Quite often in women during pregnancy or because of a sharp change in weight on the skin of the body there are pink or white scars - stretch marks. Physical discomfort, they do not cause, but they look very unaesthetic, than plung their owners into despair.
Stretch marks (or striae) - are of an atrophic nature and appear on the chest, abdomen, thighs and buttocks as a result of microtraumas of the skin and subcutaneous tissue. Simply put, the skin does not have time to stretch after the increasing body size and is traumatized from the inside. Sometimes the origin of stretch marks is due to hormone-medication, in particular the use of corticosteroid drugs, which are prescribed for the removal of inflammatory processes. Strias appear as a result of a violation of the production of the body elastin and collagen - proteins responsible for the elasticity of the skin.
Getting rid of scars is difficult, but experts say that you can achieve a fairly good cosmetic effect (i.e., make them less noticeable), especially if the time has not yet been lost. Stretch marks, which are no more than one and a half years old, are still amenable to correction, with old scars the situation is much more complicated.
Of course, any problem is easier to avoid than to eliminate its consequences. Therefore, in order to prevent skin from losing elasticity, it is worth following the following rules:
Drink at least 2 liters of water a day.
Try to eat less food that contains salt.
Avoid concentrates and products containing preservatives.
Eat enough vitamins and minerals.
During pregnancy, go swimming and gymnastics - of course, if there are no contraindications.
Starting from the 30th week of pregnancy, a bandage should be worn. If this is the first pregnancy or you are carrying a large baby or twins, you can start wearing a bandage earlier. It is also recommended postnatal tightening bandage - it will help the skin of the abdomen to return to the prenatal state.
During breastfeeding it is recommended to wear a special supporting dense bra.
Do not forget about cosmetic skin care. There are a number of special creams for the prevention of stretch marks. In addition, you can take baths with plant extracts or essential oils that stimulate blood circulation. The water temperature should be no more than 360C, and the time of taking a bath is 10-15 minutes. Do not give up any hydroprocedures that improve the circulation of problem areas of the skin.
If prevention did not help, and stretch marks did appear, do not despair. The earlier you take action, the more chances you have for success. With the help of modern cosmetology, if you do not get rid of stretch marks, at least make them less noticeable.
With a small number of not yet old scars, you can make compresses with essential oils at home. To do this, prepare a gauze napkin that coincides in size with the problem area. Mix with a tablespoon of yogurt 4 drops of rose oil, 2 drops of neroli oil, 1 drop of lime, 1 drop of petit greene. If the problem area is large enough, proportionately increase the number of ingredients. Dampen the napkin in the prepared mixture and apply the stretch marks for 7-8 hours. The procedure should be 3-4 times a week for three months. The result becomes visible after 1.5-2 months.
To eliminate young scars-stria, you can do wraps from algae or sea mud. This service is provided in many beauty salons.
In the event that stretch marks are already "with experience", the most effective method of struggle will be mesotherapy - subcutaneous microinjection of special "cocktails" of vitamins and plant components. Completely scars will not disappear, but after 5-15 procedures they will become much less noticeable (approximately 70%). However, these procedures have contraindications - for example, it is better not to experiment with injections for gallbladder diseases.
In some cases, when running stretch marks help skin micro-grinding (dermoabrasion), performed in cosmetic clinics. But it should be used very carefully. And the effectiveness of this procedure is a maximum of 30%.
At the moment, completely get rid of stretch marks is possible only surgically - stretched skin is removed along with striae with abdominoplasty. However, here again the probability of achieving a significant effect is not 100% - it is inversely proportional to the number of stretch marks on your body.