Three Things Best Done Before Spring (Or, Lazerpaloozza) : Lucky Magazine

12:00 PM, January 31 2011

You know that horrific point in late January when you've been bundled up for so long that you can't imagine ever wearing a swimsuit again? Yet, weirdly, it's actually the time of year when you should think about baring your skin. Here, three things to address right now to make life easier all spring to summer:

1. Laser hair removal.It puts an end to waxing, stubble and ingrown hairs. A bikini line typically requires six laser treatments and one annual touch-up, so it's smart to get a head start: Laser hair removal works best on dark hair and pale skin. If you have a tan, it won't work.

2. Treating broken blood vessels. Why? Dermatologists can minimize or even obliterate broken capillaries and varicose veins using vascular lasers (which use infrared energy) or sclerotherapy (which involves injections that help shrink visible vessels). Tiny spider veins might only require a single treatment; larger, darker veins could require more sessions, spaced four to six weeks apart. (You'll want to avoid direct sunlight on treated areas while they're healing. To maintain results, cover them with sunscreen -- something seriously protective like Neutrogena Spectrum+ Advanced Sunblock Lotion SPF55 -- a few months from now when you do hit the pool.)

3. Laser treatments on your face, neck or chest. Dermatologists can't stop raving about fractionated lasers: They can erase mottled pigmentation and even out your skin tone, erase some past sun damage, spur new collagen growth and give you a glow. After a less intensive treatment, you'll have two to three days of redness and peeling. But you'll have to stay out of the sun for at least two weeks. Since you're already in hibernation mode, what better time to start?

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