Stretch marks must be the most dreaded skin imperfection among women — and for good reasons. Until today, there are no nonsurgical methods to get these streaks off of the skin for good.
Stretch marks and you
Stretch marks affect everyone but, unfairly it seems, it’s the ladies who have to live with this skin condition more commonly than men do. So, before you get the latest information about how to remove stretch marks, perhaps it will be helpful to straighten out the facts on how you can get strike or, why you’ve developed this condition if you already have it.
Elevated cortisol levels often due to stress and spiking hormones are being pointed out as the main culprit behind most stretch marks. Cortisol, the stress hormone, breaks the usually strong bond that connects muscles to your skin. Sudden weight loss and weight gain and certain medications including the use of corticosteroids can all lead to the same condition.
When the dermis, the second layer of the skin, is unable to hold the expansion, the skin breaks, causing tears in the middle layer of the skin. At first, the tears look bluish or purplish. Over time, these stretch marks become white and silvery as the skin becomes damaged and loses pigment.
7 ways to deal with your stretch marks concerns
Do you want to know the biggest secrets on how to remove stretch marks and how you can prevent these? There are 7 ways:
Laser Therapy
There are several laser skin therapy procedures that you can choose from. Laser skin resurfacing works by stimulating the top layer of the skin to become thicker so as to hide the hollow or tears underneath.
The excimer laser uses a technique known as laser ablation to cut around the damaged skin rather than on it like most lasers do. This will then cause the skin cells underneath to surface new skin and induce the production of melanin which lessens the silvery color of the stretch marks. Excimer laser for stretch marks reduction has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since 2002.
Radio Frequency Therapy
This process utilizes radio waves and heat to stimulate skin cells to produce higher volumes of collagen and faster turnover rate which causes the breaks and tears in the dermis to be patched, and the stretch marks much less visible.
Home stretch marks treatment device
Strialite is a home skincare treatment device that uses Light Emitting Diode (LED) that penetrate and warm the skin to power up the mitochondria, the energy center of a cell, to produce more collagen, improve circulation and force a skin cell turnover that eventually restructures stretch marks located in the dermis. It has been approved by the FDA.
Stretch marks creams
Despite the long-term availability of these creams in the market, there has yet to be a dearth of efficacy studies to back up the claims being made by these creams’ manufacturers. Although, the most promising ones seem to be those that are formulated with retinol or other similar Vitamin A derivatives. The ability of these ingredients to deeply penetrate the skin and cause skin cell turnover to take effect have long been established.
Home remedies
These class of methods will probably have more impact as prevention methods rather than corrective ways to treat stretch marks. Essential oils, and also coconut oil, cocoa butter and shea butter are favorites in this category.
Makeup and cover up
Got stretch marks you only have overnight or a few days to improve? Then, consider using cosmetics. Makeup provides instantly smoother skin. Use waterproof and stronghold makeup if you try this trick. You can also try self-tanners and bronzers. These techniques camouflage the skin and make it appear thicker so that the streaks are not visible.
Abdominoplasty
Despite significant developments in skincare, this surgical procedure remains to be the only way to remove stretch marks completely. You should only consider this as your last option due to associated risks.
