How to Get Rid of Stretch Marks

Stretch marks are a painful topic for almost every girl on this planet. There are only few lucky ones who manage to escape this annoying thing in their lives. The rest of us are always looking for new answers, and new ways how to get rid of stretch marks.

First of all, you’re not going to like this but I need to say it –  removing stretch marks is a very long process. Nothing can be done in a week or two; you will literary need months to see the first results. Here’s what you can do.

1. What Are Stretch Marks

In order to find a solution to get rid of stretch marks, you first need to understand what stretch marks are. Stretch marks are caused by tearing of the dermis, the middle layer of your skin. When the torn dermis tries to heal, you’re left with scar tissue, known as stretch marks.

Stretch marks usually appear due to the fast growth, fast weight gain or weight loss, and most commonly, during pregnancy. When they first appear, they will be pink, red, purple or light brown, depending on your natural skin tone. As they mature, they will become lighter in color and more visible, and way harder to remove.

2. Prevention

Preventing stretch marks is a lot easier than removing them. Stretch marks can be caused by a number of factors, including genetics, but the main reason they appear is due to dry skin. Your skin is elastic to a certain level, which allows you to bend over, without creating stretch marks for example. However, the dryer your skin is, the more prone to stretch marks you are.

It is of great importance to do something about your dry skin, as the first line of preventing stretch marks. Find out how to treat excessively dry skin by reading 6 Effective Ways How to Treat Excessively Dry Skin post.

The second line of defense against stretch marks lies in hydration. This is especially important if you’re pregnant. Don’t wait for stretch marks to appear to deal with them. Apply anti stretch mark cream, or a simple moisturizer, from the moment you find out that you’re pregnant, and you’ll prevent more than 90% of stretch marks that could appear during pregnancy.

Lastly, avoid gaining too much weight. Not only that it leads to stretch marks, it can also seriously damage your health. Lead a healthy life, with healthy diets and exercising.

3. Early Reaction

If you want to get rid of stretch marks, the key is to start doing something about that as soon as you notice them. Pink stretch marks are way easier to remove than those big white ones. No matter what remedy you choose, all of them will work a lot better on fresh stretch marks than on those you’ve been having for some time. And here are the actual remedies.

4. Creams and Lotions

Woman using Lotion

There are lots of creams, body lotions and moisturizers that could help you with stretch marks. However, keep in mind that not all of them are proven to give results, and for best results consult a dermatologist.

Creams and lotions that contain cocoa butter are the ones that are probably the best. Make sure that the cream you’re buying actually contains cocoa butter – the higher the amount the better. Lotions that contain vitamins A, E and C are very beneficial as well.

I would suggest you to always try with lotions and creams first. You will need to give them, at least, a month to see the results. Lotions are way cheaper than any other stretch mark treatment, but they don’t always work.

5. Topical Treatments

cream

There are lots of topical treatments that are supposed to free you from your stretch marks. However, only a handful of them are actually proven to give results. The best idea before you decide on a topical treatment would be to consult your dermatologist. Here’s what’s available:

  • Glycolic Acid – it is supposed to increase you collagen production and prevent new stretch marks to appear. It also gently removes the upper layer of your skin, thus “scraping” the existing stretch marks off. However, the treatment itself has not been fully studied yet. You’ll need at least 3-4 appointments with your dermatologist to see the results, and each could cost you up to 100$.
  • Retinoids – these are chemical compounds chemically related to vitamin A. They are proven to boost epithelial cell growth, and increase the amounts of collagen in your skin. They could show results in early stages but need to be avoided if you are pregnant or nursing.
  • Topical tretinoin – found in creams, this is another product that boosts your collagen production and reduces the visibility of pink stretch marks. It works best on stretch marks that are less than 6 weeks old, and absolutely has no effect on old stretch marks. Pregnant women should avoid it.

6. Laser Treatments

Laser treatments could be the most effective way to get rid of stretch marks. However, these treatments can be quite expensive and unfortunately no one can guarantee you results, because most of it depends on how your skin reacts to laser treatment. They could be quite painful too.

These are the most common laser treatments against stretch marks:

  • Pulsed dye laser – this is a laser treatment that brings the least of damage to the surrounding tissue, while affecting your stretch marks. It gives better results on pink stretch marks, but can also be effective with white ones. You will need at least 5 treatments, and each will cost you between 500$ and 800$. It is not recommended if you’re pregnant, nursing, or if your skin tone is darker, and if you’re using any photo sensitive drugs. This means that all girls on birth control need to forget about it.
  • Excimer laser – this laser doesn’t really remove your stretch marks, but rather boost the production of melanin, thus allowing the stretch marks to acquire the color of surround skin. You will need 10-20 treatments, 200-700$ each, but it could be effective on old stretch marks as well.
  • Fractioned laser – this is the most expensive laser treatment against stretch marks. Each costs around 1000$ and you’ll need at least 3 sessions to see the improvement of 30%. If you decide for this, make sure you get it done by a laser of the latest generation, because they show much better results, than those that are a bit older. Works on fresh and old stretch marks as well.

So, now you know. It’s a process, it needs time and money, but it is doable. If you know about a lotion or any other treatment you’ve tried that’s proven to work on stretch marks, feel free to share in comments. After all, a girl can never have too much advice on how to look better, right?

About the author

Sarah

I’m a free spirit who likes to travel, cook and fly. Licensed paraglider pilot, I spend all my spare time flying. In the meantime, I like to share my recipes and travel experiences.

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