Spider veins are groups of tiny blood vessels on the surface of your skin, named for their obvious similarity to a spider weaving its web – across a part of your body, unfortunately. Whether they appear on your legs or face, spider veins tend to get worse over time, so it’s best to treat them professionally with one of the minimally invasive techniques – laser therapy or sclerotherapy – and the sooner the better. If you decided that you still have time for a medical procedure, we have some helpful tips on how to slow down the progression and maybe even prevent the development of spider veins.

Healthy lifestyle

I know this sounds extremely general, but without a healthy diet, proper hydration and regular exercise, your body will suffer and your skin will be more prone to developing spider veins. Physical workout helps strengthen deep muscles which you need to preserve healthy vein valves and proper blood flow. Be careful though, physical exercise that is too strenuous, such as weight lifting or tennis playing can do more damage than good. How about you try some yoga, swimming or walking?

Hydration

Water is your elixir of youth – and a great prevention of spider veins. Hydration is important and a proper daily amount of fluids differs depending on many factors: your size and weight, weather, temperature, your diet, physical activity. Naturally, you should drink more water during hot summer days than winter time. If you are eating lots of fruit and vegetables, you are already consuming a great amount of water in these foods, whereas diets heavy in meat, salt and spices require more water consumption to balance those foods out. Caffeine has a dehydrating effect, so if you are a coffee or black tea lover, don’t forget to hydrate your body with even more water. You might need the bathroom a lot, but your skin will thank you. On average, a man should drink about 3 liters of water a day (about 12 cups), and a woman about 2.2 liters a day (about 9 cups).

Avoid prolonged sun exposure

I know, everybody looks better with a little bit of suntan, but try not to overdo it. Your skin goes through a natural aging process as you grow old and ultraviolet rays make this process much faster, not to mention the risk of skin cancer. Do yourself a favor and find another way of getting a darker skin – use bronzing cream or have your suntan sprayed!