Stretch marks are the tiny scars that appear when the skin stretches or shrinks quickly. They can be red, pink, slightly raised, and itchy. It all depends on how they are caused and how old they are. They usually appear on your belly, buttocks, breasts, or thighs.
It’s common to get stretch marks during pregnancy. Still, not everyone gets them with the same level of severity.
Is it possible to get rid of stretch marks?
Like any other scar, stretch marks also don’t completely disappear. But most of the stretch marks will fade naturally on their own after pregnancy. You can also make them less visible with different treatments.
Ways to fade pregnancy stretch marks
Here are the ways and treatments that can improve the appearance of your stretch marks.
Start Early
It is easier to treat the early stretch marks than the older ones. As soon as you see stretch marks that appear on your body, apply pressure and massage at least one time a day.
If you start treatment within a few months of getting them, you may improve how they look. But after one year, the stretch marks will get matured, and it is very difficult to treat matured stretch marks.
Consult a Dermatologist
Everyone has different skin and different healing rates. So it’s a very good idea to consult a dermatologist and discuss the options that might work best for you. Some of the options to treat the stretch marks are:
Laser Therapy
Laser therapy uses specific wavelengths of laser light to lessen pain, swelling, and scarring. Laser treatment can help increase your skins’ collagen production. This reduces your stretch marks.
Microdermabrasion
This treatment is used to tone skin tone and structure. And it is also used to treat sun damage, age spots, acne scars, wrinkles, and other skin-related problems.
Micro-needling
In Micro-needling, fine needles are used to puncture the skin. As these tiny injuries heal, it rejuvenates the skin. This treatment takes four to six sessions.
Radiofrequency
This treatment uses radiofrequency waves to heat deeper layers of your skin. This will activate your body’s natural wound healing process, stimulate collagen production, and tighten your skin.
Topical gels with hyaluronic acid
Hyaluronic acid is very good to treat early stretch marks. Daily massaging with gels that contain hyaluronic acid on early stretch marks makes them less noticeable.
Creams with Tretinoin
Studies have shown that early stretch marks treated with creams that contain Tretinoin every day can improve the appearance of the stretch marks.
Tretinoin is a retinoid that speeds up skin growth and stimulates collagen development.
Creams containing Cocoa butter or Vitamin E
These creams don’t necessarily reduce the stretch marks. But these creams will help to keep your skin moisturized. So it gives relief for itchiness.
How long does it take to recover:
There is no specific answer. As everybody heals differently, it’s important to be patient to see the results.
Recovery also depends on the severity of your stretch marks and the treatment you choose to cure them.
Consult a dermatologist and take steps on what treatment to choose to cure your stretch marks.
