Treating Stretch Marks – Creams or Surgery?

Posted on October 7, 2008 @ 8:23 am

The appearance of unsightly stretch marks on your body can really mess with your body image and your self confidence. Many people don’t like to talk about the problem if they have the condition. Yet when they do appear, it’s best to learn as much as possible about the reasons for their development and also how to get rid of stretch marks.

Why You Get Stretch Marks

When your skin is stretched beyond its limits, such as during pregnancy or periods of excessive weight gain or loss, it loses its elasticity and becomes damaged. Your skin’s middle layer, or dermis, is where the damage happens. The damage, however, appears on the top skin layer, which is where you actually see the stretch marks.

Researchers claim that the process that leads to stretch marks also expands your capillaries. This leads to stretch marks that are frequently purple or red. At the beginning, they are often purple. After a while they start to fade and their color turns to white.

One of the easiest and most effective ways to get rid of stretch marks is to use a specially formulated stretch mark cream. These creams contain ingredients such as cocoa butter, vitamin E and lanolin, or various types of oils such as lavender and olive oils. The more advanced stretch mark creams include Vitamin A or AHA in their ingredient list.

These products work to improve your skin’s flexibility as well as regenerating skin cells. Most of these products are considered to be quite effective at lessening the scars, particularly creams containing cocoa butter.

Another easy way to get rid of stretch marks is by using vitamin E oil, which is particularly effective at treating pregnancy stretch marks. Vitamin E oil helps to keep your skin firm and taut, even during pregnancy.

If you’re looking for the best stretch mark removal cream, you have several choices, some of which are available over the counter at various locations. Many highly effective stretch mark creams can also be purchased online.

Other methods of treating stretch marks include laser treatments, dermabrasion or even surgery to banish those unappealing scars. It might seem quite drastic to undergo a surgical procedure just to get rid of stretch marks, but in fact it’s still one of the best ways to manage the problem.

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