Learn to Prevent and Remove Stretch Marks
Who Gets Stretch Marks
Anyone is susceptible, but people most likely to get stretch marks are those who gain weight rapidly, pregnant women whose breasts and abdomen enlarge quickly, and children who go through sudden growth spurts. Stretch marks can appear in a number of places, including the abdomen, breasts, hips, upper arms, thighs, groin, and lower back.
How to Prevent Stretch Marks
The best way to prevent stretch marks is to take care of your skin, keeping it soft and therefore more elastic. Modifications in your diet will prevent the likelihood of stretch marks; drinking lots of water is better for the skin than any stretch mark cream. Keep your skin hydrated by avoiding diuretics, especially caffeine. When consuming caffeinated beverages, be sure to replenish the body by drinking equal or greater amounts of water.
Certain foods are especially healthy for the skin and can also help to prevent stretch marks. Be sure to eat foods that are high in vitamin C and E. These vitamins prevent stretch marks and help heal the skin by aiding in tissue regeneration. Zinc, vitamin E and silica actually aid in the creation of collagen. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that protects skin tissue from breaking down.
Exercise helps prevent stretch marks in two ways. First, it increases circulation to the skin which helps keep it supple and expandable and two, it tightens muscles and tones skin, improving elasticity. However, remember that building excessive muscle can actually stretch the skin creating stretch marks. The best way to prevent stretch marks through exercise is through regular cardiovascular workouts and doing several sets of lighter weightlifting a couple of times a week.
Finally, applying moisturizing lotions is often recommended by dermatologists as a great way to keep skin pliant. Many people use cocoa-butter cream, formulated stretch mark creams that contain vitamin-E, or a collagen-building stretch mark cream. The best way to determine the most effective lotion for preventing stretch marks is to get a dermatologist’s recommendation.
How to Remove Stretch Marks
Stretch marks can be hereditary, so often, prevention isn’t enough to thwart stretch marks. When faced with unsightly stretch marks, a person has the following choices for treatment: she can use topical treatments to help heal the skin damage or she can pursue stretch mark removal by a more invasive procedure.
Topical treatments used to reduce the appearance of stretch marks are often similar to those a person uses to prevent stretch marks. Choose a stretch mark cream that has skin restoration qualities: some people open vitamin E capsules and put them directly on the scarred tissue. Moisturize skin daily and remember to massage the stretch mark cream into skin thoroughly: massaging increases circulation to the area, which also aids in skin restoration.
Stretch mark treatment creams generally don’t get rid of the scarring completely, but can certainly reduce the appearance of the unsightly lines. Some have had great success with more expensive creams like Strivectin.
There are also several more invasive treatments that can greatly reduce the appearance of stretch marks and/or get rid of them completely!
The least expensive and less invasive of these treatments are chemical peels and micro-dermabrasion treatments. During a chemical peel, (which can range anywhere from $75 to $600) diluted acid is applied to the damaged tissue to remove the top layers of skin. The result is the creation of new skin cells in the lower layers of the dermis, resulting in much smoother skin. Of course, acid is the key component in the procedure, there is a risk of further scarring. Chemical peels don’t generally remove stretch marks, but greatly reduce their appearance.
Micro-dermabrasion follows a similar concept: micro-crystals are applied to damaged skin areas to remove the top layer of skin. This encourages new cell growth in the underlying layers of skin, resulting in a lessened appearance of stretch marks. Again, this less invasive procedure does not remove stretch marks, but makes them less noticeable. Unlike chemical peels, there is not a great risk for further scarring.
Laser surgery is another way to remove stretch marks. It is a significantly more expensive option, and generally takes several treatments before patients are rid of stretch marks. Lasers are used to stimulate new cell growth in underlying skin. After each treatment, the appearance of stretch marks should become minimal.
The most invasive stretch mark removal procedure is also the most expensive and is localized to abdominal region. The “tummy tuck” is a surgical procedure that removes excess fat and pulls skin tight, getting rid of stretch marks and slimming the body all at the same time. The procedure must be performed by a cosmetic surgeon and patients should prepare for a long recovery time. It is the most effective and perhaps only sure way to completely remove stretch marks.
