Chances are you’ve seen them: wavering, slightly sunken lines on your skin that start off looking angry and purply red, then fade to a silvery shade slightly lighter than your skin tone. And annoyingly, they don't disappear.
Stretchmarks, medically referred to as striae dinstensae, are created when the skin is excessively stretched, usually because of weight loss or gain, pregnancy or puberty. It’s this big stretch that causes the collagen and elastin in the middle layer of the skin to break down, creating an internal scar that’s visible on the surface as a stretchmark.
While women may be more obsessed with stretchmarks, men get them too. Boys experiencing a growth spurt, men who participate in body-altering activities like weightlifting and men who gain or lose a lot of weight may also develop them. There seems to be a genetic tendency towards stretchmarks, so if a parent developed them, take care of your skin when you see your shape changing, either through a change in weight, pregnancy or through exercise.
Prevent them
If you’re at the beginning of puberty, in the early stages of pregnancy or about to embark on a serious diet, invest in a specially formulated stretchmark prevention product such as Bio-Oil. Apply your chosen treatment at least twice a day, particularly after your bath or shower, to help minimise, if not altogether prevent, stretchmarks from occurring.
Fade them
Existing stretchmarks are a little harder to deal with. New ones are usually red, blue or purple in colour, but can certainly be improved by using a product such as Skin Clinic Vitamin E Oil. Once your stretchmarks mature, turning pale or silvery, they’ll become much less noticeable. However, if you wish to smooth them out further, you could try something like Johnson’s Pure Tissue Oil, enriched with soya bean oil that promises to help fade the appearance of both old and new scars.
The big guns
Beauty clinics and your doctor can also help you to minimise existing stretchmarks. Prescribed treatments: chat to your doctor about topical creams that contain retinoids. Retinoids stimulate collagen growth and strengthen connective tissue. They can help fade the appearance of new stretchmarks.
Anything containing alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) may assist in smoothing out older marks.
Endermologie: available at beauty clinics, endermologie uses a massage machine with rollers that have a suction-like action. Endermologie increases circulation, removes toxins and positively stretches your connective tissues. It’s a sure-fire way to beat cellulite, but has also been shown to improve the appearance of old and new stretchmarks by working from the inside out. A series of treatments is required.
Microdermabrasion: performed at a beauty clinic, this relatively simple treatment sandblasts blemishes with thousands of tiny crystals to remove the top layers of the skin. It won’t remove the stretchmarks completely, but it will help to even out the skin. To get the best results, this too requires a series of treatments, but it’s generally less expensive and more targeted than endermologie.
Easy does it
You can also mix your own stretchmark treatment at home. Here’s how:
- In a blender, mix together half a cup of virgin olive oil, a quarter cup of aloe-vera gel, the liquid from six capsules of vitamin E and the liquid from four capsules of vitamin A.
- Keep the mixture in your fridge and apply it to your stretchmarks every day. This treatment can be used to improve the appearance of existing stretchmarks and prevent new ones.
What about other scars?
While stretchmarks involve collagen breaking down, your body actively forms collagen to heal other types of wounds, such as cuts, burns or after an operation. If you have a wound healing on a joint such as your knee, you may end up with a wider, more obvious scar. Some people are also prone to keloid scarring: puffy-looking, raised scar tissue that's created when the body produces too much collagen. Scars can be treated with some of the same preparations as stretchmarks (such as tissue oil) to make them less obvious. Pressure bandages, scar plasters and massage may also help flatten and fade scars. Surgical scar improvement, peels, laser resurfacing and dermabrasion are also options – speak to your dermatologist or a beauty clinic for their recommendations.
Pharmacy fact
As you develop a stretchmark or a wound starts to heal, the skin may itch, but try not to scratch because this may worsen the scarring. Rub in tissue oil or moisturiser when the need to scratch attacks and keep your body hydrated by drinking 1,5-2 litres of water daily. Balanced meals will supply you with all the vitamin A, C and E you need to keep your collagen in good condition, for healthy, supple skin.