Very often stretch marks are perceived as the main enemy of beauty and, probably, with good reason. No doubt, their appearance is a nightmare for any woman. But there are ways to prevent and effectively treat this unpleasant phenomenon, although sometimes it takes a lot of time to do this. The main issue for millions of women - stretch marks on the skin and fight them. Discuss?
Stretching is a defect that completely changed the concepts of a beautiful and harmonious female body. Whitish scars are very unpleasant to look at, but apart from that they are also unsafe for the skin condition, as it changes its type and structure. The appearance of stretch marks is an unpleasant surprise and a strong stress for a woman, often leading to the formation of low self-esteem and depression. Especially seriously stretch marks on the skin affect the emotional state of public people and active athletes, as they significantly reduce their results in the struggle for beautiful bodies.
Stretch marks are formed most often:
- in adolescence, when the level of sex hormones increases sharply and the work of the adrenals accelerates;
- during pregnancy due to an imbalance of estrogen hormones and progesterone, as well as a rapid increase in the volume of the abdomen, chest and thighs;
- with a sudden change in weight or under the influence of certain hormones in the body, especially cortisone, involved in metabolic processes.
From a medical point of view, when stretch marks are formed, internal extension of the connective tissue occurs, atrophic scars occur which differ in color and structure. Most often form in the hips, buttocks, abdomen and chest, sometimes they can be seen on the inside of the hand. Their appearance is accompanied by the rupture of fibers located in the connective tissue, as a result of uncontrolled processes of loss or weight gain, in which the skin is subjected to abnormal expansion or contraction.
However, when the problem of stretch marks on the skin occurs on a hormonal basis, changes are observed in the synthesis of two key proteins, which give strength and elasticity of the skin - collagen and elastin. With a decrease in their amount in the body, the skin begins to become thinner, and stretch marks appear in the place that has undergone the most severe deformations.
Why stretch marks have different colors?
Indeed, due to the disruption of the connective tissue in which the blood vessels are located, the color of the stretch marks varies from white to red and even blue. It depends on the depth of skin damage, the proximity of the vessels located and on the presence of adipose tissue in the stretch area. At the initial stage it is the vessels that give the red or blue color of the stretch marks, but over time all the stretch marks turn into scars of whitish color. It is important to note that during this period stretch marks are still amenable to treatment and the fight against them is not only possible, but also necessary. And another important point: in the area of stretch marks, the skin cells do not form a pigment, so that even when exposed to the sun or visited by a solarium, these scars will not acquire the color of the tan while remaining white or red-blue.
Factors affecting the appearance of stretch marks
- The first is the mechanical factor, which is associated with the stretching of the connective tissue of the skin. At a time when the skin can not quickly produce enough new collagen and elastin fibers, stretch marks appear on it.
- Pathological conditions in which hormonal imbalance leads to thinning of the connective tissue and its elasticity sharply decreases. For example, with Cushing's syndrome - a rare disease characterized by an increase in the synthesis of glucocorticoids by the adrenal glands.
- The use of drugs containing corticosteroids as a treatment for many skin diseases can lead to a significant decrease in the strength and elasticity of the skin.
- Genetic predisposition - in recent years, experts agree that the appearance of stretch marks on the skin is a genetic phenomenon. But, unfortunately, there is still no convincing evidence of this hypothesis.
Is it possible to prevent the appearance of stretch marks?
Definitely - you can. The only question is how much more radical a means to choose. You can conduct regular preventive maintenance with the help of special medical cosmetics, you can resort to direct injections of collagen or to the effect on the skin of hyaluronic acid, which is known for its moisturizing and tightening effects on the skin. On the other hand, it also stimulates natural protection against free radicals that cause aging of the skin and the body as a whole, increasing the risk of stretch marks.
Against the appearance of stretch marks, there are other procedures, such as oxygen therapy, often carried out on the basis of deep massage to renew connective tissue. In some cases, when the appearance of stretch marks is predictable (before a diet or pregnancy), you can take any preventive measures (for example, drink corticoid drugs).
In fact, the use of such radical means of prevention is not so necessary. You just need to be more intelligent - take care of your body, monitor your weight and blood condition, listen to changes in the work of the organs. By doing this, we can prevent much more serious things than the appearance of stretch marks.
Remember that the skin should always be well hydrated, which means that it needs to provide adequate fluid intake, especially on hot days. The best formula in this respect is 30 ml. water for each kilogram of weight, i.e. a woman weighing 70 kg should drink about 2.1 liters of fluid per day. In the complex, the amount of water should be increased to 3.5 liters.
In addition, you need to eat right! Only in this way can prevent not only unpleasant changes in the structure of the skin, but ensure saturation of the whole body with vitamins and minerals. Valuable micronutrients have a remarkable rejuvenating effect, acting in the epidermis and dermis. On the other hand, they are an important additional factor for the functioning of many enzymes with an antioxidant effect and affect the metabolism of cells. For example, milk and dairy products provide calcium, meat-protein, grain sprouts-iron and trace elements, whole-grain foods-easily digestible carbohydrates, fish and eggs-fluorine, soy and soy products, will provide the body with enough unsaturated fatty acids and vitamins A, C and F.
Particularly important in the fight against stretch marks on the skin is the intake of B vitamins, especially B5, which is involved in energy transfer in the synthesis of some of the major components of cell membranes, resulting in the skin becoming healthy and supple. Eat more liver, spinach, fish, nuts, soybeans - this will certainly provide you with enough of this vitamin.
Excellent prevention of the appearance of stretch marks are procedures for stimulating blood circulation - for example, massage with medical creams and gels based on sea extracts, rose oil, lemon grass, wheat, walnuts, collagen, elastin and glycerin. Well, and last but not least - you should not wear too tight clothes, which prevents blood circulation and can provoke the appearance of not only stretch marks, but also cellulite.
What if the stretch marks already appeared?
You can be sure that at any stage you can get rid of stretch marks on the skin - fighting them is only a matter of time and effort. For example, with the use of good cosmetics, they look much less noticeable. But the first thing to do is take care of preserving the body weight, as new sharp changes can worsen the condition of your skin and your stretch marks. Do not overdo it with sunbathing, which can significantly emphasize this disadvantage, since stretch marks do not change color when sunburned. In addition, plastic surgery may come to the rescue. It's not as scary as it seems, and stretch marks disappear without a trace and without harm to you. However, with an incorrect approach to caring for themselves they can appear again.
A few tips ...
- Always look after your skin, as negligence, as a rule, leads to dryness, peeling and aging of the outer skin of the skin. And stretch marks appear faster and in larger quantities.
- At least once a week you go to a bath or a sauna - it has a beneficial effect on the skin and the entire body as a whole. Hot baths also increase blood circulation and open the pores, removing excess dead skin cells. Then any cosmetic procedure will operate much more intensively and with great effect.
- The next step is to moisturize the skin, which must be repeated every day. In the composition of the most effective moisturizing and reducing agents, natural essential oils, collagen and enzymes must be present.
- When applying these drugs, you need to pay serious attention to the area of the chest, abdomen and thighs. According to the statistical data of clinical trials, visible results can be achieved only a week after the systematic use of quality cosmetics.
- Use regular body massage with a brush and just hands. It is best to massage after taking a warm bath before going to bed. This procedure will help not only to fight stretch marks on the skin, but also provide a healthy sleep and relieve stress.
- Drink the juice from grapefruit and lemon. These fruits help maintain the elasticity and elasticity of the skin, saturate the body with vitamins and trace elements.