Stretch marks are something that we all deal with at some point in our lives. Both men and women get stretch marks, however, it tends to be more common with women. Women who are pregnant often get stretch marks towards the end of their term, typically when the baby is growing the fastest. Adolescents that have growth spurts also have stretch marks but those stretch marks usually fade away with time. It happens when we gain or lose weight. The skin is made out of three layers, the epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis. The marks happen in the dermis, which is the middle layer of the skin, and with constant stretching from gaining or losing weight your skin loses it elasticity and breaks down leaving behind stretch marks. The most problem areas are in the abdominal area, upper arms, lower back, thighs, hips and breasts.

There are many types of treatments such as creams, surgical methods, diet and exercise. Depending on your age, skin tone and diet, determines how the treatment will react to your skin. There is over the counter lotions and creams such as topical retina-A which should reduce stretch marks. Studies show that Retina-A is marginally effective at reducing the apparent depth of stretch marks. Lasers treatment is somewhat popular when it comes to removing stretch marks. If you have immature marks meaning that they are still red then laser treatments can be mostly effective. On the other hand, if you have mature marks meaning that they are white, it is basically a waste of time and money and you will have very minimal results. People with darker skin tones have a risk of hyper pigmentation of the skin due to the laser procedure, which means small, flat, dark pigmented spots on your body.

For the most part, stretch marks are unavoidable and unpleasant. The best way to deal with stretch marks is to prevent them, and that is through exercise, well balanced diet, and drinking plenty of water to preserve the elasticity in your skin. Stretch marks are something that you have to deal with one way or another so know that you are not alone, and that many people have stretch marks. So consider it that way abd just be comfortable with yourself.