It is estimated that 90 per cent of women will eventually get stretch marks, especially during pregnancy.
If your mother has stretch marks then your chances of getting them are extremely high too.
Stretch marks are tears in the skin tissue leading to scarring. The stretching of the skin causes a break in the elastic fibers of the skin and the skin looks scarred with a pinkish or whitish discoloration. If the stretch marks are fresh then there is a pinkish or brownish hue to it.
If you have a light skin tone then you are prone to pinkish marks, which turn white eventually. If you are dark toned, then you are prone to whitish stretch marks that leave a white striation on your skin and are more apparent.
Stretch marks are due to rapid skin stretching from sudden weight gain or weight loss commonly seen in pregnancy, during hormonal changes, body building or weight loss activities.
Stretch marks are commonly seen on abdomen, upper arms, buttocks, thighs and breast areas.
There is no sure fire methodology to prevent stretch marks. There is no cream, lotion or serum that can prevent stretch marks.
But keeping the skin hydrated and moisturised helps. So hydrate your skin with enough water and keep the skin moisturised with oils, creams and lotions constantly.
Till now there was no significant treatment for stretch marks that was effective, but due to recent advances, there are finally effective and affordable stretch mark treatment options.
Gels with Hyaluronic acid and onion extract are known to help heal or decrease stretch marks when used in the early or pink stages. It takes about 12 weeks to see the results.
Prescriptive creams containing retinoids are also helpful to a certain extent.
With advances in lasers and cosmetic therapies, the use of platelet rich plasma (PRP) obtained from your blood is used in conjunction with laser devices like fractional radio frequency, make for effective stretch mark treatment.
This is a combination of various laser technologies and is used to
tighten the tissue, stimulate new collagen and improve the surface appearance. The infusions improve the skin tone and speed up new cell regeneration.
Previously only new stretch marks were treated but now even old marks can be treated to enable people to dress as they wish without having to camouflage the scarred areas.
Results are seen three to four months after starting the programme and the results are visible and permanent as the combination therapies stimulate your body’s natural collagen and elastin.