How to Get Rid of Stretch Marks?

Easy to occur, difficult to prevent, stretch marks are our nightmare and our reality. Although they can affect both sexes, women are more prone to them, especially during pregnancy. In fact, 90% of pregnant women get striae around their abdomen, thighs and hips. Is there anything we can do about them? Although you can hardly get rid of them entirely, reducing the appearance of both old and new stretch marks is quite possible. Here are our suggestions!

Tretinoin cream can be used for treating relatively new stretch marks, since it is helpful in rebuilding collagen and skin healing. However, this remedy is effective only in the first six weeks of developing striae. For pregnant women it’s not an option, though, because its effects on fetus are not fully understood at the moment.

Pulsed laser therapy is recommended for relatively new striae. This treatment of high-intensity light pulses promotes growth of elastin and collagen helping re-texturing striae. It doesn’t affect the outermost skin layers, but cause controlled, intentional damage to colored chemical compounds located in the dermis called chromophores.

Excimer lasers help to even out the skin color by promoting new melanin development in striae. This treatment is useful for old stretch marks.

Microdermabrasion affects only outermost layer of skin promoting the growth of new surface skin. It resurfaces the skin by gently blasting it with tiny crystal (or diamond) while at the same time vacuuming them back up. This method can be applied on old striae.

Glycolic acid works on both new and old striae and it is actually a chemical peel. The area is cleansed to be treated and afterward the chemical solution is applied intentionally to wound the skin by promoting its regeneration.

On the market, many creams claiming to diminish stretch marks are available, but are they effective? While some people see little or no change, others claim to get great results with some of those products. Cocoa butter, shea butter, vitamin E, olive oil, castor oil, seaweed wraps, fruit acids and various holistic remedies will surely keep the skin lubricated and even speed the fading of the color. Although nothing can completely eradicate all signs of striae, not even the surgery, some of above-mentioned methods can help you to come pretty close to getting rid of them.