Stretch marks can occur any time you gain or lose a significant amount of weight, or when your body changes, as it does during pregnancy. The faster you lose or gain the weight, the more stretch marks you are likely to see and if you’re pregnant with more than one baby, the chances of developing stretch marks will increase.
With that being said, there are a wide of variety of creams and lotions that are available today, whose manufacturers claim to be able to prevent stretch marks. Cocoa butter has been used for years to prevent stretch marks by women who swear by its abilities. There is also some evidence that drinking a lot of water helps your skin maintain its elasticity and therefore, may help prevent stretch marks.
One good way to determine if you’ll have stretch marks is to ask your mom what her experience with them was. There is a genetic basis associated with stretch marks and the hormonal changes associated with pregnancy are thought to contribute as well.
Another option for reducing your chances of stretch marks or of reducing the number of stretch marks you will experience is to closely watch your weight gain, both during pregnancy and otherwise. If you are a stress eater, or you know that you are prone to weight gain, this might be the motivation you need to stop the cycle. Gaining and losing weight, repeatedly, will almost surely give you stretch marks and unfortunately, they’re hard to fade.
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If you weren’t able to prevent stretch marks, now you probably want to get rid of them as soon as possible. There are a few options and the fastest is also the most expensive AND the most extreme. Many women have regained their happiness with their physical appearance by going under the knife. This is ideal for women who have the type of severe stretch marks that can closely resemble scars. Women who have been pregnant many times, have had weight loss surgery that resulted in a fast weight loss or who have been pregnant with twins or more are especially likely to benefit from surgical procedures.
If you’re looking for something less stressful to your body, tanning can help cover these white lines. If you’re concerned about the risks of skin cancer or premature aging from the sun, spray tans, self-tanning creams and even waterproof, smudge-proof body makeup produces the same temporary result. If you actually tan, make sure you do so gradually so the skin doesn’t burn, which can make them worse.
Many of the same creams that claim to help prevent stretch marks can also help treat them. However, as with most beauty treatments, they’re not all going to provide identical benefits. Vitamin C, anti-oxidants and Retinol are all commonly recommended by dermatologists to treat or prevent stretch-marks. The use of a cream with these ingredients is likely to help even the worst stretch marks.
