How to Make Stretchmarks Disappear
Ugh stretch marks. Whether the result of pregnancy, a growth spurt, or even "putting on a few pounds", stretch marks are commonly seen after rapid growth or weight gain. As much as we hate stretch marks and find them quite unsightly, the good news is that there are smart things you can do in order to diminish the appearance of those stripes and lines. Yay!
Options To Make Your Stretch Marks Go Away… Or At Least Reduce Them...
Natural Remedies for Stretch Marks
There are also natural remedies that seem to help slowly get rid of stretch marks (wahoo!), so let’s look at those before we go to the medical procedure options.
Cocoa Butter: Applying cocoa butter to stretch marks appears to cause them to fade while it moisturizes areas of dryness. Win-win!
Olive Oil: As a popular treatment for stretch marks, applying olive oil may help prevent stretch marks from becoming more prominent, soften the area and provide your skin with vitamin E.
There are some less famous natural remedies that nonetheless prove effective for some people and if you’re one who has tried the above with no results, try these!
Less Famous Natural Remedies
Lemon Juice: Use the juice (which contains acids) to bleach your stretch marks, helping to ensure they blend in with your natural skin tone and slowly fade in appearance. However, if do try using lemon juice, make sure you rinse it off your skin after 10-12 minutes lest you have a bleached skin disaster.
Potato Juice: Some people swear by potato juice for stretch marks because it contains certain vitamins and minerals that may improve skin cell restoration.
More “scary” and costly options…
Laser Therapy
Laser therapy is one of the most effective treatments for stretch marks, fading them to the point where they are barely noticeable. The most common form of this painless but powerful treatment is called pulsed dye laser treatment and is typically used on red or purple stretch marks. It collapses the blood vessels beneath the stretch marks, getting rid of the colored scars or turning them white. The procedure is not cheap and may need to be done several times to achieve the desired results, but the resulting minimization of stretch marks can dramatically boost self-confidence.
Cosmetic Surgery
Other people instead opt for cosmetic surgery, though it may be a rather extreme solution to the problem of stretch marks. But hey! You gotta do what you gotta do! For people with both stretch marks and loose skin, an abdominoplasty (aka a 'tummy tuck') removes that extra tissue from the abdomen and removes the stretch marks under the navel. Of course, you always need to be aware of the potential complications (such as further scars, anesthesia complications, etc), but the results can be remarkable in some cases. So it’s all about the pros and cons.
Preventing Future Stretch Marks
Prevention is key with stretch marks! One useful approach involves using some type of vitamin E treatment to try and fortify the collagen and elastin in your skin, boosting both strength and elasticity. In addition, some studies suggest that treatments containing vitamin D3 can work with vitamins A and E to help with the natural regeneration of your skin. So lather up and smooth those vitamins around on your skin.
Have you found any sure fire ways to reduce or prevent stretch marks? Tell us about it!