How to Get Rid of Cherry Angiomas at Home

Cherry angiomas can be removed at home with a plasma pen. It's the only at-home method that reaches the dilated capillaries under the skin. Each spot takes about five minutes: numb, treat, scab. The scab falls off within a week and the skin renews clear over two to three weeks. Topical creams don't work because the pigment isn't on the surface.

For the full picture on what cherry angiomas are and how to tell them apart from look-alikes, see our complete guide to cherry angiomas. This article is the how-to.

What at-home removal actually involves

At-home removal of a cherry angioma uses a plasma pen, a small handheld device that delivers plasma energy to the surface of the spot. The energy works on the lesion directly. The treated area then forms a protective scab, and as your skin goes through its natural renewal cycle that scab lifts away on its own.

It is not a cream, and it is not instant. It is a short, precise treatment followed by a normal healing window. The OcuraLife Plasma Pen is built for exactly this, with adjustable settings and single-use tips, and it comes with a manual that walks through the specifics for your device.

Step by step: doing it correctly

The exact settings depend on your device, so the manual is your reference for those. The method itself is straightforward.

First, clean the area with a gentle cleanser and let it dry fully. Second, if you want to, apply a numbing cream and give it time to work. Third, set the device as the manual directs for a small surface lesion, and start conservative. Fourth, treat the spot with brief, precise contact, following the device instructions rather than pressing harder or longer to rush it. Fifth, stop once the spot is treated and move to aftercare.

The whole thing is usually about five minutes for a single spot. Patience beats force here. Going slow and following the manual is what gives a clean result.

Aftercare, and the healing timeline

Aftercare is simple and it is not optional. Keep the treated spot clean and dry. Do not pick the scab, because picking is the main cause of marks and slow healing. Protect the area from the sun while it heals, since new skin burns easily.

The timeline is predictable. A small scab forms almost right away. Over about three to seven days it does its job and falls off on its own. By roughly two to three weeks, the skin in that spot has renewed and looks clear. If you have several cherry angiomas, treating them in sessions rather than all at once keeps aftercare manageable.

When NOT to do this yourself

Do not treat a spot at home if you are not certain it is a cherry angioma. That is the whole rule, and it matters.

Skip the at-home route and see a dermatologist if the spot bleeds on its own, is growing or changing, has changed color, has an uneven border, or simply does not match your other red dots. Also skip it for any pigmented brown or black spot, which is a different kind of growth entirely and belongs with a professional. There is no rush that justifies treating something you have not identified.

For the full identification breakdown, the cherry angioma overview also covers how clinicians distinguish them from other vascular lesions.

Related questions

For why these spots appear in the first place, and why several appear at once, see the related cluster article. For a side-by-side comparison of at-home removal options, see the buyer guide. For the full overview including how cherry angiomas differ from blood blisters, petechiae, and spider angiomas, see the complete cherry angioma guide.

The short version: identify first, treat second, aftercare third. Done in that order, the device does what it is built to do.