How To Get Rid Of Stretch Marks

Most of the people and even the teenagers have stretch marks. Up to 70 percent of the pregnant women get stretch marks. They are small depressed streaks in the skin that can affect both men and women. Stretch marks are weaknesses in the supporting structure of the skin causing layers of the skin to separate, leaving the skin discolored and grooved. Other names of stretch marks are striae distense, striae atrophicans, striae ruba, striae alba.
The stretch marks or striae as they are also called happen when the tissue under the skin is pulled by rapid growth or stretching. They are a form of scarring on the skin with a white hue that form in the dermis. Usually the stretch marks start off as raised red lines that slowly fade into silvery, white streaks.
Stretch marks are caused by changes in the elastic supportive tissue that lies just beneath the skin. They develop when the skin is excessively stretched during pregnancy, weight gain, growth spurts. When the skin is stretched over a short period of time dermal tearing occurs which creates scars in the skin / dermis/. Fortunately, in the most of the cases the marks become considerably less noticeable about 6 to 14 months after childbirth.
Depending on the color of your skin the stretch marks may look pink, reddish, brown or white.
What causes stretch marks?
-pregnancy
-weight loss
-weight gain
-growth spurt

-puberty
-obesity

• Excessive weight gain or weight loss is the main reason stretch marks develop.
• Losing collagen and elastin in the skin causes stretch marks
• Stretch marks are generally associated with pregnancy and obesity. More than 60 percent of the pregnant women get stretch marks.
• Stretch marks may result from nutritional deficiency.
• Stretch marks may also occur as a result of abnormal collagen function.
• Stretch marks may be found on children who have become quickly obese.
• Some people are genetically prone to stretch marks.
• Sometimes stretch marks can be a symptom of Cushing’s syndrome – a condition in which the adrenal glands produce too much steroid hormone and the purple stretch marks appear on the abdomen.

Women and men can get stretch marks on several areas of their bodies. Stretch marks are most common during puberty and pregnancy – times when the body undergoes rapid changes and that’s why many women get them during pregnancy. They can appear anywhere on the body – where the skin has been stretched over a short period of time. The most common parts are – hips, buttocks, thighs, arms, breast and abdomen. Pregnant women start to develop stretch marks on the abdomen during the second half of pregnancy as the skin stretches to accommodate the growing baby.
Stretch marks can affect everyone but some people are more susceptible to forming stretch marks than others. Some people have weaker collagen than others so they are more likely to get stretch marks. Even the athletes who exercise regularly can get stretch marks and even if you are slim and eat healthy food can get them.

Useful Beauty Tips:

• Massage and exfoliate your skin regularly to increase blood circulation.
• Always keep your skin hydrated and moisturized.
• Eating healthy is essential in order to prevent formation of stretch marks.
• Avoid yo-yo dieting
• If you have to lose weight lose it slowly.
• Apply products designed for stretch marks everyday into the abdomen during pregnancy.
• Drink plenty of water -water keeps your skin hydrated and healthy looking and less likely to develop stretch marks.
• Eat foods high in vitamins D, A, C
• Eat zinc-rich food /nuts, fish/
• Avoid sudden weight gain
• It can take up to a year for a stretch mark to face from red to white
• Keep your weight under control
• If your mother or sister got stretch marks during pregnancy you are more likely to get them too
• Stretch marks pose absolutely no health risk and don’t compromise the body’s ability to function healthy.
• Stretch marks usually become less visible as they heal in time, but they will never disappear completely.
• African-American women are less likely to get stretch marks.
• Dry skin is more prone to stretch marks due to loss of elasticity
• Creams containing vitamin E and Cocoa Butter work best for preventing stretch marks
• Regular exercise is essential to prevent stretch marks as it keep skin taut.
• To camouflage stretch marks use a self-tanner or apply a little bit of a foundation.
• Use products with AHAs and Retin A because they slough off dead skin cells and help fade redness in a stretch mark.

To learn more see also the articles:

How To Exfoliate The Body

How To Detox Your Skin

How To Detox And Cleanse Your Body

Amazing Legs During The Summer

Recommended Products:

Mustela Special Maternity Lotion, Stretch Marks Double Action ($36) – Helps prevent and minimize new and recent stretch marks due to maternity, in all vulnerable body areas (abdomen, breasts, hips, upper thighs).

Lierac Paris Body lift 10 Ventre, Lipo-Sculpting Concentrate ($45) – ideal body-contouring treatment to help put your orange-peel skin ‘on a diet, help diminish the appearance of orange-peel skin and visibly reduce the signs of cellulite and stretch marks.

Belli Strech Mark Minimizing Cream ($52) – decrease the appearance of a stretchmark’s length and irregular surface area by over fifty percent.

Avon Super Shape Anti-Cellulite And Stretch Mark Cream ($10) – Dual-action cream to target and visibly diminish the appearance of cellulite and stretch marks.

Vichy Anti Stretch-Mark Massage Cream ($23) – Visibly reduces the appearance of existing stretch marks and helps to prevent new ones from appearing.

Clarins Stretch Mark Control ($35.50) – helps prevent and reduce the appearance of stretch marks during pregnancy puberty or anytime the body experiencing rapid weight change.

What Is The Best Way To Banish Stretch Marks

What Are Stretch Marks

Stretch marks are a type of scar that form on the body as a result of several different factors. When skin is overstretched, the skins “elastic” breaks down and stretch marks form.

Certain illnesses can cause stretch marks.

Hormonal changes, rapid growth, weight gain or loss, pregnancy and bodybuilding are a few factors in causing stretch marks.

How to Prevent Stretch Marks

You may be wondering how to get rid of stretch marks, but there are measures to take to help prevent them from forming.

Feed your body right. Eat a balanced diet that the needed nutrients to help keep your skin at its best. Hydrate your skin cells. Feel them up on water. Just as food is energy for our bodies, water is fuel for our skin.

The Big Question: How to Remove Stretch Marks

If you are looking for ways on how to get rid of stretch marks, below you will find some ideas that may help you. The ways include natural, as well as, surgical ideas on how to get rid of stretch marks.

Medical Procedures On How To Get Rid Of Stretch Marks

There are a number of procedures physicians can perform to help you get rid of your stretch marks. Talk to your dermatologist about the techniques he uses on how to get rid of stretch marks.

A fairly new technique is laser treatment. Other treatments include dermabrasion, chemical peels, and surgical removal.

If you are considering any one of these methods, it would be wise to talk to your dermatologist about the pros and cons of each method before making your decision.

Home Remedies to Remove Stretch Marks

There are a number of home remedies one can use to remove stretch marks or to diminish their appearance. Let’s take a closer look at a few of the techniques now being used.

Massage Those Marks Away: There are a number of massage parlors offering to help remove or reduce stretch marks. The technique is safe and natural. Many are seeing positive results by using massage therapy to remove or reduce stretch marks. There is no surgery involved. If you are one that does not have time for surgery, this just may be the solution you have been looking for.

Herbal Remedies That Show Us How to Get Rid of Stretch Marks: Nature provides us with several herbs that are shown to help remove stretch marks or to keep them from forming. Here are a few ideas.

There are a number of commercially prepared lotions with instructions showing you how to get rid of stretch marks.

If you were to call a herbal dealer and ask how to get rid of stretch marks chances are they would suggest herbs such as: aloe vera gel, cocoa butter, lavender oil or a number of other great herbal lotions.

Diet and Exercise: You are what you eat. Diet and exercise go hand in hand with our overall health. Proper diet habits are much more likely to help keep us healthy as opposed to a poor eating plan. Improper nutrition is the culprit of many illnesses, including skin conditions. Our bodies show signs such as dry skin, brittle nails, split end and many more as a result of not getting the proper vitamins and minerals in our diets.

Vitamin K: Vitamin K is shown to be beneficial in how to get rid of stretch marks, as well as a host of many other skin conditions.

Vitamin K is found in green leafy vegetables, organ meats, fruits such as tomatoes, and of course dairy products.

Exercise is not just beneficial in heart health; it helps to tone our skin as we lose weight, helping to keep skin from sagging.

Water: As we ask ourselves how to get rid of stretch marks, we must not overlook water. Water helps carry oxygen to our skin and to keep it hydrated. When skin becomes dry, it looses a lot of “stretching” power. It also separates, which is one cause of stretch marks.

If you are in the process of treating stretch marks and you need immediate results, there are a couple of things you can do to help hide those marks.

Concealer Cream: This is a makeup that comes in a variety of shades that you rub on you stretch marks and it helps to blend to your natural skin color. Tatoo cover up is a type of makeup used by people who have a tattoo that want to hide it. Sometimes this will help hide your stretch marks.

Stretch marks are among the worst things that could happen to your skin. Alas, they are very common and can appear almost everywhere. The only thing we can do is learn what stretch marks in fact are and the possible ways to deal with them.

Stretch marks appear when the body changes its shape very quickly. It means that stretch marks develop when you lose or gain weight fast. All of these unexpected changes cause the middle layer of the skin to tear on the most strained places. If you’re a woman, now you see why stretch marks appear mostly on your tummy, hips or breasts. If treated timely and properly, however, stretch marks are very likely to disappear.

Chronic stretch marks are more difficult to deal with, but not impossible. So here is what you need to do to get rid of stretch marks:

• Timely treatment is successful treatment: you should take action as soon as you notice the appearance of stretch marks. The earlier – the better.

• Massage it out! – massage does a great job in improving skin texture. Massage the affected area four times a day using moisturizers with key ingredients shea butter, cocoa butter or essential oils, and you will see the result for sure after a couple of weeks. There are also endermologie procedures, in which endermologie machines are used to massage the skin. A good, deep massage expels toxins and triggers the production of collagen and elastine.

• Tanning – natural sun tan and self-tanners help to visually reduce stretch marks. Before applying the self-tanner it is better to exfoliate the skin.

• Topical treatment to the rescue! It is very effective in getting rid of stretch marks. Substances such as Vitamin C, Retinoid, Topical Tretinoin, Reastin, wheat germ oil and Glycolic acid are proven to do a great job against this skin flaw. You should however consult a specialist before use any of them on your body.

• Laser treatment helps a lot. Moreover, it’s effective against all kinds of stretch marks – red, purple and white ones. There are several ways of using laser power for this purpose:

- vascular lasers – though these procedures are a bit pricey (between $400 – $500 per session and you’ll need up to 6 of them), vascular laser reduces red stretch marks;

- fractionated laser – it treats chronic stretch marks and is even more expensive -minimum of 3 sessions and $1000 per each;

- pulsed dye laser – it targets the underlying skin layers, stimulating collagen and elastine production. Works well on both new and old stretch marks. Not recommended for people with dark skin tones (Fitzpatrick Skin Type IV, V or VI), and forbidden for pregnant or nursing women. Cost: $500 to $800, five procedures.

- excimer laser – it also treats chronic stretch marks by accelerating the production of melanin on the treated areas, so the stretch marks get the same colour as normal skin. It is the most expensive treatment – you’ll need 10 to 20 procedures that will cost from $300 to $700 each.

• Microdermabrasion – using micro crystals to polish the skin, microdermabrasion removes the dead outer skin layer and stimulates the growth of new, healthy and flawless sin. Works well with older stretch marks.

• Surgical procedures – affected skin is surgically removed. This is the most harmful way to get rid of stretch marks and we do not recommend it. Effectiveness and cost depend on the areas affected.

And remember – before using any of the treatments consult with a specialist to learn what would work best for you and avoid any potential harm.