Women who go through pregnancy must be familiar with stretch marks. These are the marks that appear on certain body parts, like buttocks, stomachs, and thighs. If you experience the same issue, then it’s necessary to learn how to get rid of stretch marks the right way.
Stretch marks are considered a common skin condition. Aside from pregnancy, drastic weight loss can also cause the appearance of stretch marks in several areas of the body. Due to these common occurrences, there are various plausible stretch mark removal methods to try.
To help you learn how to get rid of stretch marks, let’s discover all the things about the apparent lines that may cause your skin to be less flawless than the way you want it to be.
What Are Stretch Marks?
Stretch marks are bands of lines that appear across your skin. They are usually formed when your skin rapidly stretches or shrinks. While stretch marks may leave your skin no longer smooth, they’re common occurrences that happen to anyone who experiences pregnancy or weight loss.
Women who experience changes in weight due to pregnancy, childbirth, or other factors may find stretch marks on their stomachs, thighs, buttocks, breasts, and upper arms. Often, these marks feel like an indentation. In some cases, the stretch marks can be itchy or sore.
While considered scars, stretch marks don’t pose harm to your body. Stretch marks can be permanent, but oftentimes they may fade with the right treatment.
Stretch Marks Causes
Before we learn how to get rid of stretch marks, it’s necessary to consider what causes them to appear. As mentioned before, stretch marks often appear during pregnancy and after weight loss. However, other factors that may contribute to their appearance, such as:
- Weight gain.
- Rapid muscle growth.
- Growth spurt during puberty.
- Corticosteroids application.
How to Get Rid of Stretch Marks
Some stretch marks can leave permanent spots on your body, but the right treatment can help make them fade or less noticeable. It’s worth noting that not every treatment works for everyone. To help you figure out what kind of stretch mark treatment fits you, see the following options:
1. Moisturize Regularly
When you don’t moisturize your skin, you’ll most likely get wrinkles or other lines in several parts of your body. Stretch marks may appear due to the skin’s lack of hydration. Hence, applying the right moisturizer regularly for several weeks may help reduce stretch marks. However, it’s important to note that most research suggests there’s no apparent effect of this stretch mark treatment.
2. Using Self-Tanning Lotion
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, self-tanning lotion can serve as a temporary option to minimize the appearance of stretch marks. Applying the lotion can help bridge the gap between the color of the stretch lines and your natural skin color.
Read also: How to Tighten Belly Skin: 5 Non-Invasive Treatments to Try
3. Applying Prescription Medicine
Certain topical medications can help get rid of stretch marks. Tretinoin cream and hyaluronic acid cream are the most common topical medicine choices to treat the early appearance of stretch marks. It’s important to note that tretinoin cream is not allowed to be used during pregnancy. However, hyaluronic acid is generally safe to use for most people.
4. Skin Procedures Done by Dermatologists
If you’re unsure of how to get rid of stretch marks with the self-application treatment, you can consult and seek professional help from dermatologists. Stretch mark removal treatment varies according to your needs, but dermatologists tend to use more than one procedure to achieve optimal results.
Among the many choices available, these are the common procedures offered by dermatologists when it comes to reducing stretch marks:
- Excimer laser therapy: Stimulate melanin to match stretch marks with the skin color.
- Microdermabrasion: Remove the thick outer layer to reveal new skin underneath.
- Pulsed dye laser therapy: Promote collagen and elastin growth to treat new stretch marks.
- Fractional photothermolysis: Target small areas of stretch marks to create thermal injury and reform collagen.
Stretch Mark Prevention
To avoid learning how to get rid of stretch marks altogether, it’s necessary to figure out a way to prevent the condition from happening in the first place. However, it’s not that easy.
Research suggests that no natural remedies, like vitamin E, olive oil, or coconut butter, can prevent the formation of stretch marks. That being said, products that contain centella or hyaluronic acid may help prevent stretch mark formation.
Well, that’s all about how to get rid of stretch marks. Even though the condition is considered common, it may leave permanent scars on your body if not treated with the right procedure. To achieve the best results, it may be best to consult professional dermatitis experts instead of trying the treatment on your own.
If you want to learn about beauty and self-care insights like this, don’t hesitate to explore our blog. Perhaps if you want to try something new, like an effective hair removal treatment, you can contact us at Clean & Tidy Bugis or Jurong. We’ll help you go through the beauty path painlessly.
Read also: How to Tighten Face Skin: 5 Ways to Stay Beautifully Young
