Help!
I have lost a fair bit of weight over the last six months, through exercise and dieting, and though seeing the pounds fly off was a real jot and gave me a lot of confidence, I fear that I have possibly lost the weight too quickly. I am now covered in stretch marks on my abdomen, inner thighs, breasts and lower back/side.
I look BETTER naked now then I did before, but the marks do honestly bother me. Is there anything I can do to fade them? Creams I could try? Laser surgery or something?
Thoughts appreciated!!!
I personally don't have any experience with stretch marks after straight weight loss, but I did get some mean stretch marks after my two pregnancies, one with twins. Like you describe these stretch marks are literally everywhere where stretch marks can form except the buttocks. What's worse is I actually made sure to use good quality stretch mark creams during both pregnancies. I put them on religiously everyday twice a day. Do you think it helped one little bit? No!
My twins are now five years old and the stretch marks are still there. I'll be honest. They look nowhere near as potent as they did when I just gave birth. That was a shock. They have faded but are still visible. No idea what to do about them or if laser would help but I'd be interested to hear more from anyone with experience too.
Pat XXX
- Aloe vera. Supposedly helps repair skin damage and elasticity and penetrates the lower levels of the skin very well.
- Loofah, a special brush for stretch marks.
- Applying egg whites to the skin for five minutes at a time.
- Castor oil, which is also used to treat wrinkles and pigmentation.
These are all natural remedies and I have no idea how well they will work, and I don't know what the next step would be either, but I am going to try and hope for the best.
Hiya,
As far as I've read up on these things, the only sure fire way to get rid of stretch marks is actually excising them physically... meaning if you have a tummy tuck for instance and bits of skin are cut out, if that skin has stretch marks then the stretch marks are obviously gone because that skin is no longer part of your body. Laser treatment can fade stretch marks a great deal but can never repair the damage done to the actual skin as it is a permanent tearing of some layers of the skin that takes place. Having said that, it could be that the fading is quite enough for your personal needs?? Some stretch marks are really bad and others are fairly mild...
Once you already have stretch marks, no amount of cream will save you from those. Pulsed dye lasers cannot get rid of stretch marks completely either but can sure fade them to the point that they are nearly invisible. This is what I would investigate in your situation.
I still have stretch marks from after childbirth as well as stretch marks that mysteriously appeared on their own - without weight loss or anything. I have lived with them for so long now that I don't mind them any more. They do naturally become so much less prominent. Do you want to undergo laser treatment? I would, if my stretch marks were really bad (of Grand Canyon proportions), but not for normal every day stretch marks. Perhaps you could ask a doctor for their honest opinion on whether you would benefit from laser treatment and then take it from there?
Rosie
I recently saw an advertisement about this oil. I think it is called wonder oil. They claim that it gets rid of stretch marks, scars of any kind of at least makes them look better and I saw that there was something on special offer as well. I have been tempted to get some myself but due to the lack of research I obviously don't know if it is a scam. This could be worth looking into though. They say it is all natural so it can't do any harm if it doesn't work, I guess.
I am sorry to say that structural changes to your skin are there to stay. Stretch marks absolutely do fade. From being an angry red or purple, they inevitably turn into a silver or white. If they are deep enough, however, you will not achieve any noticeable improvement with creams at all. This is, essentially, a form of scarring and old scars never go away with creams. Laser treatment may help some, in terms of improvement in appearance, but again you will never be able to eliminate stretch marks completely unfortunately. It is just another of those things that stay with us forever once we have them.
After my pregnancy, my stretch marks did not fade as everyone said they would. Rather they got darker and turned a deep kind of mauve. I didn't have time nor money for treatments at a spa (I had twins!) and I looked around for all sorts of home remedies. I put onion juice, sugar paste, honey, castor oil, lemon juice, you name it on there. In the end, the only thing that actually worked for me was hyaluronic acid serum. Yes, the kind designed for the face. I bought it for my face actually and decided to put it on my stretch marks one day. It helped!!! The stretch marks are not gone completely, but the hyaluronic acid serum made them look a whole lot less obvious.