Stretch marks happen when your skin changes shape quickly due to growth or weight gain, causing the
collagen and elastin to rupture. And As the skin starts to heal, the stretch marks start to appear.
In this video we will look at 3 at home treatments that could potentially help their appearance
as well as some medical procedures that may be viable if you have already exhausted your options,
so stay with me till the end and we'll try to cover as much detail as we can.
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then consider subscribing as well. Now without wasting any more time, let's dive right in.
Now you most likely developed the stretch marks from any of the following reasons. 1:
pregnancy. Interestingly if you give birth at a younger age, you get them more frequently.
2: Rapid Weight Loss or Gain. And 3: Rapid muscle growth from weight training. Puberty
is also said to be a cause as well as breast enlargement surgery. And when you
dive a little deeper into the skin, there are 3 things going on that are causing it:
reported mast cell degranulation, macrophage activation, and elastolysis of the mid dermis.
And when they first appear, they tend to be red, purple, pink, reddish-brown,
or dark brown, depending on your skin color. Youre going to feel them slightly raised and
sometimes they can be itchy too. And over time, you will start to see the color fade
and the narrow bands start to sink beneath your skin. But you can still feel them.
So this is the goal: If your stretch marks are red. Known as striae rubrae: The goal is to reduce
swelling and the irritation while increasing collagen and elastin fiber production to the
area. And if your stretch marks are white, know as striae albae: You want to improve hydration
and reduce inflammation all while increasing collagen and elastin fiber production. Its
important to know the goal for each type, so that you can make sense of the remedies.
And while there is no secret cure-all ingredient for stretch
marks — at least not yet. Some of these remedies have helped others,
and I do want to share with you what they are. Starting with the first one being Centella.
Centella asiatica is an herb that’s a popular ingredient in Korean beauty products. They are
used for scar treatments as well and can help repair sensitive skin. This study here from
last year, titled a narrative review of current striae treatments. Describes centella as “an
active constituent that stimulates fibroblasts and cell proliferation” And if theres anything
I want you to take away from this is. That fibroblasts are the construction workers of the
skin. You need them for stretch marks. A product containing Centella Asiatica extract demonstrated
significant improvements in skin elasticity and a 60% reduction in the existence of stretch marks.
The second remedy is: Hyaluronic acid. And not just your typical hyaluronic acid. Which
ill get into. As we age, the amount of HA in the skin decreases and by the time we
become adults, this amount can actually decrease to five percent of baseline.
And your typical hyaluronic acids on the market, are too large to go anywhere. Sometimes at 3,000nm
in diameter, and the problem is the intercellular space is only 15 to 50nm and just 6 to lOnm at
the hyaline membrane. Making it impossible for it to get thru into the deep layers.
This study showed us that: “Scientists at Forlle’d Laboratories in Japan managed to reduce the size
of hyaluronic acid molecules without disturbing their constituent subunit structure to a nano size
of 5nm, enabling the HA to cross the skin barrier deep into the dermal level. There study concluded:
The new nano-hyaluronic acid clearly demonstrated a significant benefit in decreasing the depth of
wrinkles (up to 40%), and skin hydration (up to 96%) and skin firmness and elasticity were
significantly enhanced (up to 55%) at the end of eight weeks. Which I thought was interesting.
The third product is: Tretinoin. This is because it is a collagen builder. And it activates those
fibroblasts which we mentioned earlier. Wake up those construction workers, right?.
This study here showed us that: After 6 months, eight of the 10 tretinoin treated patients had
definite or marked improvement compared with one out of the 12 vehicle-treated patients
for stretch marks. Retinol may also help as well, but just remember, tretinoin is about
20 times more potent than retinol. So the results may take a lot longer to be reached.
While you're using any of these remedies or other ones that you know of, which btw you
should share with me down below what they are. Its important to keep the area moisturized and
sun protected. Its actually a big misconception to think that tanning will get rid of stretch
marks. They wont. When you tan, the stretch marks become more noticeable because they just don't
tan. If The surrounding areas darken, it will actually make your stretch marks stand out more.
Self tanners are better if youre looking to hide them. Except there's a lot of bad
products out there for these self tanners. The cleanest one I found,
and No this isnt sponsored. Is the one by beauty by earth, since there is no tricolosan,
synthetic dyes and fragrances. Which you can pick up down below this video.
If youre wanting more of a medical treatment for them. The American Society for Dermatologic
Surgery (ASDS) recommend laser or light therapy as ways to significantly improve
the appearance of them. The only problem is that treatment can be so expensive. And you
would need about 20 treatments just to see about a 20-60 percent improvement.
Newer lasers and radiofrequency treatments may help to modify the vascularity of the area
though. Depending on the type. ANd The needle radiofrequency seems to show some more promise
since it delivers the energy deeper, which may allow "shrinkage" of the striae in all directions.
Curious to see if there was anything I missed, or if you know of anything
that helps. Leave them down below. In the meantime, Click the subscribe button if you
found any value in this video. And until then guys, ill see you on the next one.