How To Cover Spider Veins or Varicose Veins on Legs

Unsightly veins on the legs (known as "spider veins") can be camouflaged with long-lasting body makeup specially formulated to cover tattoos, spider veins, scars, stretch marks and bruises.

You'll want to choose a concealer that matches the color of the skin on your legs (this will likely be different from your face). Once applied, body makeup should be set with a powder so it won't come off on your clothes.

My hands-down favorite body makeup is Dermablend Leg and Body Cover. It can be purchased at Macy's, Dillard's, nice drugstores that specialize in skincare or online here. Not sure where to find it? Check out their store locator.

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How To Diminish Spider Veins

There is a common myth that vitamin K pills, creams and lotions diminish spider veins. The rumor stems from the fact that vitamin K has been long associated with blood clotting. Taken orally, vitamin K can cause blood clots, stopping the flow of blood through a vein or capillary and thereby making it disappear. This works with healthy veins as well, posing definite health risks. Although reviews are mixed on the effectiveness of vitamin K, most experts agree that applying vitamin K to the skin, will do very little to clot blood and minimize spider veins.

To help prevent spider veins, maintain average body weight. Exercise -- especially walking -- also helps circulation and contraction of the muscles. Wear flat or low-heeled shoes and don't use body shapers (updated girdles) that restrict blood circulation. Consult your doctor about support stockings; they can be helpful, but they must fit properly or the constriction will be detrimental.

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Does Laser Treatment Help Spider Veins?

Laser treatment is often used on spider veins when blood vessels are too small for sclerotherapy needles. By responding to color, laser light is sensitive enough to detect and treat these areas. Laser treatment is noninvasive; it feels like being snapped with a rubber band. Those with light skin and dark purple veins are likely to see the best results. Laser treatment is a relatively new and constantly changing technology for spider veins, and although many women are anxious to try it, there is no guarantee that it is completely effective.

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Defining Spider Veins

Spider veins are red and purple blood vessels that occur in patches on the legs and face. The network of vessels is often as delicate as a spider's web, which is how they get their name, but the patches also resemble tiny sunbursts, branching trees or just plain old lines.

Spider veins and varicose veins are not the same -- and one does not lead to the other. Whereas varicose veins are large, swollen and occur singularly on the legs, spider veins are delicate and tend to be come in cliques. They are, however, caused by similar factors.

Exactly what happens in the body to produce spider veins isn't known for sure, though there are several theories that address possible causes. One theory is that spider veins, which occur near the surface of the skin, are fed by underlying varicose veins too small or embedded too deeply to reach the skin surface. These underlying veins disrupt circulation, causing spider veins to grow above them. Another theory is that spider veins are little arteries that have latched on to the network of veins nearest the skin surface. Because arteries are highly pressurized and the surface veins have low pressure, the combination of the arterial blood (oxygenated blood flowing to the heart) with the venal blood (deoxygenated blood flowing away from the heart) causes spider veins to be visible.

Spider veins do not pose a health threat. Though they can cause aching and discomfort, spider veins are primarily a cosmetic problem.

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Sclerotherapy Treatment

Sclerotherapy is the most common and, to date, most effective way to get rid of spider veins. A saline solution is injected into a vein, causing it to swell, collapse and then disappear. When blood can't flow, the vein loses its purple color, turns to scar tissue and eventually fades away entirely. Because blood flow shifts to other healthy veins, sclerotherapy actually improves circulation in the legs. The saline injections are often followed by a mild burning sensation and, occasionally, muscle cramping near the site of injection, especially around the ankles. The cramping usually subsides within a few minutes. The site will look swollen and needle marks will show, but these symptoms clear up within two weeks.

Depending on the size, shape and network of your spider veins, a series of three to ten treatments is usually required. Unfortunately, the treatment is not always permanent; about one-third of all women develop spider veins again.

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Are You At Risk For Spider Veins?

Women develop spider veins nearly four times as frequently as men. In fact, about 70 percent of adult women are afflicted with spider veins at some time in their lives. Some women are at greater risk due to heredity factors; others are predisposed to spider veins because of lifestyle. Women who are pregnant or use oral contraceptives are at risk, as are women who experience an increase in estrogen, which is said to weaken the vein wall. Overweight women are prone to this condition because they are more likely to develop circulatory problems, diabetes and heart disease, all of which hinder the flow of blood from the veins to the heart. Standing for prolonged periods of time increases the risk since it's harder for veins to fight gravity in carrying blood to the heart. Those who wear high-heeled shoes can stress leg veins by forcing calf muscle into prolonged contraction.

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Diminish Spider Veins

There is a common myth that vitamin K pills, creams and lotions diminish spider veins. The rumor stems from the fact that vitamin K has been long associated with blood clotting. Taken orally, vitamin K can cause blood clots, stopping the flow of blood through a vein or capillary and thereby making it disappear. This works with healthy veins as well, posing definite health risks. Although reviews are mixed on the effectiveness of vitamin K, most experts agree that applying vitamin K to the skin, will do very little to clot blood and minimize spider veins.

To help prevent spider veins, maintain average body weight. Exercise -- especially walking -- also helps circulation and contraction of the muscles. Wear flat or low-heeled shoes and don't use body shapers (updated girdles) that restrict blood circulation. Consult your doctor about support stockings; they can be helpful, but they must fit properly or the constriction will be detrimental.

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Remove Your Spider Veins

One of the most common side effects of sun-damaged skin are the tiny, burst capillaries that crop up on and around the nose. These spider veins are harmless, but visible enough to bother many women who have them. The good news: You can have them removed in one or two laser treatments in a dermatologist's office.

Cosmetic and laser dermatologist Dr. Melanie Grossman says the procedure only takes a few minutes and can be easily squeezed into a lunch hour. (She says you may want to carve out time to stay in the office to apply an ice pack to keep swelling down.) But swelling isn't a huge problem; she's treated patients who have been on TV the same afternoon they've been zapped!

In the course of a treatment the dermatologist will apply the laser directly to the capillary, which destroys the lining of the tiny vein. Your body will absorb what's left, and the capillary disappears from the surface of your skin. For the most part the procedure doesn't hurt....much. "It's like a moment of discomfort, a flicker," says Dr. Grossman. "Some people say it feels like a rubber band snap."

If you opt for laser vein removal, she says, make sure you see a dermatologist who is an expert in the procedure. It's probably no surprise, says Dr. Grossman, that the more experience the doctor has, the better he or she will be at using the laser to effectively remove veins. Also, start saving your pennies. Individual treatments can cost between $300 to $1,000 depending on where you are.

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