- How to eliminate red streaks
- How to eliminate purple streaks
- How to eliminate white streaks
- What causes stretch marks
- How to prevent new stretch marks
To remove stretch marks, you can resort to homemade treatments, made based on exfoliation on the skin and good hydration or you can resort to aesthetic treatments, such as laser or microneedling, for example.
To find out which treatment is most suitable first, you need to identify the color of the stretch mark. The red streaks present this color due to the rupture of blood capillaries and can still be treated, as their capacity for regeneration is great. The purple streaks are in an intermediate stage, but they are still easier to solve. The white streaks have this color because they no longer receive the proper blood supply in that specific location, even being a scar that forms on the skin, which indicates that the ability of the skin to regenerate at this point is much less.
How to eliminate red streaks
Red streaks are new and easier to solve. In this case, what can be done is to hydrate the skin a lot, betting on the healing products. Although they cause intense itching, you cannot scratch your skin because it can aggravate stretch marks.
How to eliminate purple streaks
To eliminate purple streaks it is indicated:
- Exfoliate your skin: you can use vegetable mash or exfoliating creams found in cosmetics stores, pharmacies and drugstores, rubbing on stretch marks for 3 to 5 minutes, during the bath, up to 2 times a week. Use a good stretch mark cream, prescribed by a dermatologist, in the affected area and, with your thumb, rub the entire length of the stretch marks, until all the product is absorbed by the skin. This massage should be performed daily until the stretch marks are gone. And, after the treatment, you should continue to moisturize your skin well to avoid the formation of new stretch marks.
In addition, Rosehip oil is another excellent option to disguise stretch marks and scars, helping to smooth and lighten the skin. See How to use Rosehip Oil.
How to eliminate white streaks
To eliminate white stretch marks, the ideal is in addition to exfoliating the skin, moisturizing very well, and it is still necessary to resort to more improved aesthetic treatments such as:
- Peeling with retinoic acid, done by the dermatologist or physiotherapist; CO2 laser or pulsed light that completely eliminates white streaks, renewing the skin; Dermaroller with needles over 2 mm to stimulate the formation of collagen and elastin, forming a new layer of firmer skin. This treatment should only be done with a dermatologist or physiotherapist specialized in aesthetics. Dermabrasion: it is a kind of mechanical exfoliation in which the most superficial layers of the skin are removed, leaving the streak more uniform. Intradermotherapy: is the application of various chemical substances through injections along the entire length of the stretch marks, improving their appearance and decreasing their size. Galvanotherapy: use of a galvanic current device that, through electrical stimuli, promotes the deeper penetration of certain chemical substances, which favors the formation of collagen and elastin.
These treatments stimulate the local blood circulation, favoring the formation of new collagen and elastin cells, which form the skin, managing to decrease the size and narrowing the stretch marks, until they become imperceptible.
Surgery is rarely indicated but when there is a large amount of stretch marks and accumulated fat, you can opt for an abdominoplasty, for example.
Watch the following video and check out these and other tips that help eliminate stretch marks:
What causes stretch marks
Stretch marks usually appear during pregnancy because the skin stretches a lot and there is still the action of the hormone elastin, which relaxes the ligaments, tendons, and also the skin, which can make it more fragile and flabby. Other situations that also favor the formation of stretch marks are in adolescence, after gaining weight very quickly, in people who take corticosteroids because this type of medicine also reduces the amount of collagen, which gives firmness and support to the skin.
Stretch marks appear when the skin needs to stretch a lot and very quickly, but they usually appear in the following areas:
- Belly; Breasts; Behind or beside the arms; Butt; Thighs.
Especially in men, stretch marks can appear horizontally on the back, as if it were a ladder.
How to prevent new stretch marks
Avoiding rapid weight gain and keeping your skin very hydrated is the best way to prevent stretch marks from forming on the skin. About 8 out of 10 pregnant women get stretch marks, and not all will disappear spontaneously. However, when a woman does not gain weight very quickly during pregnancy and is careful to apply creams and oils daily to her skin, the risk of having stretch marks is less.
Stretch mark creams are most effective on new stretch marks, which are red or purple. In this case, the cream must contain Q10 or have a tensor effect, for example. The cream should be applied with a local massage every day after the bath and can be reapplied several times a day. This same type of cream can be used to prevent the appearance of new stretch marks in the most affected areas such as breasts, bellies, thighs and butt.
