Stretch marks are red to white, long, sometimes depressed scars that can stay in your skin for a long time. Stretch marks appear in the dermis, the elastic second layer of skin that allows it to keep its shape. However, when continually stretched, the skin can break down leaving behind marks. Dermal collagen is ruptured and blood vessel dilation results in the formation of red or purple-colored stretch marks.

When your skin is exaggeratedly stretched during pregnancy, weight changes or growth spurts, stretch marks or striae can show. They can also be caused by certain medications, mainly hormones and steroids. Stretch marks appear when rapidly expanding skin is stretched to its limit and small tears show in the supporting layers of skin.

Over time the redness of the original scar may fade and the bands of the stretch mark may become lighter in color than the surrounding skin. The bands may become take on a shiny, depressed appearanceor develop an aberrant scar like texture.

Men and women can get stretch marks on several patches of their skin, including the abdominal area, hips, breasts, thighs, flank, upper arms or lower back. They afflict 70% of adolescent females and about 40% of young males.

Stretch Marks and Pregnancy

Though the nine months of pregnancy are a beautiful time in a woman's life, there are a number of unwanted changes that happen in the skin during this period. Some of these are due to hormonal influences and others are due to the mechanical changes in the body linked with pregnancy.

Stretch marks are one of the most well known and talked about dermal changes that can happen during pregnancy. They are thought to be a consequence of the thinning of the skin during this time period due to female hormones which disrupt the protein equilibrium in the skin. Almost 90% of pregnant women will suffer stretch marks, commonly developing during the last trimester.

There is an inherited predisposition to developing stretch marks during pregnancy. Many women find the appearance of stretch marks to be distressing. Luckily, the removal stretch marks is possible.

How to get rid of stretch marks

There are plenty over-the-counter treatments aimed to prevent stretch marks, like Strivectin. Sadly no topical remedies have been medically demonstrated to enhance the appearance of stretch marks. RetinA, glycolic acid, alphahydroxy acids have been reported with very little success. Dermabrasion or chemical peels have also been tried. The results of these therapies vary from regular to minimal.

Surgical options to deal with these types of lesions, imply removing large patches of stretched skin. In a tummy tuck procedure, for instance, skin under the belly button is retired. This is often an area in which stretch marks are prominent. It also works by toning the skin in nearby regions. These surgical techniques are efficient, but are more invasive than other solutions and thus imply longer recovery time.