Are Stretch Marks Haunting You?
“Striae Gravidarum” or Stretch Marks are nothing but areas of the skin that have been stretched out. It usually happens due to unusual weight gain or weight loss and depending upon the skin’s elasticity, it may leave a mark on the skin. Usually stretch marks are seen as fine lines on the body and are purplish or reddish in color in the early stages and then become hypo pigmented or colorless on maturity. As a result they start looking like glistening lines of scar tissue.
Stretch Marks are the most common type of skin lesion and are often known by medical names Striae Atrophicans, Striae Distensae, Striae Alba and Striae Rubra. Fortunately, stretch marks do not cause any medical problems but do raise cosmetic concerns for some of the individuals.
There are three different layers to the human skin. First there is the epidermis layer, more commonly known as the outer layer. Then there is the dermis layer or the layer in the middle, and lastly there is the deep layer that is called the subcutaneous stratum. The middle layer of the skin is what helps our skin to have elasticity and shape. This layer of the skin is where stretch marks occur. When someone gains weight, develops a lot of muscle mass, or even becomes pregnant, the middle layer of the skin will stay stretched and relaxed longer. This is unfortunately what causes stretch marks – where the skin loses its elasticity and connective fibers are broken.
These marks are completely harmless to our body and are more of a cosmetic or beauty concern then a health issue. They can occur anywhere on our body but are most commonly developed on the thighs, breasts, arms, buttocks and stomach. Stretch marks are likely to occur in men and women of all the age groups.
People who are constantly on diets such as bodybuilders usually have the problem of stretch marks due to drastic fluctuations in the body weight. The safe way to weight loss is to lose it at a slow rate. The risk of stretch marks is lowered if an individual were to let his or her skin and body adjust to the weight loss.
These days a lot of people go to extremes in order to lose weight. But once the drastic weight loss goals are achieved, they are shocked by the marks that appear on the skin. Whether these stretch marks appear due to pregnancy or weight loss, there is a solution to prevent or reduce the unsightly stretch marks. These days a lot of creams are available on the market, which can help you to reduce or prevent the stretch marks. Stretch mark creams work for some people but not for others. That is a topic we will discuss next time.
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“The risk of stretch marks is lowered if an individual were to let his or her skin and body adjust to the weight loss.”
Which makes them a good indicator. If you are developing these kind of marks perhaps your weight loss is too sudden and you need to slow down and up your caloric intake.
Good point John, very good point.
Stretch marks aren’t a big concern for me because I believe they fade with age and some actually do leave. What concerns me is the excess skin I see on the programs where they show huge weight loss. That’s scary to me. I really don’t want to have wings under my arms or folds of skin down the front of me!
But then you wont be able to fly. Just kidding, I agree.
What about the stretch marks without any coloration? In high school I beefed from a meager 150lbs at 6′0″ to a meaty 220lbs in 5 months time due to food consumption and power-lifting for football…needless to say, that season was awesome. But I lost 30lbs after the season and have maintained that to about 195lbs now at 6′2″ of healthy weight…I had stretch marks on and around my butt for 2 years after that…it sucked! I used some cellulite cream and it sorta kinda worked; but the main thing for me was just time and TONS of water. After maintaining a health weight now for 3 years and drinking lots of water on a daily basis, the marks are virtually non-existent. Any thoughts or similar experiences?
Sort of the same thing happened here. I had some from my earlier years that faded away, but now I have newer ones that are UGLY.
yes, stretch marks are a terrible thing that can indeed be very haunting not to mention bad for your self confidence
Granted, we all should of course lose our weight safely and properly, but some individual suffer the stretchmark even when they are losing safely.
So I wonder what is the lesser of the two evils? Over weight? or Stetchmarks?
Which would you rather have?
Great post
Stretch marks is my choice.
Ditto. I was going to comment the same thing. I would prefer the stretch marks over the the 25 extra pounds any day.
Isn’t there a possibility to remove stretch marks with laser?
yea stretch marks scare me – especially if I see it on a beutiful women!
Its a tough call. When you get on a roll and you are working out as hard as you can and you are eating right, the weight can come off pretty quick. I have seen a lot of people get stretch marks when they are on a weight loss program. Sometimes it’s part of losing weight.
Stretch marks is nothing compared to leftover skin…..I became pregnant at age 14 with twins. I went from a very slender 94lbs to 198lbs..I am now 113lbs 15 years later, and I still have the very soft unusual lookin stomach. I wish there could be help for someone like me…
You can try to get it cut off.
What a terrible thing…to be overweight is one thing…it can be taken care of and inspirational to want to get into better shape…but stretch marks? Emotionally damaging; how do you get motivated or recover from that other than cosmetic surgery? Drinking a ton of water helps, but if you don’t lose weight slow and safe, who’s to say the scars will ever recede? Definitely a post that hits home to a lot of people…hence the many comments; thanks Israel.
There are actually many stretch mark creams that can be used to prevent stretch marks from occuring whether it is from weight gain/loss , body building, or pregnancy.
From my understanding and experience, those don’t work as well as time does.
I agree. I think people’s self confidence suffers more than anything else.
hmm i stacked on 10 kg and got heaps some on my hips some on my upper arms waiting for them to fade will using Bio Oil that one is supposed to be awesome.
you can try what i heard once they go white after using bio oil apparentely and i have heard good things even from friends that this bio oil prevents and reduces stretch marks very good. i have gone from 88kg to 81kg atm hopefully when i lose another 5 or 6kg no stretch marks but thats what the bio oil is for.
oh yeh i heard go to a tanning solon or whatever and tan up that would definely help the white scars!!!
Well, almost all stretch marks go white after a while I think. At least on my body. lol. I don’t plan on using any oils or tanning. I will just deal with them and use them as a reminder to never let it happen again.
Using some stretch mark creams before losing weight can help prevent stretch marks. After they formed, there are also some laser treatments to remove them although they are a bit expensive.
You don’t always need to buy creams, water works great. As someone above me said. I started to notice a lot of difference once I started to drink water, but if you want faster results then use a stretch mark cream.
stretch marks is something that can haunt you – but you will get used to after awhile.
Im a 14 year old male and im overweight and have unfourtanely developed a rather bad number of stretchmarks on my arms, lower chest, arms, armpits and some on my shoulders. And it has severly knocked my self confidence and i just thought i’d share this with you all to see if it helps my confidence in anyway. And it has sort of.
Thanks for sharing Ryan. Are you doing any exercise?