Interesting Facts I Bet You Never Knew About Stretch Marks + Best Treatment Options
So let’s talk about stretch marks. Let me get this straight,
I’ve been intimidated by stretch marks right from my teenage years but things
turned to another level 8 years ago, when I started weight training. See, I’m a
fitness freak & a huge fan of weight training but it gifted me another
concern, this time, a harder one, heavy stretch marks. I was so so intimidated
by them that I would rethink each time I’d consider wearing sleeveless or
showing my midriff.
So I can understand the dilemma young men & women face.
So here I have assembled everything I know in a blog post that may help you
with your issues related to stretch marks. But at the same time I’d like to mention,
it may sound a bit cliché, but hey, stretch marks aren’t going to end your
life, neither a bit of that is going to make you unattractive; just be
comfortable in your own skin whether or not you have stretch marks because its
2019 & we’re already embracing our flaws & do not let others scar-shame
you on that archaic ‘perfect body’ image because there is none. We are humans
& we’re flawed.
So let’s move on to the remedies (effectiveness may vary
from person to person) which may help you with having your stretch marks
disappear a bit but first we need to address some concerns on why they’re there.
Reasons We Get Stretch Marks
·
Changes
in physical attributes due to growth: This
is the main reason we get these stretch marks during our teenage years because
our body is at actively growing phase & constantly adjusting its shape
& size. Growth hormone is more active at that time which results in rapid
height growth as well as changes in weight resulting in massive stretch marks
on your lower waist, buttocks, knees, calves & on breasts (for women). It
is due to the rapid change that leaves little room for the skin to adjust &
thus the collagen & elastin break down in response to the tear. However,
the good news is, most teen stretch marks later correct on its own & you
can afford to be not so conscious about it. If it doesn’t, continue reading.
·
Pregnancy:
In this case stretch marks may be limited to your belly region due to the
gravid uterus growing way too faster than the skin can adjust. In some cases,
due to pregnancy related weight gains, you may also have stretch marks
elsewhere. These are usually adult stretch marks & maybe because we lose
some of our cell renewal power as we age, these are harder to correct.
·
Weight
Training: While having a muscular
& well toned body is sexy but it may have some consequences like if you’ve
gained (read muscle growth) fast, you’re likely to have some stretch marks
& depending on your age, it may or may not disappear on its own; mine
didn’t.
·
Weight
Loss or Gain: Sudden weight loss or gain may also contribute to stretch
marks, so if you’re trying to lose weight; its normally suggested not to go on
a crash diet or something that can make you lose weight at a faster pace than
what’s considered healthy. Take some time & give your skin enough time to
adjust.
Now we shall discuss the natural remedies first that are
said to be effective on stretch marks. But here, I’d like to mention that
recently researchers have started
questioning the effectiveness of such remedies & most found them to be
completely ineffective. But I’ve heard from many people that they worked for them to a certain extent.
While personally, if you ask me, I don’t
have much faith on these home remedies or natural remedies but you may try them
if you please. Because mostly, these are soothing to skin & atleast won’t harm even if they don’t
benefit you in this case anyway.
Natural Remedies for Stretch Marks
1. Shea Butter: Some people consider this
to be an awesome skin healing substance, while I don’t disagree to that but how
much shea butter would help you in stretch marks, I’m not sure. Shea butter can
be found online as thick white or golden solid chunks & the best quality is
unrefined golden African shea butter contrary to the ivory shea butter. You can
take some of it & add a little bit of rose water & blend it using a
mixer/blender & keep it in an airtight container & prepare this in
small batches because they can spoil since you’re not using any preservatives.
Now cosmetic grade shea butter (mostly the ivory variant) can also be found but
expect them to be refined; but since they’re cosmetic grade, they would have
some preservatives in this case & also some impurities. But the bright side
of that is you can use them as you please & they won’t get spoiled easily.
You can also add other ingredients in any form of them as mentioned above like
essential oils of your choice if you like. Alternatively shea butter based body
butter/lotions are also available but I won’t guarantee the effectiveness.
2. Cocoa Butter: It can also be found
online as unrefined or as cosmetic grade/ready to use crème & cocoa butter
based body lotions are also widely available. Cocoa butter is believed to be
less effective in healing stretch marks than shea butter but you can certainly
try.
3. Vitamin E: This can be helpful in
soothing stretch marks. You can try vitamin E based skin formulations or simply
buy some vitamin E capsules & prick them to get the semi liquid substance
to mix them in your body oil or lotion to get the same results (store them in a
coloured glass/jar). Vitamin E is an oil soluble vitamin, so make sure your
base body lotion has some oil content. Vitamin E smoothes skin & it also
has antioxidant properties. But remember, vitamin E degrades when exposed to
sun (even if you’re indoors), so use this only in the evening. Vitamin E based
body lotion has worked for my stretch marks in my early twenties.
4. Vitamin C: Now, vitamin C is a hero
ingredient in smoothing stretch marks. The good news is that it is somewhat if
not equally effective as a home remedy, where it is derived from powdered form
of vitamin C tablets. But remember, vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin, so
whatever carrier (lotions, creams) you’re mixing this into, should have some
water content. You can add this in your DIY packs or in body milk to apply on
the affected areas.
Alternatively you can also use vitamin C
serums which are supposed to be more effective than their DIY cousins because
the percentage is well-regulated but can be expensive. Opt for a serum with
vitamin C/ ascorbate conc. 10% or more. But just like vitamin E, vitamin C is
notoriously unstable in the sun (direct or ambient light), so if you’re going
for a store bought option, look for a product in coloured glass bottle &
use it only in the evening.
Now coming to the point on why I consider
Vitamin C to be the most effective home remedy/therapy for stretch marks
because stretch marks are the results of collagen breakdown & vitamin C
works more as a catalyst in synthesizing collagen. But how much it works as a
topical preparation (anything that’s applied on skin) is mostly controversial
because only a very little is absorbed through the epidermis & even less
works as an active ingredient. However,
I’d also suggest eating vitamin C rich veggies & fruits (if high
triglyceride-count isn’t a concern) & you can also pop a vitamin C
supplement for a month.
However,
there are websites suggesting skin lightening DIY packs (which mostly include
lemon, yogurt, honey, aloe etc. ) as a treatment of stretch marks but this is
utter bullshit. Yes for darker skinned individuals, removing the tan may
help the stretch marks look less obvious but it won’t help them smooth the
marks from any angle. So they simply don’t work.
Now coming to the point of professional help, which always
gives you better results;
Professional Treatment Options To Improve Stretch Marks
·
Derma
Roller or Microneedling: I find this to be the most effective treatment for
stretch marks so far. Its especially effective, if after rolling the skin, you
apply collagen & vitamin C serums respectively, it’d work like magic.
Microneedling stimulates cell cycle & thus helps repair & replace the
damaged skin with newer cells. Adding liquid collagen serum along with vitamin
C may accelerate the rate of healing. But one thing, there are some people who
suffer from scars after dermarolling & this is principally because to some
skin types, the minor injury the needles cause poses as a stimulator to melanin
synthesis & post inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH/scars) is seen as a
result. So if you’re one of those who regularly suffer from PIH, you should
better opt out dermarolling as a treatment option. However, please remember,
dermarolling is an in-office procedure & should not be tried at home by
yourself or you may risk damage to your skin.
·
Chemical
Peeling: Although not as effective as microneedling, chemical peeling can
help diminish stretch marks to a great extent as it did in my case (I was
simply scared of dermarolling, period.). Depending on the depth of damage, it
may take some time before you start seeing results. Also from the wide array of
available peeling agents, for body, I prefer TCA 30-35%. However, since it is a
professional strength, I’d ask you to consult a dermatologist before trying
it. To know more about my TCA peeling
experience, click here: https://thebeautyblogoflove.blogspot.com/2018/12/your-ultimate-guide-to-chemical-peeling.html
Although I’ve listed chemical peeling
(chemexfoliation) as a treatment option for stretch marks, but I’m still not
convinced that mechanically exfoliating works to help diminish the scars, so
I’m consciously not mentioning it.
However, you can still try milder chemexfoliation techniques to treat
those stretch marks, but please be assured that it’ll take some time. While I
don’t suggest using the following chemexfoliating agents right before (except
for what you’re doing to prime the skin before peeling, as your dermat suggests
or read the above link about my TCA peeling experience to know more about it)
or after 2 weeks of your chemical peeling date, as you’re still recovering; you
can wait for a month for your skin to completely recover before you use any of
them.
1. Glycolic Acid cream: Milder cousin to
the glycolic acid solution used to chemically peel the skin. But at a conc. of 12% it works really well for the body skin.
It works more or less the same way, by helping the cells in stratum corneum (topmost epidermal layer) to slough off
& encourages them to be replaced by fresh new cells.
2. Salicylic Acid cream: It’s a Beta Hydroxy Acid, which means, it’d penetrate even deeper than its Alpha Hydroxy
Acid cousin glycolic acid or other members of the AHA family, working the
same way though. Unfortunately, in India what I find as a standard salicylic
acid cream, is extremely oily, almost like a balm & it DOES NOT SUIT my
already oily skin.
3. Azelaic Acid cream: Another AHA family
member & works well for some. But personally, it never worked for me
neither for tan removal nor for stretch marks. Like a typical AHA, it works by
exfoliating the top layer. In India, its usually found in two conc. 10 &
20% respectively & you should always begin treatment with 10% &
gradually go up. I’ve recently seen some peeling agents based on azelaic acid
too (don’t know how it performs though).
4. Retinoids: Retinoids are the old but
gold standard in exfoliating to soothe stretch marks. There are many variants
available these days apart from our old friend tretinoin (start with .025% & gradually go upto .05%) like
adapalene (0.1%) & tazarotene etc. Apply any of them once, preferably
at night before bed on the stretch marks & you’ll see some results in 3
months.
So that’s all for today & I hope this post helped you
clear some of the myths & I also hope you enjoyed reading it. Now, for any
medical procedure, I’d always suggest you to consult a dermatologist before
going in for it. Above suggestions are no substitutes to professional help.
Let me know how you found this article in the comments
section below & don’t forget to
follow me here on my blog & on social media (buttons on the collapsible
sidebar ß).
Love,
Koyel M.
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