Treating stretch marks

Rubbing Away Your Stretch Marks
By Gabriel J. Adams

Many people have to deal with striae in their lives, though they've probably never heard the term. Instead, most folks know them by their more common name: stretch marks. Stretch marks occur whenever we increase our body mass faster than our skin can accommodate.

Our skin has a certain amount of elasticity, which allows for movement and growth without constantly developing stretch marks. However, when our rate of growth exceeds the level of elasticity in our skin, stretch marks will occur.

Most experts will tell you that the key to treating stretch marks is in preventing them in the first place by keeping your skin continually moisturized. However, for those of us who already have stretch marks, such advice isn't exactly music to our ears. We just want to know how to get rid of them!

Many commercially available lotions and creams have a beneficial effect on existing stretch marks. Keep in mind that no cream is going to completely eliminate your stretch marks. If such a cream existed, it would make front page news around the globe. However, you can minimize the appearance of stretch marks.

To help minimize stretch marks, you're looking for products which replenish the natural oils in your skin, especially anything high in vitamin A, vitamin E and alpha hydroxyl acids (also known as "fruit acids.") Make sure you rub them deeply into the areas around your existing stretch marks. By keeping your skin in good condition you will both minimize your existing stretch marks and help prevent the development of new ones.

While you wait for your stretch marks to fade, do your best to not feel self-conscious. I know you're faced with the images of "perfect" models on magazine covers at the supermarket, but keep in mind that they have a professional airbrush artist working overtime to keep them hidden

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Remove Stretch Marks

This article about removing stretch marks caught my eye and I have reproduced it below for your benefit. I hope that after reading the article, you will take action to remove stretch marks on any part of your body.

How To Remove Stretch Marks by Sharon Dell

Stretch marks mostly appear on the abdomen, thighs, hips, breasts, upper arms or lower back; anywhere fat is stored with boys, girls, men and women equally at risk.
Approximately 90% of pregnant Caucasian women develop stretch marks, with women of color fairing slightly better.


Your skin type, stress, poor diet and sudden environmental change all play a role, but genetics is the biggest contibutor. If your mother has bad stretch marks, you probably will too.

What is the cause of stretch marks?
They appear during puberty, pregnancy, the bulking up phase of bodybuilding, obesity, intense physical activity and Cushing's disease. Oral steroids and over-use of low potency topical steroid creams/ointments driven deeper into the skin when covered with plastic wrap, can also cause stretch marks.

During these critical times, increased hormones in the bloodstream prevent the dermis from forming collagen and elastin fibers. So at the very time your skin over-stretches and you need elasticity and strong underlying support most, you don't have it.

What it boils down to is that stretch marks are scars created by your own body to heal damage on the inside caused by over-stretched skin which is too thin.
Unfortunately stretch marks stay with you forever because the damage is in the dermis, far below the surface of the skin, and no cream on earth can undo it.

How your skin normally heals indicates what your stretch marks will look like. With time all stretch marks are less noticeable, and with treatment, even less so, but their striated appearance rarely returns to its original smooth appearance and the texture remains slightly different to normal skin.
Although aesthetically stretch marks may bother you, they are harmless and don't require medical treatment.

How to fade stretch marks
Instead of trying expensive, painful, invasive procedures which may or may not work, with just a little diligent self-maintenance and patience your marks will fade dramatically.

The regimen we look at entails repairing your multi-layered skin from the inside with water, good nutrition and exercise; and from the outside with exfoliation, massage and oils.

All the natural, chemical free ingredients are conveniently found in your kitchen or local health store, generating the same results as expensive creams, but saving you a ton of money.
The earlier you start treatment on red scars, the faster they heal; but don't give up hope, there's a lot you can do for older white scars too.
Let us start by replenishing the inside:

Water
Drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day naturally hydrates your tissues, keeps your skin soft and elastic and helps normalize collagen production levels. Think of it as an internal moisturizer.
For every mug of coffee, tea or soda you drink, have an additional glass of water.

Nutrition
Eating foods rich in essential fatty acids, zinc, silica and vitamins A,C,D,E,K nourishes the body and replenishes your skin. Include oily fish, eggs, liver and lean meats, citrus fruit, tomatoes, almonds, pumpkin seeds, carrots, spinach, green cabbage, kale, Swiss Chard, turnip greens, broccoli, tomatoes, collards and low fat dairy products in your diet.
Stress, oral contraceptives and hormone therapies can deplete your body of essential nutrients vital for skin health but good nutrition helps correct the balance.

Biochemistry/tissue salts
Calcium Fluoride, Natrium Muriaticum and Calcium Phosphate restore tone and elasticity to muscles, connective tissue and skin, and help maintain the body's water balance.

Exercise
Stretch marks look worse on flabby skin than they do on toned, firm flesh.
Working from the outside, focus on the stretch marks themselves, twice a day:
Exfoliate in the shower or dry brush the stretch mark areas.

Apply lemon juice to fade the scars.
When the lemon juice dries, rinse with warm water and dry your skin.
Generously moisturize with one or more of the oils below. When done after showering, your pores soak up more oil.
Massage as vigorously as you can to increase circulation.
When you can, cover your oil saturated stretch marks with plastic wrap, put a hot water bottle, hot towel or heating pad on top for 20 to 30 minutes, then remove the wrap.
Wipe off any excess oil to obviate stained clothes.
Use whichever oils appeal to you; there is no wrong one. Just stick to the general principles - exfoliate, moisturize and massage.
Let us look at each factor in more detail.

Exfoliate
Exfoliating and/or dry brushing removes layers of dead skin to unveil soft, fresh skin. For sensitive areas like the breasts and hard to reach areas, do what you can.

Use a loofah or an exfoliator, bought or home-made -- try sea salt, oatmeal, baking soda, ground coffee or apricot scrub, with a wet washcloth. Add any of them to olive oil to make a paste and then massage the stretch marks for 10 minutes in a circular motion while in the shower.
Rinse off afterwards.
Apply lemon juice which helps stretch marks fade. Allow to dry, then rinse with warm water and towel dry your skin.
A derma or skin roller helps oil penetrate more deeply. If using one, use it now before you moisturize.

Moisturize and hydrate
The more you infuse your skin with moisture the better.
Massage any natural oil into your stretch marks. What oil you use matters less than that you regularly and vigorously massage these areas, thereby improving circulation and promoting rejuvenation.
During pregnancy when the skin of your expanding stomach feels ticklish, scratching tears the dermis. Rather apply oil and gently rub the area with a cloth to relieve the itch.

A word of caution if you are keen to try one of the packaged remedies for stretch marks: many are laden with dangerous chemicals which should not be applied during pregnancy and most especially not to your abdomen.
Fragrances in baby oil dry out the skin, and petroleum jelly moisturizes when applied, but the skin becomes drier when you abstain, so stick to natural organic oils:
Cocoa butter

Rose hip oil

Extra virgin olive oil

Castor oil

Emu oil

Lanolin oil

Vitamin E oil

Vitamin A

Vitamin C

Vitamin K cream

Jojobo oil

Natural shea butter

Aloe vera

Bio Oil

Hide them
Until they fade sufficiently, consider hiding your stretch marks with clothes, a swimsuit offering more coverage, a self-tanning cream or body makeup. Tanning itself will not help - the stretch marks are less likely to tan than surrounding skin and their appearance may actually be emphasized.

Conclusion
Be wary of promises made by those flogging stretch mark creams. No cream can truly prevent or remove stretch marks.
If you feel self-conscious about your stretch marks, take comfort in the fact that most people have them, and with the passage of time together with the above, they will barely be noticeable.
In the meantime learn to live with them. Being proud of your body, stretch marks and all, is a very appealing quality.

About the Author

If you would like recipes for various creams, go to the full article at How to get rid of stretch marks or if you would like something entirely different, read about gas tankless heater requirements.