Is there any way to get rid of stretch marks

is there any way to get rid of stretch marks

Since the diet craze of the 80s and 90s started (and it’s still going strong) people seem to be obsessed with getting rid of stretch marks. Mothers who have just given birth are slimming down and noticing the results of being bloated like a hot air balloon. People like that guy from those Subway commercials are seeing the same thing, parallel lines that form on the stomach, the butt, the thighs, arms, and breasts—the symptoms of stretch marks caused by stretching the skin too far, or stretching the skin just fast enough that the body couldn't keep up, and now it’s trying to grow back to normal.

But the lines are faded and damn do those stretch marks stand out! Even I’m going to get stretch marks some day, especially after all this bulking up in the weight room. Come summer, when I start cutting on my diet, I’m sure to see some stretch marks here and there. Though it may not be possible to get rid of stretch marks fast or absolutely, there are definitely some treatments and procedures to help you look the way you did before you turned into a parade float.

Stretch Marks Treatment & Creams

For women who are just recently pregnant, or men who are bulk weight training, moisturizers may help prevent stretch marks. Though nothing is scientifically proven, anecdotal evidence supports the idea that using moisturizers fortified with vitamin A and vitamin E may help prevent stretch marks. Vitamin A and E are, after all, essential components in the epidermal (skin) maintenance system. Helping your body regulate and in some cases speed up the growth of new skin cells may help reduce the appearance and number of stretch marks when overall body volume is finally lost.

is there any way to get rid of stretch marks

Watching your weight and massaging your skin on a regular basis will help prevent and improve the appearance of stretch marks. It should be obvious to most of us that watching what one eats should be a priority in such a health conscious society as we live in. Regulating your weight and overall body volume will ensure you don’t get stretch marks. Massaging the skin improves capillary circulation, and promotes new tissue growth. So, pass on that cheesecake and tell your husband that full-body massage he promised you is long overdue.

Alpha Hydroxy Acid is probably the most popular treatment to get rid of stretch marks on the market today. AHAs are found in just about every major brand of skin cream and stretch mark treatment in the cosmetics section of your local department store. These acids, derived generally from sugar cane or dairy products, are potent exfoliating compounds. When AHAs are applied to the skin, they break down the proteins that hold dead skin cells together, essentially dissolving the dead skin, allowing newer, younger skin to take its place—skin with a pigment closer to your natural tone.

Retinoids are the second most popular treatment recommended to help get rid of stretch marks. Retinoids, like AHAs, are most effective in a cream or moisturizer rather than in a face wash, because retinoids need to be properly absorbed by the skin. Soaps only wash them away, reducing their effectiveness. Retinoids are a class of chemicals that help regulate the skin cell growth nearer the surface of the epidermis. Accelerating this growth with regular retinoid treatments will help get rid of stretch marks faster.

is there any way to get rid of stretch marks

Salicylic acid is a rare but equally effective way to get rid of stretch marks. Like the two suggestions above, acids of any sort are useful in helping to exfoliate the skin because they break apart the proteins (lipids) that hold skin cells, particularly dead skin cells, together. Salicylic acids are most often found in treatments for acne, but there are some skin creams on the market that use very mild concentrations to help reduce the appearance of stretch marks, pimples, and blemishes.

Stretch Marks Surgery

There are several surgical procedures available to dermatologists and cosmetic surgeons that will get rid of stretch marks. The first and increasingly more popular choice is laser assisted scar removal. Since stretch marks are, technically, a sort of scar tissue, laser surgery can removal the top layers of skin to allow newer skin to take its place. Microdermabrasion and dermabrasion work in very much the same manner as the laser option, but they use a fine blade (like an electric razor) to scrape away the upper layers of skin, promoting new skin cell growth. Both measures are extreme, but there is one technique that is gaining more popularity with both traditional medicine and alternative medicine professionals; it’s called Non-Ablative Skin Rejuvenation and it uses low levels of light energy to “wake up” the skin cells and cause them to repair themselves and function more like the young skin cells they once were. It’s an interesting technology, and worth researching if you’re serious about getting rid of stretch marks.