Ouch, Stretch Marks!

Stretch marks or striae are a form of scarring on the skin with a silvery white appearance. They are caused by tearing of the skin and over time can fade but unfortunately not disappear completely. Stretch marks are because of the rapid stretching of the skin seen with rapid growth like that noted in puberty or weight gain especially during pregnancy. Stretch marks can also been seen on obese people, and can develop during rapid muscle growth from regular exercise.

Even pregnant celebs get them, here is a pic of Katie Holmes.

Symptoms and signs

They first appear as reddish or purple lines, but tend to gradually fade to a lighter color. The affected areas appear empty and soft to the touch.

The skin has three layers: the epidermis (outer layer), the dermis (middle layer), and the subcutaneous stratum (innermost layer). Stretch marks occur in the dermis, the layer that helps the skin retain its shape.

Stretch marks can appear anywhere on the body, but are most likely to appear in places where larger amounts of fats are stored. Areas like the stomach, belly-button, breasts, upper arms, underarms, thighs, hips, and buttocks. They pose no health risk in themselves, and do not compromise the body's ability to function normally and repair itself but as we all know they do not look good!

Causes

The hormones responsible for the development of stretch marks affect the epidermis by not allowing the fibroblasts from forming collagen and elastin fibers, which are necessary to keep rapidly growing skin taut. This creates a lack of supportive material, as the skin is stretched and leads to dermal and epidermal tearing. If the epidermis and the dermis has been penetrated, laser will not remove the stretch marks.

Prevention and cure

Though cocoa butter is an effective moisturizer, no research studies have shown its ability to either prevent stretchmarks, or improve their appearance once a stretchmark has already formed, but at least you smell good.

Various treatments are available for the purpose of improving the appearance of existing stretch marks, including laser treatments, dermabrasion, and prescription retinoids.

A surgical procedure for removing lower abdominal stretch marks is the tummy tuck, which removes the skin below the navel where stretch marks frequently occur.

But, as a woman l say just love your body stretch marks and all!