Firming and Stretch Marks

Stretch Marks - all of us hate them and yet most of us have them. Fortunately, not all is lost. There is hope.

What are Stretch Marks?

Stretch marks (medical term: striae) can appear when there is rapid stretching of the skin. They are most commonly located on the breasts, hips, thighs, buttocks, abdomen, and flank.

Stretch marks are often a result of:

abdominal enlargement of pregnancy
rapid weight gain
rapid growth of puberty in males and females
longtime use of cortisone/prednisone
Cushing disease

Stretch marks appear as parallel streaks of red, thinned, glossy skin that over time become whitish and scar like in appearance. The stretch marks may be slightly depressed and have a different texture than normal skin. Striae may also occur as a result of abnormal collagen formation, or a result of medications or chemicals that interfere with collagen formation.

Is there anything that can be done to prevent striae?
Most experts say NO.

Is there anything to treat stretch marks?
The answer is YES.

Red Light Therapy (LIGHTWAVE)

Red Light reduces the appearance of stretch marks by breaking down the subdermal scarring and stimulating circulation to reduce flaccidity. It helps thicken the thin, paper-like skin of "thin" stretch marks and assists in softening and flattening "thick" stretch marks. Red Light is effective for new and old, flat and raised stretch marks.

For flat stretch marks 10-15 sessions are required. Darker skin and deep stretch marks may require more treatments.

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36 yr old female after 8 sessions of Red Light Therapy

IPL (Intense Pulsed Light)

IPL have an important role in the treatment of new as well as more mature stretch marks. Gradual, incremental improvement in the color, texture and irregularity of stretch marks rather than complete elimination is the reasonable goal. IPL is a device that emits light composed of multitude of wavelengths. Visible improvements demonstrate less obvious, shorter and narrower stretch marks whereas microscopic changes show increased thickness of the epidermis, improved quality of the collagen and less inflammation post treatment.

Topical treatments & Microderm

There has been a good success in treating stretch marks using low concentrations (15-20%) TCA peels and performing repetitive exfoliation using microdermabrasion. The peels followed by microderms can be repeated at monthly intervals, with improvement in skin texture, firmness, and color.

The topical retinoids have been also shown to be beneficial in remodeling stretch marks, hypertrophic scars and in improving the clinical appearance, including improvement of the surface texture, fine and coarse wrinkling, skin color, and laxity after 3-6 months of therapy.