It was just about a year ago that Leah first came to see me. "Can you help me Dr. Perricone?" asked Leah, an extremely attractive brunette in her mid-thirties. "I am embarrassed to admit it, but the backs of my legs look they have tiny roadmaps tattooed on them. It’s not so bad in the winter, when I can wear slacks, but now that the summer is here I want to be able to put on a pair of shorts and feel good about the way I look," Leah confessed.

Leah suffered from a relatively common complaint among my adult female patients—a condition typically referred to as "spider veins." In fact, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, it's estimated that at least half of the adult female population is plagued with this common cosmetic problem. Spider veins may appear as early as the teen years or not until we are past 40. Men can also suffer from spider veins, but their thicker skin offers more protection from these pesky little broken capillaries, whose scientific name is telangiectasia. And while they do not pose a health threat the way that varicose veins can, spider veins can be unsightly because these tiny, delicate veins lie so close to the surface of the skin.

There are a number of factors that contribute to spider veins, including hormonal changes, pregnancy, weight gain, sun exposure, occupations that require long periods of standing—even heredity. They can appear on the face, especially in the cheek and nose area, and on the thighs, calves, and ankles.