Stretch marks appear like thin, stretched tissue, and this is more or less what they are. They occur in people who put on or lose weight rapidly. The outer layer of the skin is normal, however in the inner layer the collagen and elastin, which gives the skin its elasticity and strength, becomes thinner and broken. Stretch marks appear a reddish purplish colour at first. As the skin in these areas is more transparent the blood vessels can show through. Later, when the blood vessels contract the purplish colour then fades to white, which is in fact fat under the skin showing through.

Stretch marks tend to show on the breast and abdomen during pregnancy. Hormones form part of the reason. During pregnancy, hormones have the role to soften the collagen ligaments of the pelvis, so that the tissues can stretch easily during childbirth. Yet the skin collagen softens as well and stretch marks can form easier. Furthermore some women have weaker collagen than others, so are more likely to get stretch marks. Bodybuilders and dieters can also get stretch marks on the upper arms, chest and thigh areas. On their backs adolescents may also get stretch marks appearing like horizontal lines.

Curing Stretch Marks

Try to avoid yo-yo dieting. If trying to lose weight aim for about 0.5kgs (1 lb) weekly. In the case of pregnancy, there is not much you could do except keep your fingers crossed and think, 'this is a small price to pay for a beautiful baby!' although rubbing baby oil into the abdomen each night may help.

Lasers can sometimes be used to help your stretch marks in the early stages, when they appear red. Small blood vessels absorb heat from the lasers beam and use it to seal themselves. The long term effects of this are unknown although it does speed up the contracting purpose and take away the redness of stretch marks. Another option for stretch marks is surgery if you have a lot of loose skin on the area. It is known as a tummy tuck. Scars will remain after the operation around the belly button and lower stomach areas. Several weeks are necessary for recovery.

Stretch marks are unfortunately permanent in the sense that the skin in these areas will never be totally normal. Fortunately they go they eventually turn into much less obvious, thin, white scars. And to start treating the a stretch mark issue why not try one of the many regenerative treatments that are proving successful.