by mary schook
I remember the first time I ever started to get stretch marks in college. I thought they were weird red veins running through my legs. I approached my agent to ask her if something was wrong with me and she laughed and said 'honey you have stretch marks'. I was puzzled because I thought they were something only pregnant women got on their bellies or major muscle men around their arms and chests. I'll never forget how itchy and uncomfortable they were.
No matter how you slice it or dice it 80% of us will look like the interstate map of florida from rapid growth at puberty, pregnancy, weight gain or anything else that causes accelerated stretching of the skin. The tears begin in the dermal/ lower layers of the skin. Once the red disappears it then turns into a lighter, rigid type I collagen which is essentially scar tissue. Collagen stops producing where scar tissue lies!
If you're lucky stretch marks can somewhat fade over time, but the thing that people don't seem to understand is that once scar tissue develops, the skin can never go back to the way it was without assistance from laser or other dermatological methods. Retin A is another popular method to help reduce stretch marks.
I sure wish someone had taken me aside and told me about how to prevent stretch marks. Slathering your body in cocoa, shea, avocado or other rich nourishing creams can help prevent stretch marks even if they are hereditary for you. It allows the cells to remain elastic. After stretch marks have set in you can soften their appearance with a shimmery body lotion or by making the skin around the stretch mark supple by using lots of shea or cocoa butter.
So the best lesson to learn today is prevention is everything in beauty (or health for that matter). Waiting to do anything after the fact is just going to cost you twice as much work and money!!!
Thanks again for reading and don't forget to forward this to your friends.
