By: David H.
Submitted: 2009-10-14 15:37:04 | Word Count: 542
Stretch marks are unsightly skin scars that occur when there are significant changes in the body, like getting pregnant. It can also be due to having a swingy weight.
In order to better understand stretch marks, you need to initially know what the human skin is made of. A normal skin of a human being is made up of 4 percent elastin fiber mesh and 80 percent collagen network. The elastin is a protein that allows the skin to stretch. It also provides flexibility.
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Elastin form is similar to a “fishnet” network that enables it to stretch and resume back to its original state. Stretch marks are essentially damaged elastin fibers. It causes the scarring of certain points, especially in a woman’s body.
One remarkable thing about stretch marks is that it is so distinguishable with the naked eye. However, if you use a microscope, it is undistinguishable because all you can see is just plain healthy and normal skin. Some may feel that when they touch their stretch marks it feels empty like there is no existing skin.
In vision and texture, there are differences between the normal skins of people who have stretch marks, with apparently no changes on the actual state of the skin.
There are certain theories that stretch marks are acquired during pregnancy. This is when the belly starts to stretch because of the growing baby inside, during weight gain, weight loss or puberty. Although these theories are still believed as true, there are still certain studies that prove otherwise.
The term “stretch marks” is labeled because of the misconception of its origins. The real causes of these marks are hormonal influences or simply hormones. When people gain or lose weight, their hormones are metabolized and produced by fat cells. These hormones resemble cholesterol and fat, thus, it occurs every time we lose or gain some weight. So, the hormones not only affect our body and moods but it also affects our skin.
There have been studies in some laboratories that helped doctors create stretch marks artificially. This has been done on healthy and normal skin by simply applying a strong topical corticosteroid cream. The results are still similar to stretch marks but without the losing or gaining weight factor on their test subjects.
The hormones are similar to steroids applied on the skin, causing stretch marks. By applying corticosteroid creams, we can manually create stretch marks. This provides proof that the skin’s stretching does not, in any way, cause stretch marks.
There are various treatments for stretch marks. The most popular of which are laser treatments. Nonetheless, there are no treatments in the market that can make stretch marks go away and the skin to look normal again. Only laser treatment can get rid of red and white marks.
Other treatments can also improve the texture and lighten the marks. In other words, treatments only improve the state of stretch marks in the body but they don’t remove it.
Laser treatments can be good for red stretch marks since lasers are highly effective in stopping the inflammation or swelling as well as reducing the redness of the skin. Thus, pulse dyed laser treatment is considered the best laser treatment for this type of stretch mark.
