When your skin stretches-whether due to pregnancy, weight gain, body building or even extreme weight loss-it can't always bounce back, which can leave you with stretch marks. These lines, which first appear reddish or purplish and later turn silver and white, are actually scars that form in the dermis. Removing stretch marks is a process many people undertake over the course of their lives.
Some creams promise big results in the battle against stretch marks, but no matter how many topical formulas you try, those stretch marks will never completely go away through creams alone. Some creams can, however, fade and improve the look of your imperfections.
The trick to winning the battle against prominent stretch marks is to find topical treatments with the right ingredients, then apply them to your skin up to three times daily. Retinol, Vitamin A or C, Tiger's Herb or cayenne pepper encourages the production of collagen and/or elastin. When these powerhouses are combined with alpha hydroxy acids, you have a winning cream that can help your stretch situation.
Another bit of advice often heard passed from woman to woman is to slather oils onto your affected skin. While a daily application of vitamin E oil may help treat recent scarring, don't expect it to make a difference on older marks very quickly.
If you're unhappy with the results of your at-home treatments, your dermatologist can serve as an ally in your quest for stretch mark-free skin. Microdermabrasion, for example, can help minimize stretch mark appearance. You'll need 10 to 12 treatments, but the process will help jumpstart collagen production and increase elasticity, making the marks smaller.
A chemical peel can also help. The treatment uses a high-powered formula that, when applied topically, thins the skin, helps remove the external mark and minimizes the scar's appearance.
More invasive procedures include a tummy tuck, which removes much of the skin-and its stretch marks-below the belly button, and laser removal, which can break down the scar tissue. Laser removal can't repair the scar tissue, though, and there is no evidence to support the effectiveness.
In short, there's no surefire solution to get rid of stretch marks, but depending on what you're willing to try, you may be able to minimize them.
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