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The Truth About Stretch Marks: What You Really Need To Know About Them

Do you really want to know the truth about stretch marks? I mean the actual truth and not those old wives tales that just confuse the entire issue and get women to believe the completely wrong thing? Well the next few minutes will really change the way you look at this age old problem.

The Truth About Stretch Marks: What You Really Need To Know About Them

Medically speaking, what are they?

So let us first of all look at what the medical definition is of a stretch mark. According to dermatologists, stretch marks are actually scars that can potentially form after gaining or losing weight, puberty, and giving birth. What happens is that elastin fibers and collagen can tear when there is this change in the elasticity of the skin, but there is also more to it than just your skin being stretched.

Stretch Marks

Now, there is a greater understanding of the role of hormones in their development and this improved level of understanding does mean that it is easier to treat them. Basically, during any of the events mentioned above your body produces something called glucocorticoids via your adrenal glands and this hormone has been shown to have the same effect on those elastin fibers. Medically speaking, that is the truth about stretch marks and how they are formed and not what you may have been told by other people.

Who can get them?

There are a number of scare stories around as to how or why you can develop stretch marks. This can often lead to a rather confusing picture and the mistaken belief that you are somehow immune to them. However, the truth about stretch marks is that any female can indeed develop them and that is simply because of things that happen naturally to the body.

Who can get the stretch marks

Yes, you can avoid getting them by never being pregnant, but you have to go through puberty and the chances are that your weight will fluctuate during your lifetime and we are not talking about massive amounts of weight loss or gain making that difference either. 
It is also true that everybody produces that all important hormone and that cannot be stopped no matter what you may read elsewhere. This means that it is best to just accept that you may very well be susceptible to stretch marks simply thanks to it being a natural reaction to a natural event.

How do you cure them?

This has to be the part that is just full of red herrings. A quick search online can throw up a wide range of apparent remedies that will undoubtedly work, or so they say. From a medical point of view, the actual truth about stretch marks is that they cannot be prevented due to genetics, but you should certainly try to treat them as early as possible in order to minimize the impact that they have on your body.

How do you cure the stretch marks


The key here is to treat them when you see that they are pink, red, or appear to be inflamed as this is when they have just started and they are the easiest ones to then treat. If they are silver or white in color, then you are going to struggle to sort them out as they are now fully mature. 

With new marks you are advised to use Vitamin A oil or a cream that contains the ingredient Retinol. This ingredient actually stimulates the production of collagen and this can then reduce the stretch mark and, in a number of instances, make it vanish. If the stretch mark is that white color, then the best advice is to use a stronger product available via prescription such as Retin-A as this is stronger and it can still, for some people, make a difference. Apart from Vitamin A, you can also use creams that claim to have anti-inflammatory properties and use it on a regular basis. This can reduce the swelling and make the stretch marks shrink although this is better when they are in their earliest stage. 

If creams and ointments are not working, then the best thing to do is to consider laser treatment. This is extremely effective although clearly it is more costly, but it can reduce the redness of the marks thanks to the way that it does stimulate blood flow in the body. The laser will also stimulate more collagen to be produced and the stretch marks will fade after a few treatments.

So now you know the truth about stretch marks and you should be able to see that there is not a lot you can do about them if truth be told although clearly there are ways to reduce the chances of you developing them over time. Do not allow them to ruin your life as there are solutions out there, but you need to be patient and allow them to work as there is no over night solution.