How to Remove Stretch Marks, Getting Rid of Stretch Marks

First thing’s first: What are these stretch marks that many of us so often cringe at as we look ourselves at the mirror?

Introduction

Stretch mark in the medical world is generally known as striae. These abnormal and usually crooked bands or stripes that marr the skin when one experiences rapid stretching of the skin. Thus the term “stretch” marks. Stretching of the skin has many causes that will be tackled later. These bands or stripes initially appear as red to pinkish hues which later change into greyish white shades similar to scars. Aside from the variety in color, texture is also diversified. Some stretch marks may be felt as little ridges when felt while others may be indented and depressed.

Possible Causes

Stretch marks are usually found in people with any type of weight gain, weight loss or pregnancy. It is a type of scarring similar to acne scars and other types of improper skin recovery. Stretch marks often appear in the body where majority of fat cells are located such as the tummy, thighs, and hips. As one gains weight, the bigger these fat cells become. The bigger the fat cells, the more the skin is stretched to accommodate the added bulk. When the skin is stretched to a point where it becomes damaged and unable to recover to its normal state, stretch marks are formed.

Since pregnant women have enlarged abdomens, it is only logical that stretch marks appear on that particular area. Dramatic growth spurts during puberty and muscle development associated often with bodybuilders are also common causes when the skin experiences increase stretching. More serious underlying causes of stretch marks include diabetes, Cushing Syndrome, and Ehlers-Danos syndrome. Correction or treatment of such medical conditions should be done immediately to avoid more complications more serious than stretch marks. The excessive use of cortisone-based medications is also another culprit for striae. Corticosteroids inhibit collagen formation. Collagen is a substance that provide structural support to skin; thus, a decrease in collagen increases the development of striae as the skin has less support to work with making it vulnerable to stretching and tearing.

Possible Treatments

- Nothing. A few lucky people loss their stretch marks when they loss their excess weight. There are also pregnant women whose stretch marks disappeared after they gave birth.

-Invasive Methods of Treaments. Gaining popularity are invasive treatments for stretch marks such as laser therapy, chemical peels, and dermabrasion. Most often than not these options are expensive and require repeated treatment sessions to make the stretch marks less noticeable. Recovery is also a consideration when deciding to undergo such treatments. Swelling, pain, and discomfort are consequences that one is bound to experience as the body heals itself.

Natural Beauty Inside and Out

A healthy lifestyle and adequate nutrition are key factors to glowing skin. Drinking sufficienta amount of water makes the skin dewy. Getting the right amount of vitamins and minerals will also result to more elasticity in the skin able to quickly recover by being able to “give” more, thus, preventing the possibility of stretch marks. Unfortunately people cannot always get the adequate vitamins and minerals through diet alone, thus, supplemental medications are available.

Topical supplements come in many forms such as creams and lotions. Topical preparations usually contain vitamins E, A, and C that are essential for good collagen production. Other helpful ingredients are hydroxy acid and retinoids. Hydroxy acid gently and gradually removes the topmost layer of the skin revealing newer and healthier underlying skin cells to surface. Other benefits of using creams and lotions are their hydrating effect and alleviation of itchness, a common symptom associated with stretch marks felt by many people.

Tired of trial-and-error methods in stretch mark treatment? Explore online reviews of stretch mark product that is best for your skin and prevent stretch marks from getting worse.

Technorati Tags: beauty, cream for stretch mark, eliminate stretch marks, health, stretch mark cream, Stretch Mark Creams, women

Stretch Mark Creams beauty, cream for stretch mark, eliminate stretch marks, health, stretch mark cream, Stretch Mark Creams, women

Stretch marks can be solved by topical creams. This is because stretch marks develop due to natural processes such as getting pregnant, gaining/losing weight, puberty and muscle growth, it is best to treat them with natural products as well.

Biological Changes – There are so many things that happen to our body as we go through puberty and mature in the natural aging process. This is why so many of us suffer from stretch marks. However, there are some who are good at covering up and fixing their stretch marks, and others who just feel hopeless. Stretch marks are indeed highly treatable, it’s just that they take some time to fade-people feel they are never going away merely due to this fact. The only way to get rid of stretch marks effectively is to be realistic with your solutions.

Consumers often find themselves quite frustrated with the stretch mark creams they’ve tried in the past. This often happens when you go to store, scan through the shelves and pick the first product that “catches your eye.” The truth is, any product can indicate a “miracle cure” for stretch marks, or simply have an attractive package. The very first step to choosing the best cream for stretch marks is becoming a smarter consumer.

Do your research well. You might want to focus on ingredients first. Studying the best, worst and typical ingredients in stretch mark creams in general will help you become more familiar with how the “ultimate” stretch mark cream should work. A tip is to watch out for ingredients that contain chemical components. If you want the best stretch mark cream for you, separate natural and chemically processed ingredients, and go for the natural ones. Some companies add chemicals to their products to make it more affordable to manufacture and sell them. The problem with this is that these products are often ineffective in treating the root causes of stretch marks. We don’t want to just cover up stretch marks temporarily, but we want to reduce or eliminate their existence on our skin for good. What’s great about natural ingredients is that they are highly compatible with our bodies and much safer. For instance, stretch marks almost always develop in women during pregnancy, so you wouldn’t want to use products that are loaded with chemicals.

Reliability and Credibility – Speaking of companies that sell stretch mark creams, the next step is to research on their credibility and reliability. Visiting their websites, reading reviews/customer complaints, and before and after pictures will often give you a good idea of how much you can trust a particular company. Also look into how many years the company has been producing stretch mark creams.

So how do we identify the best from the frauds? Statistics show that more than 50 percent of consumers feel cheater by companies that sell stretch mark creams. Some stretch mark products come as creams that can be applied topically to cover or hide stretch marks. Other products focus on reducing the appearance and prevent stretch marks from developing. You must choose the latter. Stretch mark creams that simply fail are those that do not indicate to the consumer the root cause of stretch marks.

All-Natural – Do not buy stretch mark creams that claim to be effective simply because they “moisturize the skin.” If that were the case, everyone would continue to use their regular skin lotion and not worry about their stretch marks. Choose a product that will repair and heal skin cells. Secondly choose a product that is all-natural, because natural ingredients are more likely to absorb well into the skin compared to chemically processed ones. No matter how “potent” ingredients are, if they are unable to sip deep into the skin, they do nothing. Moving on, Tretinoin or Retin A products are helpful in treating fresh stretch marks, however, they are entirely ineffective on old ones.

So what is the best cream for stretch marks then? There are a few, and those contain vitamin E, aloe vera, collagen, shea butters, elastin, emu oil and rose hip oil. A good cream will address the root cause of stretch marks, including deep scar tissues, slow production of new cells and loss of elasticity of the skin. Therefore, a good cream will focus on good absorption of ingredients, sooth/moisturize the skin, encourage the production of collagen and elastin, and slough off dead skin cells and enable new growth of cells. Moreover, check for good guarantees, reasonable pricing, less hype and more practical explanations/claims, safety and self-regulated by the company.

Tired of trial-and-error methods in stretch mark treatment? Get online reviews of stretch mark product that is best for your skin and prevent stretch marks from getting worse.

Technorati Tags: beauty, cream for stretch marks, Cure Stretch Marks, cures for stretch marks, eliminate stretch marks, health, product reviews

Cure Stretch Marks beauty, cream for stretch marks, Cure Stretch Marks, cures for stretch marks, eliminate stretch marks, health, product reviews