New Solutions For The Oldest Problem In The Book - Stretch Marks

Somewhere along the way we all came to accept the fact that if we got pregnant, gained a little weight, or even lost weight, we’d be forever branded with stretch marks. Our moms had to deal with them. Our grandmothers did, too. (If your grandmother was the open and honest type, she may have even shared that with you at some point.) What all of us have in common is that we often feel powerless to do anything about them. And since stretch marks aren’t painful and don’t pose a medical threat, they’re not a big deal and we should just try to forget about them…right?

If stretch marks keep you from wearing a bathing suit or from slipping on your favorite shorts – if they just make you hesitant to look in a full-length mirror – they are a big deal. And that doesn’t just go for women – men suffer from stretch marks too. In fact, stretch marks affect about 40% of young men (probably not something your dad or grandfather shared with you, no matter how open or honest they were). 70% of adolescent girls and nearly 90% of pregnant women will get stretch marks.

So what exactly are these seemingly inescapable marks that afflict so many of us? Stretch marks first appear as streaks of thinned, glossy skin that are usually red or purple. Over time they become depressed and scar, leaving once-smooth skin rippled with streaks of white lines.

Usually we associate stretch marks with pregnancy, when women have both stretching skin and changing hormones working against them. But they can appear whenever your skin gets stretched, like when you gain weight or go through a growth spurt. Young athletes can stretch their skin by doing sports like weightlifting that rapidly alter their bodies. No matter what the cause, rapidly expanding skin is eventually stretched to its limit, and that’s when little tears appear in the supporting layers of skin known as the dermis. And those little tears become stretch marks.

Stretch marks can have a big impact on how we feel about our bodies. And given the choice, a lot us would do something about them. So what’s standing in our way? Until recently, “doing something” about stretch marks meant two things: over-the-counter treatments or surgery. The good thing about over-the-counter treatments to improve the appearance of stretch marks? There are plenty to choose from. What’s the downside? None have been medically proven to actually work. Surgical options, like tummy tucks, do work. But they’re invasive and require a lot of recovery time – which leaves a lot of people wishing for a better way.

Well, you can stop wishing, because a better solution is finally here. The Fraxel laser is the most effective stretch mark treatment you’ll find today. Fraxel sends “micro-treatments” beneath the surface of your skin to stimulate collagen and elastin synthesis – literally resurfacing your skin. Patients usually undergo a series of Fraxel treatments, which only last about 20-25 minutes each. And for those patients with red stretch marks there’s the VBEAM laser, which treats the redness and can be safely used right along with Fraxel.

When patients are done they see improvement in the texture, diameter, and depth of their stretchmarks – and you can too. Worried about downtime? Don’t be. You can get back to your day right after your treatment, and the redness you’ll notice goes away in a few days.

So that’s it, right?

Not quite. We’ve saved the best for last. And hopefully you’ve got your sci-fi hat on, because this treatment sounds like it’s from a Jetsons future – but it’s real, and available now. It’s called Portrait Plasma Resurfacing. It’s not a laser or light-based treatment, but instead works by delivering rapid pulses of nitrogen-based plasma to your skin’s surface. What’s remarkable is that the plasma never touches your skin – it simply transfers its energy without any direct contact. The plasma stimulates your body to actually regenerate damaged structural elements of your skin – something no other treatment in the world can do. Best of all, after a series of treatments your skin will keep getting better over time, and you’ll continue to see improvements as much as a year later. You’ll literally watch your skin de-age. All it takes are Portrait Plasma Resurfacing treatments that last no more than 20-30 minutes – no bandages or downtime.

Stretch marks may be one of the oldest problems in the book. But now you can fight them with the most cutting-edge technology out there. Your grandmother would be impressed.