Stretch Marks and You!

What is a stretch mark?
Stretch marks (or Striae Gravidarum) refers to the scars on your skin which are caused damage to the elastic fibers that help skin stretch. While these may be perfectly normal, and most women - and even some men - have them, they are not accepted in the best taste possible!

What do stretch marks look like?
Depending on your skin color, stretch marks start out as pink, reddish brown, brown, or very dark brown streaks. After time they can fade to a more silvery color that's lighter than your other skin. But all in all they look like your skin has gone on for a change in pattern.

Where do they typically occur on your body?
They can happen anywhere on your body, but are most common on hips, breasts and buttocks. A more common place for most people who indulge in lifting weights is the shoulder panel, but like is mentioned earlier, there is no real specific place for them to occur.

How can I avoid getting stretch marks?
Whether you get them or not is simply a matter of genetics... that really depends on how elastic your skin is. You may be able to avoid it by doing regular warm ups and with adequate amount of water from time to time. You could also include Vitamin E capsules in your diet for additional prevention, but if you are genetically bound to possessing stretch marks, there's little that you might be able to do with it.

Do creams especially formulated for stretch marks help?
Many women use various types of creams, lotions, and oils to try to prevent stretch marks from forming. Unfortunately, while such products soothe and soften the skin, there is no medical evidence to prove that they actually work! So beware of advertisers trying to sell you expensive products claiming that they prevent stretch marks! This said, there is some new medical research, which shows that some specific creams may be able to help the appearance of stretch marks.

Apparently, using 0.1 percent Tretinoin cream (commonly known by the trade name Retin-A) on stretch marks will slightly reduce the length and width of stretch marks. (N.B. Please use these creams only after appropriate consultation with your doctor). While regular exercise and stretching can be of help to help you get rid of these marks, its also true that you might want to continue the stretching aspect of exercise, especially as it gives your skin a wide area to stretch across, making your body understand that stretching to great lengths is normal.

Laser Therapy
Laser therapy can also help improve the appearance of stretch marks. This is where a surgeon uses different types of lasers, depending on the color of the stretch marks. Traditionally, one type reduces the color of dark stretch marks, while the other stimulates the production of pigment-making cells in already faded stretch marks. There is an even newer type of laser therapy that can also be used help the body produce collagen to help restore the elasticity of the skin in depressed stretch marks.

Although this is a very serious and expensive route to follow, it's best to follow your regular exercise routine to help you in this situation. You would need to talk your decision with a skin specialist before making a final decision, as after all, the doctor might know best and also with age, the skin tends to lose its elasticity. It's easy to get under the surgical knife, but if the trip is short-lived then it would definitely be sheer waste of money.