Stretch Marks


 

“Stretch marks are natures badge of achievement. They show that you suffered morning sickness, heartburn, back pain and child birth to bring a new life into the world.”

-Unknown

Overview

As the name suggests, stretch marks are changes in the skin that reflect the excessive stretching of the skin exceeding its elastic properties. Sometimes elastic properties of the skin are decreased secondary to an increase in cortisone in your system. This is a naturally occurring hormone produced by the adrenal gland, but on certain occasions, secondary to a disease process or excessive supplement of the hormone. This hormone acts to decrease the elasticity of the skin and hence increasing the chances to develop stretch marks.

Who is at risk of developing stretch marks?

  • Pregnant women secondary to the excessive stretching of the skin to make room for the developing baby.
  • People who gain or lose weight rapidly.
  • Patients on hydrocortisone cream or supplements.
  • Patients with excessive cortisone secretion; Cushing’s syndrome, Marfan’s syndrome, and other adrenal gland abnormalities
  • People with a family history of stretch marks are more likely to develop stretch marks.

How Can I prevent Stretch Marks?

There is no sure way to prevent the development of stretch marks during pregnancy. If your mother developed stretch marks while pregnant, then there’s a very high likelihood that you’ll do the same.

Other than pregnancy, the best way to avoid getting stretch marks is to avoid a sudden increase or decrease in weight, keep a healthy diet, water intake and exercise routine.

How Can I Treat Stretch Marks?

Stretch marks are usually unappealing. And although the color fades gradually to blend into the normal skin, the texture continues to be different. Several options are available to help reduce the appearance of stretch marks:

Topical treatments – Tretinoin cream (Retin-A, Renova) helps restoring collagen, which helps restore skin elasticity. This works better on freshly formed stretch marks (red or pink ones), but it’s contraindicated in pregnancy.

Sublative – This is an FDA approved Radio-frequency treatment using our eTwo machine that stimulates collagen and elastin by inducing heat and micro-injuries under the skin. This treatment results in enhancing the general texture of the skin, hence improving the appearance of stretch marks.

Microneedling  Using tiny sterile needles causing calculated level of penetrations, microneedling works by enhancing the internal healing process to produce more collagen. Thus, it helps to improve the appearance of stretch marks.

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) – Growth factors in PRP separated from your own blood is injected back into the skin enhance the production of collagen and hyaluronic acid.

Laser Rejuvenation – This has shown to improve the elasticity and texture of the skin, hence improving the appearance of stretch marks. This tends to work better on freshly formed stretch marks.

 

Are you ready for your treatment?

Some of the skin treatments mentioned above work better on fresh stretch marks while others can work on old ones too. Some are good for fair skin but might result in hyperpigmentations in darker skin tone. Let us help you get rid of your stretch marks by finding the best treatment for you. Call in for a consultation today!

Stretch Marks

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Chrysolite Aesthetics
10130 Louetta Rd, Suite A1
Houston, TX 77070
Phone: 832-698-1157

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