All About Stretch Marks
Stretch Marks

All About Stretch Marks

Studies show that about 70% of female adolescents suffer from some form of stretch mark or another.

Definition of Stretch Marks

Stretch marks are caused by poor skin flexibility and loss of skin’s collagen. In stretch marks, skin is pulled more than normal breaking down cells and tissue fibers leading to scarring of the skin.

Causes of Stretch Marks

There is no exact explanation of how stretch marks are formed, but there are many factors that contribute to the condition. There are many causes of stretch marks but pregnancy, breastfeeding weight gain, growth spurts, hormonal imbalance and prolonged use of steroids are the common culprits. However, they are not harmful and do not pose health risks.

On the other hand, one hormone that has been identified to be the cause of stretch marks in pregnant women and adolescents is the Glucocorticoids which at that particular point in time, the hormone is secreted in a very high concentration. The hormone is also said to prevent collagen formation.

Differentiating between Red and White Stretch Marks

Red and White Stretch Marks

Stretch marks can be red or white streaks in color. At the start, stretch marks appear as red or purple marks until they become lighter after time. The color changes dependent upon how long you have had them. Stretch marks are purple or red at the outset and then finish up silvery thin lines. In other words, red stretch marks are fresh, and are typically less than a year old. They are fresher lesions, so they are much easier to treat.

Red stretch marks are also more amenable to medication. They are common on body parts that have the most stored fats such as thighs, hips and abdomen.

Red marks can be quite common in teenagers. They often appear around the stomach and legs. Any stretch marks that are slightly older and more mature turn white. White stretch marks indicate chronic inflammation. Detectivesintercom.com

Are Stretch Marks Permanent?

Stretch marks are very hard to remove. While most of them are permanent, stretch marks especially the red ones are easier to get rid of. Laser therapy is the sole permanent solution for stretch marks. However, the effect of laser therapy varies from person to person.

What are These Stretch Marks on my Back?

One body part that is commonly affected by stretch marks is the back, especially the lower part. Whether you are pregnant or not; men and women; thin or obese, they are still most likely to get stretch marks. Unlike other body parts such as hips, thighs and bust, stretch marks on the back body part are not much to worry about but perhaps this is because they are usually covered. Stretch marks are not serious at all. They are neither contagious nor harmful.

Who can Have Stretch Marks?

The following are some of the identified contributing factors to stretch marks.

  • Hormonal imbalances – pregnant mothers, breastfeeding mothers
  • Growth spurts in adolescents
  • Obesity
  • People who use Corticosteroids, or those affected by Cushing’s Syndrome

Why Do Stretch Marks Exist on your back?

So why do people have stretch marks on their back? The back part of our bodies may not have as many stretch marks as the thighs and hips have; nevertheless, they remain as unpleasant marks on the skin. Affecting any region of the body, stretch marks exist due to distress in the dermis. It is where collagen fibers seated that allows skin to stretch and return back into shape. However, this is not always the case. Old people do not have that quality of collagen that they had when they were younger. At some point in our lives, these fibers break down and form scars. The disfigurement appears in the upper layer of the skin. Whenever muscles are overstretched, the dermis layer (at some point) cannot withstand such over expansion, so it ends up tearing the skin.

What are Stretch Marks on Your Bum?

If you are a woman, lady or teen, you are probably grumbling about stretch marks especially when they occur on your butt cheeks. Especially those who love to wear bikinis and shorts, stretch marks continue to be the dilemma of many women. Though, they are painless and not harmful they are just ugly to see. I mean, it would be the most perfect thing if you had a great body and flawless skin, particularly around your butt area, right?

There is no exact cause as to why stretch marks occur on this part of the body. When you see stretch marks on your bum when you are looking in the mirror, you may have noticed that they have silvery linings, but are neither infected nor inflamed. Stretch marks on the bum appear as wrinkled lines or streaks usually at the bottom of the cheeks. This is one of the common places for stretch marks because the skin in that area is stretched many times during a day. The skin draws out when we sit, stand, exercise and walk. The result is irregular, fine lines that are slightly indented.

Nearly all women have stretch marks on their bum and yet, stretch marks do not deter many women from wearing a bikini or swim suit – it’s just that they know how to hide their skin imperfections in a fashionable way!

Stretch Marks Treatments

While many see different kinds of stretch mark during normal body changes, many find these body scars aesthetically unpleasant. There are many topical preparations for stretch marks in the forms of lotions, creams and balms, exfoliation and even chemical peels. The goals of these methods are to keep skin moisturize and supple and facilitate skin cell renewal.  While they may be helpful, procedures and surgeries are most likely to improve their appearance. For dermatologists and experts, red stretch marks are easier to treat because they are still in the process of healing.

How to Improve Stretch Marks?

It is a fact that stretch marks are permanent once they appear. Topical solutions and other balms only help to somewhat lighten the scars. Nonetheless, without having laser treatment or surgery, these scars can be lessened but to a limited extent.

To try and improve the appearance of stretch marks, you can follow some of these tips:

  • Drink plenty of water to rehydrate the skin. Skin affected by stretch marks lacks moisture. That is why dermatologists advised the use of lotion and creams rich in Cocoa butter and Vitamin C and Palmer Cream to prevent skin from drying out. A dry skin is not good for collagen fibers as it needs to be kept moisturized.
  • Maintain a healthy weight – being overweight is likely to produce more lines, the more the skin is stretched.
  • If you are working out, take it slowly. Allow cells time to adapt to changes in the skin which will help prevent the unwanted stretch marks.
  • Have a massage – using virgin coconut oil or even mashed avocado to rub into the skin while having a massage is definitely beneficial. Massaging allows increased circulation to the body; thus keeping cells healthy and regenerated.
  • Avoid scratching the areas where you have stretch marks as this may cause further damage to cells.

Laser Therapy Treatment

Laser treatment is probably bar far the best way to improve the appearance of stretch marks on any part of your body, although agreed, probably not everyone can afford this procedure. It works by penetrating the epidermis and dermis to stimulate new tissue growth and collagen production and in time the marks disappear completely and the odds against infection after the treatment is extremely uncommon. However, the procedure is very expensive, and there is the need to have repetitive sessions in order to acquire a satisfactory result.

Some of the more natural remedies for stretch marks on parts of the body are Vitamin E oil, Aloe Vera, Cocoa Butter Lotion, Avocado Oil, Rose Oil to name but a few.  Creams unfortunately do not unfortunately penetrate the skin that deeply.  However, after time of use they do help to make the scars become lighter in appearance (approximately after 3 months of use).

Unfortunately stretch marks on the bum appear to be the hardest of all to reduce in visibility – unless of course you have surgery.  Some people prefer not to go under the knife, so they are more inclined to use the creams or lotions.