How to reduce stretchmarks
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009Striae (or stretch marks as they are more commonly known) are formed when the skin is stretched rapidly : More accurately, the skin’s second layer gets torn by overstretching. Stretch marks are most common around the stomach, breasts, thighs and hips. Both women and men can suffer from stretch marks and they affect most of adults. Fortunately, they aren’t harmful to our health and are simply a cosmetic concern. Unfortunately, these concerns grow in the warmer seasons as the amount of our bodies we show, increases.
Why do stretch marks Develop?
The skin stretches when the body expands so quickly that the skin can’t stretch quick enough to keep up with it. Stretch marks are most frequently associated with pregnancy but are also a normal part of puberty: Body building and rapid weight gain can also cause stretch marks.
Although the skin is usually fairly elastic , when it stretches, the normal production of collagen is disrupted. collagen helps to ensure that the skin remains firm and supple. There are factors outside the body which affect the ability of the skin to produce and maintain collagen levels such as diet or smoking These collagen levels affect the appearance of facial wrinkles and lines. They also largely dictate how other blemishes, like surgery scars and acne scars, heal.
What do stretch marks look like?
When initially formed, stretch marks stand out as red / purple lines. They appear indented and feel different to the surronding skin. Over time, the red and purple colour goes away, turning a lighter colour, generally silver,and fade away slightly. However they very rarely heal on their own.
Removal of stretch marks
There are several methods to treat stretch marks. Stretch mark treatments vary wildly in cost and effectiveness, treatments range from creams purchased over the counter to expensive surgical procedures for many individuals, stretch marks are a source of embarrassment and often make people feel self concious, but this is overcome or greatly reduced by treatment to remove stretch marks.
one method to treat stretch marks is by applying stretch mark creams to the affected area but, only a small amount of the creams is absorbed into the skin so, creams on their own aren’t affective to treat stretch marks. Using creams with a Derma roller, results in a much higher percentage of cream absorbed by the skin so this method is the easiest method for many people.