Stretch marks can appear on your body and cause serious insecurity. They are often red, white, pink, or even purple and can appear on a number of areas of your body. There are a lot of misconceptions about stretch marks, including how to prevent them and how to get rid of them. Below you will find the common causes of stretch marks and what treatments are available to get rid of them.
Common Causes of Stretch Marks
Stretch marks occur when your body expands or grows too fast for your skin to catch up. The fibers in your skin, collagen and elastin, help with your skin’s elasticity. However, sometimes your skin stretches so fast that the important fibers can’t maintain your skin’s elasticity. Consider the common causes of stretch marks.
Rapid Weight Gain:
Gaining weight quickly can cause your skin to stretch too fast. When this happens, your skin will spread, which results in stretch marks. It’s important for your health to maintain your weight and avoid unnecessary weight fluctuations. This can help reduce your risk for stretch marks.
Pregnancy:
Pregnancy causes some weight gain and substantially stretches the skin around your abdominal area. The most important factor in your pregnancy is your health and the health of your baby so it’s important to make that your primary focus. If you are planning to get pregnant and are concerned about stretch marks, prioritize your fitness before getting pregnant. Having less body fat before you get pregnant can help you minimize your risk for stretch marks during pregnancy. It’s important to remember that skin stretching during pregnancy is natural and may not be able to be prevented.
Certain Cosmetic Surgeries:
Breast implants that are very large can cause the skin around your breasts to stretch. This can ultimately result in stretch marks. Talk with your surgeon about your expectations, as you may want to reduce your implant size to minimize the risk of stretch marks on your chest.
Rapid Muscle Gain:
Just like with rapid weight gain, rapid muscle gain can also cause stretch marks. The areas around the muscles that have substantially increased can spread and cause stretch marks. This is true of bodybuilders who have a very low body fat percentage as well.
Puberty:
Puberty comes with a number of physical changes to your body. This can feel abnormal but the process is entirely normal. Changes can include weight gain, acne, and even stretch marks. Stretch marks are a natural part of puberty.
Family History:
If your family members have stretch marks, it’s likely you will get them too. Just like everything else, you often inherit things from your parents and this includes the risk for stretch marks.
Stretch Mark Removal
Reducing the appearance of your stretch marks can be achieved through laser removal treatment. Special lasers are used on your stretch marks which activate your body’s natural regeneration systems. With laser treatment your body naturally reacts by producing new collagen and repairing your skin tissue. This can create new growth and smooth out your stretch marks.
Laser Removal Treatment
Stretch mark removal in NYC can be achieved in a series of treatment sessions. Most patients get between 3 to 5 treatments to achieve their desired results. The major benefit of stretch mark removal treatment is that once treatment is complete your stretch marks shouldn’t return. This is dependent on your lifestyle habits and whether or not you have more children. To determine if laser stretch mark removal is right for you, contact the leading dermatologist in NYC. Dr. Sheryl Clark at MD Skin Science has helped countless patients remove their stretch marks and restore their confidence.