There are many reasons why you may have stretch marks or thread veins.
Whether it’s simply in your genes, down to your lifestyle, growth spurts or weight fluctuations. Stretch marks and thread veins/spider veins are concerns many of us will have to deal with at some point or other and even those who appear to have perfect bodies cannot escape these imperfections.
If they are affecting your confidence, read on to check out our top tips for tackling stretch marks and spider veins.
1. Improve stretch marks with exercise & body brushing
Stretch marks can appear for a variety of reasons. For some, it could be weight gain or weight loss and quite often they are also seen post pregnancy. Whilst they are nothing to be ashamed of, for some people it can sometimes be a knock to your confidence, making you feel self-conscious about wearing certain items of clothing, for example. Often though, just by increasing your activity levels and toning up the skin in those areas affected, you will help stretch marks to appear less visible. We also like to recommend dry body brushing as a way of tightening the skin and making stretch marks less noticeable. Using a dry body brush daily helps the skin to produce more collagen and this helps to reduce the appearance of stretch marks.
2. Fake Tan is Your Best Friend
When it comes to disguising stretch marks and spider veins, using a good quality fake tanning product is always a good place to start. There are many products out there but we like to recommend Tan Cream. Tan Cream is not only a self tanner. It’s also an instant tan and SPF 50. And, as we like to promote sun safety all year round, we think it’s the best possible option for any fan of fake tanning. It will give you an instant glow whilst giving your skin the protection it needs at the same time. Having a tan is definetly an all round confidence booster and we can safely say that both stretch marks and thread veins are much less noticeable when you have a bit of colour on your skin!
3. Treat Stretch Marks With Medical Microneedling
If you decide that you would prefer to receive a treatment to help tackle your stretch marks then we recommend Medical Microneedling. Visibly rejuvenated skin can generally be seen just 6 to 8 days following a treatment. We recommend a course of 3 to 6 treatments for maximum benefits when addressing stretch marks. Microneedling causes thousands of tiny punctures under the skin and, in simple terms, this tricks the body into thinking there is an injury and extra collagen is therefore created. For additional collagen boosting powers we recommend combining Microneedling with Radio Frequency and, even PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma). All three therapies help to generate production of new collagen and elastin. They are all great when used separately but combining them together will super charge the collagen production and further improve your results.
4. Treat Spider Veins with IPL or Microsclerotherapy
IPL uses pulses of light to target skin concerns. It’s a safe and effective treatment for spider veins/thread veins on the body but also on the face too. The IPL treatment is a type of light therapy which utilises a range of wavelengths and, in the case of thread veins/spider veins, it targets the pigment in the blood vessels . Depending on the size, age and colour of your thread veins you may need 3 to 6 appointments for a noticeable difference.
Another option for treating spider veins (on the legs) is Microsclerotherapy. This is a medical treatment to be performed by a medical practitioner and it involves injecting a prescription medication called a ‘sclerosant’ into the veins which irritates the inner walls of the veins and causes them to become inflamed; the vein walls then stick together and the vein disappears. We generally recommend a course of 3 treatments for maximum effect.
5. Embrace your imperfections
I’m sure you will agree that other people are highly unlikely to notice your skin imperfections. We are so hard on ourselves at times and it’s often worth just taking a step back and asking yourself ‘does this actually really bother me?’ and if the answer is no, then leave it be! Chances are nobody else would ever even notice so learn to love yourself, and your imperfections, more. It is, of course, okay to want to treat stretch marks and spider veins, but try not to let the process get you down. Focus on the good things and the things you like most about yourself. Practise daily self-care and start learning to recognise the positives before the negatives.