How To Get Rid Of Stretch Marks — The No-Nonsense Guide

Those red, pink and purple stripes on your skin shouldn’t deprive you of the love you have for your skin and your self-esteem. Hey, every skin is beautiful. I can agree with the appearance of stretch marks on your skin can drastically affect self-esteem and increase self-consciousness but not to worry stretch marks are common and doesn’t signify any serious health concern and you know what? It can be minimized. That being said, this article entails the no-nonsense guide on how to get rid of stretch marks.

What Is Stretch Marks?

Stretch marks also known as striae occurs when the skin rapidly changes shape due to rapid growth in the body. Rapid growth such as pregnancy, rapid weight gain, increased muscle mass, or growth spurt (due to puberty). This scars develops when the skin stretches. They normally appear in a red, pink or purple line on the skin, and takes different textures around the skin.

According to Dr. Melanie Palm, board-certified dermatologist, cosmetic surgeon, and founder of the Art of Skin MD, in San Diego, CA. – “Stretch marks, known in medical terms as ‘striae distensae,’ are caused by rapid changes in skin tension or hormonal changes that affect the second layer of the skin, the dermis”.

What Causes Stretch Marks?

There are some certain factors that can aggravate the occurrence of stretch marks and they include Below:

• Pregnancy: You’re likely going to have stretch marks when you gain rapid weight. When pregnancy occurs, the skin around the stomach starts to expand thereby making the body grow faster than your skin which causes the elastic fibers just under the surface of the skin to break, resulting in stretch marks.

• Puberty: Stretch marks normally occurs to both boys and girls during puberty, when an individual gains weight very quickly which causes the skin to stretch, and can result to occurrence of stretch marks.

• Cortisone Creams: Using skincare products, such as gels, lotions, ointments, and creams that contains steroids on you skin for a longer-period of time can trigger stretch marks. This is because steroids break down connective tissue in the skin.  According to Health24,- Long-term use of topical steroids has in some cases led to permanent striae (stretch marks).

• Heredity: Dr. David M. Amron, founder and medical director of The Roxbury Institute and board-certified dermatological surgeon in Beverly Hills, says that stretch marks often run in families, but ultimately their cause is exacerbated by sudden changes in weight.

So,.. What Are The Treatments To Get Rid Of Stretch Marks For Good?

Unfortunately there isn’t any known or approved over-the-counter treatment that can permanently get rid of stretch marks for good. But the good news is,…. Some OTC topicals and tools has proven to drastically reduce its appearance, making them look totally unnoticeable and less visible.
To get rid of stretch marks by minimizing its visibility all you have to do is follow the guidelines below to administer these treatments.

Microneedling.

Microneedling is done using a dermaroller.
This has been one of the hottest diva tool in the beauty industry. Dermarollers not only Improves the appearance of stretch marks but also reduces the appearance of wrinkles fine lines, hyperpigmentation, acne scars (caused by acne) and Improve overall skin texture and elasticity and also enhances better absorption of skincare products into the skin to work better.

How does dermaroller help get rid of stretch marks?

Dermaroller is a hand-held tool with a roller head covered with hundreds of titanium micro-needles.

According to Manish Shah,M.D., a plastic surgeon based in Colorado “In my opinion, microneedling is the single best treatment for stretch mark reduction.
Microneedling improves the color and appearance of stretch marks by creating tiny pinhole injuries in the stretch mark itself. The skin responds by making new collagen, filling in the broken dermal layer. As the dermal layer expands, the color fades because the skin thickens and the tiny blood vessels that give early stretch marks their pink/purple color retreat.”

When a dermaroller is rolled over the skin, the small, fine needles on the roller punctures the skin creating thousands of tiny channels which does not cause actual damage to the outer layer of the skin, but rather breaks down collagen bundles in the top layer of the dermis, which stimulates the repair process by immediately boosting the production of more collagen in the skin which fills in the broken dermal layer. As the dermal layer expands, the color fades because the skin thickens, which will definitely reduce the appearance of stretch marks and Improve overall skin texture. Read more on how to properly use dermaroller on stretch marks.

Retiniods.

Retinol and Tretinion are two retiniods that has scientifically proven to get rid of stretch marks by drastically reducing their appearance. According to a research study, a combination of tretinion and hyaluronic acid minimized the appearance of fresh stretch marks after 2 months of treatment on patients with stretch marks by inducing collagen production, smoothing skin — making it look totally unnoticeable. This research study worked on new/fresh stretch marks.

According to Dr. Palm – “One cream that can potentially reduce the appearance of stretch marks is a retinoid—but there’s a catch. These products have only been shown to work on new marks. “For newer, red stretch marks, topical tretinoin cream, a retinoid, has been shown to fade stretch marks and reduce the size of stretch marks”.

Retinol on the other hand, also being a vitamin A derivative enhances collagen production in the skin, stimulates new cell regeneration and turnover which encourages elasticity plumpness and smoothness. When retinol is applied on a skin affected with stretch marks it stimulates fibroblasts—the cells responsible for developing tissue that keeps skin firm and healthy—in the deep layers of your skin, enhances cell renewal process by regenerating new cells and massively boost collagen production — which is responsible for your skin structure and texture. This will in turn improve elasticity, firmness and smoothness which addresses the issue of stretch marks by minimizing its appearance and softening its texture. Check out the best retinol serums in the market.

Hyaluronic Acid.

Hyaluronic acid is a powerful humectant popularly called the “moisture magnet” that pulls moisture from the atmosphere and also retains it into the skin. It replenishes skin with lost moisture and keeps it optimally hydrated. See hyaluronic acid as the drink for the skin to quench the skin’s thirst. When the skin is well hydrated it looks visibly plump and smooth, this in turn helps lessen stretch marks appearance and other skin aging signs such as wrinkles, fine lines, folds and crow’s feed. Hyaluronic acid works better when combined with retinol and a dermaroller. See the best hyaluronic acid serums to try out.

Stretch Marks Creams.

Stretch marks creams normal contains vitamins and skin nourishing emollients like essential fatty oils that softens and moisturizes the skin which helps supplies skin with moisture leaving the skin plump and supple. This emollients also softens the texture of stretch marks, and smoothen skin surface. You can try out the Burt’s Bees belly butter($12). Richly infused with sheabutter, almond oil, jojoba oil and other essential oils to smoothen stretch marks, plump the skin
and at the same time keeps the skin well conditioned and moisturized.

In Conclusion.

Stretch marks occurs because of the break down of collagen due to some factors (which has been meantioned above). There isn’t any known or proven treatment for permanently diminishing stretch marks but some treatments has proven to drastically lessen its appearance all you have to do is give it time. In treating stretch marks changes doesn’t happen overnight. It needs time and patience.

Possible Questions & Answer.

Q: How can I combine the above meantioned ingredients and tools to combat stretch marks?

A: Step 1: Start by rolling over a dermaroller on stretch marks affected area. This will force skin to start the healing process by stimulating collagen production.

We don’t advise applying retinol or tretinion on a skin which had just undergone microneedling treatment. This might sting alot and cause irritations. Therefore, Skip retinol or retinoids for later use. We advise you should apply retinol a day after microneedling treatment. By then the skin must have recovered from the treatment.

Step 2: After microneedling treatment, apply hyaluronic acid serum to supply skin with intense moisture and hydration and at the same time sooth and smoothen the skin.

Step 3: You can apply your stretch marks cream to soften and nourishe skin. Use two times daily for Best results.

Up Next:

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