stretch marks

Have you ever come across a deflated balloon after being overly inflated for a while? Well, the slightly crooked lines that you see on the surface of the balloon are known as stretch marks. That is similar to the lines we see on our bodies especially on the thighs, tummy, butt, back of the knees and near the arm pits. I don’t know about you, but that’s where my (beautiful) stretch marks are located.

These annoying linear marks start to appear during puberty, and keep going during pregnancy as well as those times when you gain some weight then lose some. Other causes of stretch marks include genetics, changing hormones and exercise.

Most people believe that stretch marks are only present in, well, people on the heavier side of the scale or those, as mentioned above, who have lost or increased some weight, but that is just another misconception. People call me skinny, slim, thin or whatever name they can come up with, and I have my tiger lines to show. So I guess big has nothing to do with stretch marks.

stretchmarks At the end of the day, whatever story our stretch marks tell, they are still annoying to most of us. After all they have this habit of making one feel unattractive. Sometimes I also feel embarrassed to put on a two-piece, but I end up flaunting them anyway. But, it doesn’t have to be that way.

As usual, I had a chat with my favorite skin treatments and aesthetic laser expert on how we can diminish the appearance of stretch marks on our bodies. To be honest, if I could reduce their appearance, I would embrace my tiger lines with an open heart. For now I will stick to embracing them with open hands.

These are the options the nice medical aesthetician gave me

Laser therapy is one of the best ways to reduce the appearance of stretch marks. It is considered effective because laser works by doing away with any damaged skin and healing the broken blood vessels. This leads to the production of new collagen which makes those stretch marks less visible.

Moisturizing your skin helps in maintaining elasticity especially when the stretch marks are new. The moisturizer works wonders on the skin’s collagen-rebuilding properties hence allowing skin regeneration, healing and as a result reducing the appearance of the stretch marks.

Research has shown that lemon juice lessens the appearance of these marks. Since it acts as a bleaching agent, it can help in fading the marks away, especially on pale skin; otherwise it would not work on dark skin.

Olive oil can also be more than a condiment for Mediterranean dishes. It acts as a moisturizer, which from the above point is a requirement for keeping stretch marks at bay. In addition it contains a lot of antioxidants and nutrients which help keep your skin healthy and smooth.

Other than making chips, potatoes also come in handy if you want to diminish stretch marks. Potato juice contains a number of minerals, essential fatty acids, and vitamins. If applied properly and very often, it is very capable of encouraging production of collagen and as a result restoring new skin cells which diminish stretch marks.

I usually call Aloe Vera a super plant because it has a lot of benefits attached to it. So far it has become very popular among many communities. As a remedy for alleviating stretch marks, if used fresh, the gel found on its leaves encourages the production of collagen on the skin hence repairing the skin and fading stretch marks.

Well, it seems collagen regeneration is the key to diminishing stretch marks and many other skin imperfections we might face. I will be posting different treatments that help with collagen regeneration. In the meantime, stay beautiful and be happy.

xoxo