We’ve all seen them– short, long, zigzag, wide, purple, red or pink. Yep, stretch marks have a way of showing up in the buttocks area, all the way down to the thighs. They appear in the lower back and hips, sometimes above the breasts, arms, and certainly around the belly for those who have had a baby or two. However, stretch marks are not only relegated to women who have been pregnant, it’s also a fact of life for those of us who have lost weight rapidly, or even gained weight rapidly, so men are not absolved from this at all. It helps if you have the type of genetics that avoid these unwanted lines, but the truth is that almost 75% of women end up with stretch marks, so even if you do have them, you can rest assured that you’re not the only one, and perhaps it’s time to change our general perception about stretch marks for once and for all.
At ABAD, we’re always trying to encourage women to love the body they have, and accept themselves with all of those so called imperfections. It’s all a matter of perception as far as we’re concerned. You’ll be surprised to learn of the different standards of beauty from around the world, and how we tend to make mountains out of molehills when it comes to weight, body shape etc., while in another culture the added weight for instance is a sign of beauty. However, we’re living in strange times where the standards of beauty have been high-jacked by the media and what they would like us to believe is true beauty. So, if we still have not been able to convince you that you are beautiful, even with those stretch marks, then it’s only fair to let you know that there are other options/ ways of making them less visible because we hate to break it to you but it’s almost impossible to get rid of them for good.
For those of you who prefer the natural route, try using creams that contain vitamin A and C, however for those of you who prefer the faster method of getting rid of these marks there are ways to reduce the stretch marks and their color by getting intense pulse light therapy, or pulse dye laser, both treatments can change red marks to white. It’s not cheap, and may cost around $300 per session. You may also want to try microdermabrasion, and this costs about $150 per session. We’ve also heard of Pro-Fractional resurfacing laser which is used to reduce the scaring because it enhances collagen production and smooth skin; this treatment costs about $500 per session and like any of the other treatments, will require a few sessions.
Now, if you can predict a rapid weight loss or gain, it’s advisable that you use herbal moisturizers daily, and coupled with drinking a lot of water regularly your skin will be in optimal condition when these changes occur, and will be less likely to create stretch marks. It won’t hurt to adopt the habit of drinking a lot of water daily in order to always keep your skin hydrated.
this was a question i asked and you replied. How nice of you:) Thanks!