Stretch marks are long, narrow streaks, stripes, or lines that develop on the skin. They occur when the skin is suddenly stretched due to excessive weight gain or loss. Anyone can develop stretch marks, although they tend to affect women more than men.
They can occur on a range of body parts, including the stomach, thighs, hips, breasts, upper arms, and lower back. Stretch marks form in the dermis, or middle layer, when the connective tissue is stretched beyond the limits of its elasticity.
As the body grows, the connecting fibres in the dermis slowly stretch to accommodate slow growth. However, rapid growth leads to sudden stretching. This causes the dermis to tear, allowing deeper layers of skin to show through.
Before stretch marks begin to emerge, the skin can appear thin and pink. It may also feel irritated or itchy.
The marks initially develop as wrinkly, raised streaks that can be red, purple, pink, reddish-brown or dark brown, depending on skin colour. The streaks eventually fade and flatten and tend to change to a silvery colour over time, due to the pale fat beneath the skin becoming visible instead of the usual blood vessels.
Stretch marks may gradually become less noticeable, but this can often take years but stretch marks never really disappear.
Treatment and prevention
Creams, gels, lotions, and tissue oils all offer some improvement in the appearance of stretchmarks, however they are not permanent solutions.
Stretch marks cannot always be prevented. However, the following steps may help to reduce the risk:
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Avoid yo-yo dieting and eat a balanced diet rich in vitamins and minerals.
- Consuming a suitable amount of vitamins A and C can help support the skin, as well as the minerals zinc and silicon.
- Aim for slow and gradual weight gain during pregnancy.
- Drink six to eight glasses of water every day.
- Keep skin well moisturised and nourished to increase its elasticity.
Celltone’s Tissue Oil has been clinically proven to reduce the depth of stretch marks after 14 days of continued use and appearance of stretch marks after 28 days of continued use.
It can also be used to prevent stretch marks from appearing, so during periods of weight gain or loss, for example, during pregnancy or beauty, massaging tissue oil onto areas prone to stretch marks is adviseable. This will keep skin soft and supple helping it to stretch without damage being done.
For more information on Celltone Tissue Oil go to www.celltone.co.za.
[Additional Info: Medical News Today]