No one wants to live with unsightly stretch marks. The easily noticeable skin scarring makes it hard to go to the beach or pool in summer months, and for many women, affect wardrobe choice throughout the year. As such, many people seek to have their stretch marks removed through a number of different cosmetic and medical procedures. The only problem is, there continue to be many myths about stretch mark removal.
Stretch marks are the comon name given to striae, which are tears that occur in the skin, usually due to extreme changes in weight or musculature, or from growth spurts experienced during puberty. The rapid expansion or contraction of the skin can cause it to stretch and tear down to the bottom layers, leaving bright lines in the skin. Additionally, while they can fade over time, stretch marks hardly ever vanish completely to the visible eye, even decades after they occur. Very comon in pregnant women, stretch marks have the ability to hang around throughout a person’s entire life.
When it comes to treating these striae, here are 3 comon myths that should be debunked.
1. The Only Way to Escape is Surgery
Some in the medical comunity insist that the only way to remove stretch marks is to remove the affected skin. Most stretch marks occur primarily on the lower part of the abdomen, around the belly area. For this reason, many plastic surgeons recomend a “tummy tuck,” the medical procedure where the skin beneath the navel is removed, and the remaining skin is pulled down and surgically reattached.
While this is indeed effective, it is not the only way to remove the appearance of stretch marks, and is in fact the most extreme approach available for treating this condition. What’s more, the surgery itself, and the recovery from it, can cause other serious skin issues, especially if significant weight or musculature fluctuations occur after the procedure.
2. Holistic Creams Cause Fading
There are many cream products on the market that claim to be able to remove stretch marks. From cocoa-butter to tea tree oil to rose water, many home products and even those sold over the counter claim to remove or reduce the appearance of stretch marks. Unfortunately, the solution to deep penetrating skin problem like stretch marks cannot be solved with a topical cream.
Studies have shown that while some of these treatments can soften the skin and assist in preventing stretch marks, the results in curing them are extremely uncomon. This is primarily due to the damage that occurs far below the surface of the skin.
3. They’re a Part of Life, and Nothing Can Be Done
There are procedures that can reduce and remove the appearance of stretch marks. For example, places such as Skinney Medical Spa NYC treat stretch marks with fractional laser resurfacing, which causes tearing inside of the stretch marks, prompting the body to generate collagen and heal the damaged tissue. Treatments like this have been shown to reduce the appearance of stretch marks by over 75%, making them almost entirely unnoticeable to the naked eye.
A main key to fighting stretch marks is to know what is true, and what is an urban legend. Now that some of the myths have been debunked, it will be easier to move forward with seeking treatment. To further your knowledge, take a look at these stretch mark removal tips from professionals.
For more information on Skinny Med Spa’s Stretch Mark Removal services, click here.
