Stretch marks, also called striae, happen when your skin changes shape rapidly due to growth or weight gain. They aren’t a sign that anything is wrong with your health.
Both men and women can get stretch marks. Pregnancy and puberty are the two most common times in life to get stretch marks
At first, a stretch mark will appear as a thin red or purple line on your skin that takes on a different texture than the surrounding skin layer.
Eventually, most stretch marks fade and take on a lighter or almost translucent coloring, and become shiny.
Getting rid of stretch marks in a completely natural way isn’t likely. They’re a type of scarring that rarely fades enough to become invisible. However, there are some remedies that can help minimize the appearance of stretch marks and help them to fade more quickly.
Stretch marks are very common in people. Both men and women have stretch marks and some causes include pregnancy and puberty. Other causes of stretch marks include: weight gain, growth, etc.
This occurs as a thin line on color showing a stretched skin, it has a different look from the normal skin.
Stretch marks fade with time; however, treatment may make them less noticeable more quickly.
A stretch mark is a type of scar that develops when our skin stretches or shrinks quickly. The abrupt change causes the collagen and elastin, which support our skin, to rupture. As the skin heals, stretch marks may appear.
Not everyone develops these narrow bands on their skin. Fluctuating hormone levels seem to play a role. You may also have a higher risk if people in your family get stretch marks.
If you develop stretch marks, you’re most likely to do so during these times:
Growth spurts that happen in puberty
Pregnancy
Rapid weight loss or gain
Weight training when you have rapid muscle growth
Applying a corticosteroid to your skin for a long time can also cause stretch marks. If you have Cushing’s disease or Marfan syndrome, you may see stretch marks.
When stretch marks first appear, they tend to be red, purple, pink, reddish-brown, or dark brown, depending on your skin color. Early stretch marks may feel slightly raised and can be itchy.
In time, the color fades and the narrow bands sink beneath your skin. If you run your finger over a mature stretch mark, you often feel a slight depression.
People feel uncomfortable when these stretch marks occur on some parts of their body and feel that they need to get rid of the stretch marks. While it may seem in your mind that getting rid of stretch marks is an easy task, so many people have tried so many methods and have failed. So let us look at some stretch mark removal methods that work.
A. Stretch mark creams, lotions, and gels: Researchers have studied many of the creams, lotions, and gels sold to treat stretch marks. While no one product seems to help all of the time — and some don’t seem to help at all — researchers have discovered some helpful hacks.
If you want to try one of these creams, lotions, or gels to fade stretch marks, be sure to:
Use the product on early stretch marks. Treatment seems to have little effect on mature stretch marks.
Massage the product into your stretch marks.Taking time to massage the product gently into your skin may make it more effective.
Apply the product every day for weeks.If you see results, they take weeks to appear.
B. Self-tanner: While tanning can make stretch marks more noticeable, a self-tanner can camouflage stretch marks — both early and mature ones. A self-tanner cannot get of rid of stretch marks.
Prescription medicine you apply to your skin: In studies, two ingredients seem to offer some relief:
Hyaluronic acid
Tretinoin
In two large studies, applying hyaluronic acid to early stretch marks made the stretch marks less noticeable.
Tretinoin is a retinoid, which may also make early stretch marks less noticeable. In one study, people who applied this prescription cream every night for 24 weeks had less noticeable stretch marks. Those who didn’t apply the cream saw their early stretch marks grow. Other studies have found similar results.
Retinol, another type of retinoid, may also help fade early stretch marks.
C. Procedures that dermatologists perform: Dermatologists use the following procedures to make stretch marks less noticeable, but none of these can get rid of stretch marks:
Chemical peel
Laser therapy
Microdermabrasion
Radiofrequency
Ultrasound
To give you the best results, your dermatologist may use more than one procedure. For example, your dermatologist may treat you with radiofrequency and a pulse dye laser.
With all procedures, side effects are possible. In the skilled hands of a board-certified dermatologist, side effects tend to be minor and temporary. It’s common to have some redness and swelling after a procedure. The redness and swelling tend to disappear in a few hours or days.
A dermatologist can tell you if any of these treatments would be suitable for you, given your health, age, and how long you’ve had the stretch marks.
1. Use of Vitamin A:
Vitamin A is referred to as a retinoid. Retinoids make skin appear smoother and more youthful. They’re used in many over-the-counter topical cosmetic creams.
Simply using a topical extract of vitamin A, or taking vitamin A orally, can contribute to your skin’s health and overall appearance. A diet rich in certain foods, such as carrots and sweet potatoes, might also help you increase your vitamin A levels.
In an older study in 1996 Trusted Source, researchers identified retinoids as helping the appearance of stretch marks. Further research is still necessary to identify all of its effects on stretch marks.
vitamin A repairs the skin making it look smoother and younger. It is applied in many cosmetic creams, so applying an extract of vitamin A or swallowing the tablet, would help to clear up stretch marks.
2. Sugar Scrub:
Some people swear by sugar as a naturopathic microdermabrasion method.
Microdermabrasion performed by a dermatologist is one of the few clinically proven methods to make stretch marks fade. So this home remedy seems worth a try.
Rubbing a sugar scrub on the skin will exfoliate the area. To do this:
Mix one cup sugar with 1/4 cup of a softening agent, like almond oil or coconut oil, before mixing to the consistency of wet beach sand.
Add some lemon juice.
Scrub the mixture on the part of your body where the stretch marks are.
Repeat several times a week while in the shower, making sure to rub the mixture on for 8-10 minutes.
So, sugar is mixed with other substances to form a scrub that helps to exfoliate the stretch mark area to clear up the stretch mark. So mixing sugar with a substance like almond oil or coconut oil to form a scrub will help in removal of stretch marks.
3. Aloe Vera:
While little clinical evidence exists for aloe vera as a stretch mark cure, pure aloe vera is both a natural healing agent and a skin softener. This makes it an ideal home remedy to try for stretch marks.
Aloe vera is a plant that helps regenerate skin tissue and as such it has miraculous healing properties. Take the fresh gel from the leaf and massage onto the area with stretch marks and leave on for 20-30 minutes. Do it daily and wash off with tepid water.
So, apply pure aloe vera from a plant to your stretch marks daily after your shower.
This helps in healing of the skin, so apply some of the natural aloe Vera gel from the aloe Vera plant will go a long way in treating stretch mark.
4. Hyaluronic Acid:
Collagen is the protein in your skin that allows it to keep its shape and appear healthy. As we age, collagen decreases in our face and our bodies.
Collagen production can be stimulatedTrusted Source with hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid can be absorbed by consuming a capsule or extract.
This acid helps to stir up production of collagen. Collagen is the protein found in our skin that helps to make it look healthy and maintain shape. You can rub the hyaluronic acid extract on the stretch mark or take a pill.
5. Coconut oil:
Since stretch marks are scarring from skin damage, coconut oil might help heal the appearance quickly.
Coconut oil has been studiedTrusted Source for its healing properties and was found in rats to reduce the time it takes for skin wounds to heal.
Applying virgin coconut oil to your stretch marks each day might take away some of their red appearance. Unless you’re allergic to coconuts, this oil is considered safe.
This oil has healing properties and will help you to repairs your skin.
6.Cocoa Butter
The use of cocoa butter helps reduce stretch marks and I have seen that if used during and after pregnancy it makes the stretch marks disappear completely. The best time to use cocoa butter is at night, so massage it well into the skin and over a period of time you will find the stretch marks reducing and fading away.
7.Cucumber and Lemon Juice
Lemon juice's natural acidity helps heal and reduce scars and cucumber juice provides the cool soothing effect leaving your skin fresh. Mix lime juice and cucumber juice in equal parts, and apply the mixture on the affected areas till it gets soaked up by the skin. Let it be on your skin for approx. 10 minutes after which you can rinse it off using warm water.
8.Almond and Coconut Oil
Use almond and coconut oil in equal quantities to reduce stretch marks. Massage it on the skin regularly.This home remedy is absolutely natural, which means no harmful side-effects. Follow this remedy religiously and watch out for effective results. Try it.
9. Apricot Mask and Oil
Apricots have great exfoliating tendencies, which make them very effective when it comes to healing stretch marks. Take 2-3 apricots, cut them and take out the seeds. Crush the fruit into a paste and apply this mask on the stretch mark affected areas and leave it on for 15 minutes. Using warm water, wash it off and then repeat the process every day for a month to see results. Pure apricot oil has skin rejuvenating properties and therefore helps in reducing stretch marks. Massage onto the skin with some lemon juice for effective results.
10.Castor Oil
Because of their dried, shrivelled up look, stretch marks need nourishment and moisture. Castor oil when massaged onto the skin will help heal and smoothen the marks slowly. But this is something that you need to constantly feed the skin with.
11. Nourishing Skin Mask
Years of experience in beauty, I have seen the incredible effect of the following nourishing mask in reducing stretch marks -
2 egg yolks, beaten
Juice of one lemon
2tsp oatmeal
2tsp almond paste
Enough milk to mix to a smooth paste
Method: Mix all the ingredients well and apply on the marks and let it dry completely. Wash off with cold water while scrubbing gently. This should be done on alternate days.
Who gets stretch marks?
There are common misconceptions about stretch marks and who gets them. The truth is that genetics are the strongest predictor of stretch marks.
According to the Mayo Clinic, women are more likely to get them, especially those who are pregnant. Other risk factors include:
being on corticosteroid medication
losing or gaining weight rapidly
having breast enlargement surgery
Outlook
The best treatment for stretch marks appears to be prevention. By keeping your skin hydrated, you can help keep the elastin that your skin needs to keep from scarring.
Using topical creams such as coconut oil will keep your skin moisturized and make stretch marks less likely.
Even without treatment, almost all stretch marks will fade over time. Rarely will stretch marks stay as prominent as when they initially appear.
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