Beauty Talk: Stretch Marks - Treatment

If you already have stretch marks, the good news is they are treatable. The bad news is they do not disappear completely.

Stretch marks need to be treated while they are still fresh and red in color. This means taking measures during first few weeks or months of their occurance. If stretch marks are not fresh, already turned white or silver, and if they went very deep into dermis, no treatment will remove them completely. However, you can still minimize their unsighty appearance and at least fade them.

To treat stretchmarks at home, use topical products containing ingredients that stimulate collagen production and thicken skin. Several ingredients to look for include retinoids (should not be used by pregnant women!), Vitamin C and glycolic acids.

A couple examples of the products that can help against existing stretch marks include
ProCyte Striae Stretch Mark Crème
Stri-Vectin Intensive Concentrate for Existing Stretch Marks
Triderma MD’s Scar Reliever
Lierac Gamme Phytolastil Anti-Stretch Mark Solution
RoC Retinol Anti-Stretch Mark Serum.

Professional treatments availbale at the doctor office are lasers like the Pulse Dye and Nd. They can thicken the skin and take away redness. But get ready, it will hurt your wallet. The cost can range from $250 to 500 per treatment. Note, the use of a pulsed dye laser was shown to increase pigmentation in darker skinned individuals with repeated treatments. CO2 resurfacing lasers are also used to treat old stretch marks and can blend them in. The price tag is higher and is $900-3’000 per treatment.
Another treatment reducing visibility of stretch marks to consider is Dermabrasion. This treatment will be most effective if the scar is raised above the skin’s surface.

You did everything possible but the stretch marks are still visible? Camouflage them! Best way to make stretch marks a secret is a self-tanner. There is also special makeup developed to cover tattoos and port-wine stains. Check out Smart Cover Makeup Line, Tattoo Camo, Joe Blasco's Tattoo Covers etc.

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