Stretch marks from gaining weight rapidly can occur at various times in our lives; pregnancy, stressful conditions, adolescence, hormonal imbalances, and body building to name a few.
My name is Nanette and I am here to guide you in the proper care of your skin so you can avoid this type of skin damage or reduce them if you already have them.
Here I will focus on skin care during pregnancy but this information can be used anytime you feel you might be gaining weight.
So you want to know exactly what causes these lines ! When skin and underlying tissue pull and stretch beyond their ability to give, the collagen deposits located deep in the tissues break apart. The skin actually rips and tears. The tiny tears heal, resulting in scar tissue. Lines appear as small, red, pink, purple or dark brown depressed streaks in the skin, ranging in width from 1/10 - 4 inches.
I often get asked, "What are my chances of getting stretch marks and how can I prevent them?"
These marks can be influenced by many factors:
1) Genetics play a major role. (If your mother or sister got them during pregnancy, you may be more likely to get them yourself.)
2) Ethnicity/skin tone (fair-skinned women tend to get them more).
3) Nutritional history (a sensible diet helps skin to expand better).
4) Skin condition (dry skin tends to be less elastic than well nourished skin).
5) Amount of weight gained during pregnancy (also how rapidly it was gained).
I tell my clients, "Here are my recommendations for prevention."
1) Gain no more than the recommended amount of weight and gain it slowly.
2) Eat a highly nutritious diet filled with plenty of fruits and vegetables, drink ample water, and add quality vitamins.
3) Wash with only with a "non-soap" cleanser
that is pure and gentle, is hypo-allergenic and contains only herbal ingredients that are organically grown. It should begin to moisturize your skin even before you apply any cream.
Vitamin-derived antioxidants from plant sourced ingredients not only make the best ingredients for your "inside", but for your "outside" as well. This pure and gentle cleanser is just right for all skin types, conditions and ages.
Remember, avoid mass produced commercial soaps that contain harmful lye and chemicals.
4) Moisturize your skin (well!) daily! Moisturizers are extremely important and work well to treat dry skin. Choose a high emollient cream
specially formulated that is plant based, stops itching, repairs skin
7 layers deep
and is hypo-allergenic.
Remember, the best moisturizers are also the thickest and contain the very significant ingrediet - shea butter. Avoid anything with mineral oil, petroleum and parabens as these will only suffocate your skin.
In conclusion, my strong recommendation is two-fold: eat healthy and apply only the best natural stretch mark creams that contain prime ingredients such as vitamin A, C, E,
urea
as well as plenty of herbs and
shea butter
to enrich the skin.
Use my same recommendations if you already have stretch marks.
This will greatly help to reduce the size and improve the color of existing lines, and improve tone and elasticity of the tissues.
Improvements in appearance are permanent with the average improvement time being generally between 1 - 3 months.
For thicker skin or more resistant areas, use a cream with double the urea in it for prevention and treatment of stretch marks.
I wanted to write and tell you how well your recommendation worked on my belly when I was pregnant. First, it relieved my itchy skin as it stretched and expanded. Secondly (and more importantly) I never got a single stretch mark!! Considering I only gained my weight in the second half of my pregnancy (30 pounds in such a short period of time!), the results were truly unbelievable. J.S.,Huntley, IL
I often get asked, "What are my chances of getting stretch marks and how can I prevent them?"
1) Gain no more than the recommended amount of weight and gain it slowly. 
