Show Off those Perfect Legs

Once again summer has arrived, and we’re all starting to worry about having the perfect body.  But your legs, especially, are important because in order to wear skirts, shorts, and even a bathing suit, you’ll need to have these precious extremities in shape.  The problem, however, is that they aren’t always in shape.  You may experience things like cellulite, droopy skin, and varicose veins that make your legs completely lose their attractiveness.

But not all is lost.  Below we are going to give you a few tips for showing off perfect legs for this, and every summer:

Cellulite

Cellulite is terrible and nobody likes it.  Some people call it cottage cheese skin, and it generally appears unfortunately on the glutes and legs.  It’s caused not only by heredity, but also by consuming drinks like alcohol, coffee, sodas, cigarettes, etc.

It’s difficult to completely rid oneself of this nightmare, but not everything ends badly.  There are certain natural alternatives that will help in the process of fighting and reducing cellulite, like:

• Drinking two liters of water a day.
• Walking at least 30 minutes a day at a brisk pace.
• There are also reduction massages available, but these are contraindicated for individuals with varicose veins, as it could be dangerous.  For this reason, they are not always recommended.
• Using specialized creams and ointments, preferably homemade, like those that are provided below.

Homemade cream for fighting cellulite:

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 c. prepared coffee grounds
• 1/2 c. sea salt or sugar

Directions:

• Mix the sugar with the coffee
• Add the oil and mix entirely
• Add the honey if you choose to add it.  This is an optional ingredient
• While showering, clean your skin well and then apply the homemade cream on the areas that you have cellulite.  Give yourself a gentle massage, moving in circular movements.  Do not let the water run while you’re applying the cream.
• Rinse all the areas of your body that you’ve applied the cream, with warm water, to wash off anything that could still remain on your skin.
• Slowly dry your skin by gently dabbing a clean towel.

In order to get completely satisfactory results, you need to apply this homemade cream at least two or three times a week.  This will give you fantastic results.

Droopy skin

This problem is easily resolved with a bit of effort and dedication.  Sometimes people confuse this for cellulite, but the difference is that droopy, or flaccid skin, is much easier to skin rid of, because all you need to do is tone and strengthen the muscle.

A few tips for fighting droopy skin are:

• Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, either at the gym or by walking.
• Do squats, or go up and down the stairs (the most important thing is that you increase the amount you do each week.  This is painful, but it’s worth it).
• Go on bike rides, this exercise is great for toning the legs.
• Eating citrus fruit helps burn fat and avoid droopy skin.
• Consume antioxidant foods.
• Avoid alcohol and tobacco.
• A lot of sun exposure weakens skin collagen, which causes skin to lose firmness and moisture.
• Try to take cold showers after exercising, which will help tone your skin.

Varicose veins

These appear because of circulatory problems that could occur even early in age, and they are generally hereditary.  They become problematic with they start to get bigger, and look unpleasant.  These could cause serious complications.

A few tips for reducing the risk, and size, of varicose veins are:

• Try not to wear too many tight clothes, as these impede correct blood flow.
• Standing for a long time could lead to varicose veins.  If you need to stand for a long time, it’s best to be moving, and try to rest every once in a while.
• A balanced diet with healthy amounts of fiber and good, long walks for exercise, activate circulation and prevent the appearance of varicose veins.
• Every day, elevate your legs for at least 10 minutes.  This will decongest your veins and will help the blood circulate a lot better.  Do this preferably at night.
• Dip your legs in a bowl of water with one cup of apple cider vinegar and a handful of thick salt.  This will activate circulation, calm pain, reduce inflammation, and it will make your legs feel less heavy because of the varicose veins.

Stretch marks

These are caused by skin that has been stretched, either by weight loss or weight gain, or if you become pregnant, the skin that gets stretched will often times produce these marks.

Skin elasticity changes from person to person.  Although stretch marks generally are quite small, almost everyone has them, especially women.  The key for preventing or reducing them is to keep your skin moisturized.  There are a lot of oils and butters that can be used on your stretch marks.

• Rose hip oil or almond oil, applied after the shower with a circular massage on clean skin.
• Mix the almond oil with avocado, massage the affected area and let set for 40 minutes.
• Grape seed oil, applied to a cotton ball, preferably at night before going to bed so that it works overnight.

For reducing stretch marks…

• 1 grated carrot
• Water
• Almond oil

Grate a carrot and add a bit of water to it; squeeze it to remove any of the excess juice, then strain.  Mix the liquid with almond oil and rub over the affected area every night before going to bed.  This type of balm softens the marks, and prevents them from getting worse, while the avocado makes them darker so that you can’t see them as well.

So now you know that having beautiful legs is not so difficult.  All you need to do is dedicate a bit of time each day, take care of your legs, stay in shape, eat well.  It doesn’t matter if your legs are long, thin, thick, etc., all that matters is that you keep them in shape, take care of them, and they will be perfect for summer.

Revised by: Dra. Loredana Lunadei on 03/15/2017

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