Beauty Talk: Stretch marks

Stretch mark is kind of a scar. It is formed through tearing of the dermis. Most of us have some kind of stretch marks, either from spurts of growth in puberty, gaining and losing weight, or pregnancy.

How do they happen? Experts say that stretch marks are actually caused not only by physical stretching of the skin but also by hormonal changes in the body. Stretch marks happen as deep as the dermis, the middle layer of the skin. They are caused by glucocorticoid hormones that disrupt normal way of forming of collagen and elastin resulting in less flexible skin and subsequently in dermal and epidermal tearing


Where do they happen?
Common places for stretch marks to occur include:
abdomen
breasts
upper arms
underarms
thighs
hips
buttocks.

Is it possible to prevent stretch marks? There is no enough scientific evidence in support of the fact that creams and lotions help to prevent streetch marks. However there are reassuring results in some studies that show that during pregnancy, for example, fewer streetch marks occur if you use a treatment versus no treatment at all.

To prevent stretchmakrs apply specially developed products that mosturize skin, make it more elastic and contain such ingredients for example as cocoa butter and Vitamin E. Some examples of such products include:
Carol’s Daughter Sexy Belly
Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter
Clarins Stretch Mark Control
Revitol Stretch Mark Cream
Decleor Perfect Sculpt Stretch Mark Restructuring Gel-Cream
RoC Maternity Anti-Stretch Mark Oil
Vichy Complete Action Anti-Stretch Mark Cream

Already have stretch marks and want to know how you can treat them? Read about various treatments available in my next post. In my future posts I will aslo share my personal experience with stretch marks during pregnancy.

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