where you once had two is simply what they do rather than a sign of anything.
The plasma pen for body lesions, or the vascular laser at our Berkhamsted clinic for facial ones, which collapses the vessel without breaking the skin. Usually one session.
From £180 for one to three by plasma pen, rising by number, and the vascular laser from £160 for a half face at our Berkhamsted clinic.
Uncommon. A small crust flakes away over five to seven days and the site stays pink for a few weeks before fading. Leaving the crust to come away on its own is the single best thing you can do for the finish.
Removed ones do not. New ones appear elsewhere over the years because the tendency continues, and those can be tidied away in the same way whenever you like.
Please do not. They are made of blood vessels and bleed a great deal for their size, and home removal tends to leave infection and a scar where there was once a tiny red dot.
No. That claim circulates widely in wellness content and has no evidence behind it.
Yes, that is the usual way. Plasma pen removal is priced by number, so a scattering across the chest goes in one visit, and facial lesions can be lasered in the same appointment.
Let the crust flake away in its own time over five to seven days, since picking is the main cause of a lasting mark, and keep sunscreen on the site while it is pink. Your clinician covers suitability, timing and aftercare at your consultation, and the team is a phone call away afterwards.
Anna Stenekova and the skin therapists at our Berkhamsted clinic, with Kay Greveson or Dr Grace Adamson on hand for anything injectable.
113 High Street, Berkhamsted HP4 2DJ, a short walk from the station and a short drive from Tring, Hemel Hempstead, Chesham and Amersham.