Leg Care and Vein Health, Too

Moisturize

The best way to get legs into swimsuit condition? Moisturize. “It’s not uncommon for legs to become very dry in the winter, particularly if you live in a cold climate where the air lacks moisture. Winter also dries out skin due to the heat in buildings,” says Susan Goodlerner, MD, clinical assistant professor of dermatology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. “When skin becomes very dry like this, it needs to be hydrated, so it’s important to moisturize daily. Do so after you get out of the shower when skin is still damp.”

Applying a moisturizer when skin is damp seals moisture into the skin, helping to slow water evaporation from the skin. Choose lotions with rich emollients (e.g., shea butter, almond, sunflower, safflower, and vitamin E oils) that can nourish and soften dry skin.

Exfoliate

For skin that is severely dry and flaky, choose lotions that contain an exfoliant. “Legs have fewer sebaceous glands (oil glands) than other parts of the body, so it’s not uncommon for them to become ‘lizard-like’ and extremely dry,” explains Dr. Goodlerner. “When this occurs, I recommend a moisturizer that can also remove the built-up layer of dry, dead skin cells. Moisturizers that contain lactic and glycolic acids work well.” If you prefer to exfoliate separately, look for ingredients like almond or rice meal, clay, sea salt, or fruit enzymes of papaya or pineapple.

Smooth

If hairless legs are a must for you, natural shaving creams, waxes, and sugar-based formulas can leave legs smooth. “Natural products don’t contain any artificial ingredients that can be detrimental to skin,” explains Karen Ress of Aubrey Organics. “Conventional shaving gels and foams, for example, invariably include soaps, alcohol, salts, dyes, and artificial colors or propellants that can rob your skin of moisture and contribute to the development of dry and irritated skin.”

Natural products also contain ingredients that can benefit skin. When choosing a shaving cream, look for botanicals including witch hazel, tea tree, and chamomile that can help nourish and soothe our largest organ—our skin.

For longer-lasting hair removal, wax and sugar formulas that pull hair out from its root can keep fuzz at bay for up to eight weeks. Sugar-based methods work like traditional wax techniques and are smoothed onto the surface of the skin. You then cover this sugary solution with a cloth strip. When the strip is pulled off, hair is removed from the root. Any excess sugar can be washed off with warm water. Natural sugar and wax formulas typically contain ingredients like chamomile, azulene oil, lavender, menthol, tea tree oil, and aloe vera to help prevent irritation.

For Healthy Veins

Approximately 80 million Americans show some degree of leg vein abnormality. While spider veins (the small dilated capillaries that appear as tiny red, blue, or purple lines on the surface of the skin) are not considered a serious medical condition, varicose veins (the thick, raised ropes that swell below the skin’s surface) may need treatment.

“Varicose veins can be just a cosmetic problem, but more often they can cause symptoms of heaviness, aching, warmth, and tiredness in the legs,” says Clark C. Otley, MD, chairman of the division of Dermatologic Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Edema or swelling and superficial blood clots (thrombophlebitis) can also occur.

Though most cases of varicose veins are hereditary, preventive methods are important. To alleviate and help prevent both spider and varicose veins, Dr. Otley recommends avoiding prolonged periods of standing without moving your legs. If you have to sit or stand for long periods, it’s wise to wear compression stockings. “Graduated compression stockings help push blood out of the veins by squeezing the blood from the foot up the leg and to the heart. This helps prevent blood from pooling in weakened veins,” he adds. Graduated compression stockings are heavy stockings available only by prescription. They are more effective than nonprescription support hose.

A healthy diet and weight management also help keep veins problem free. Consider activities like walking, biking, or running, which keep legs moving. Constipation can aggravate varicosities by putting pressure on veins, so it’s wise to consume foods like fruits and vegetables, flaxseeds, oat bran, apple pectin, and psyllium, which encourage bowel regularity.

Supplemental and Topical Support

Botanicals and supplements also have a lot to offer. “The actions of herbs like horse chestnut, butcher’s broom, yellow dock, and gota kola can be very helpful at alleviating and preventing varicose veins,” says Jennifer Nevels, ND, with A Woman’s Place for Natural Medicine in Scottsdale, Arizona. “They increase vein elasticity, reduce blood-vessel fragility, and stimulate circulation.”

“Published studies using horse chestnut consistently show alleviation of subjective symptoms of venous insufficiency such as pain, tiredness, tension, or heaviness in the legs,” adds Dr. Nevels. Pycnogenol, vitamin C, and bioflavonoids—notably rutin—are often helpful, too.

Topical applications of herbal preparations have also been shown to strengthen the integrity of veins. Look for leg creams that contain butcher’s broom, comfrey, horse chestnut, St. John’s wort, witch hazel, and yarrow to decrease inflammation and pain while supporting vein health.