ok...so i paid a visit to my dermotologist...its been a yr since i've gone to her w/ ma stretch marks...but well..i asked her if there were nethign else other than retin A that would b good for stretch marks that r quite old...she says no...retin A is the only good product for stretch marks... she says mine will eventually fade... and to keep continuing applying retin A... I have seen dramatic fading with my stretch marks on the back of my legs... it was there for a year before i started applying retin A...so retin A was really good. I also used vitamin E in the mornings.... so..if she says they will eventually fade... i still have hope!!...especially since if they were a year old before i treated them.. and now that they've kinda faded...gives me hope...so dont give up guys!!!
Stretch Marks
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DymondDiosa
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It sucks that I'm an expert on the subject but since I am...
Yeah I'm studying in college to be a dermatologist so here's what I know about stretch marks. Get our your pens, girls (and, yes, you GUYS, too
Here's what the thread already knows:
- Everyone gets stretch marks. Girl, guys, dogs, andything with collagen can get em.
- Stretch makrs usually rely on genetics; that's the easiest way to find out if you're atleast prone to getting them. Ask your mom if she got them while growing up or when she was pergnant.
Here's what can cause them:
- A little background info: Stretch marks occur in the dermis, a lower layer of skin. Collagen is housed there. Usually it happens when the collagen in the dermis is stretched past its ability to hold together. When the collegen "snaps," so to speak, it results in the ugly buried scar we all call STRETCH MARKS! Therefore, stretch marks are caused by a malfunction in the collagen located in the dermis layer of the skin. Here are some examples of what can damage the dermis:
+ Weight gain
+ Weight loss
+ Steroids (Including corticosteroids, a compound found in Cortizone creams. This is another reason why males tend to get them. So if a tiny wee-wee isnt reason enough to stop using steroids, how about a tiny wee-wee AND stretch marks?
)
+ Muscle bulk
+ Anything else that can thin or weaken your dermis.
- Why worry? Stretch marks are more than superficial scars on your booty and belly. It means you have weakened or damaged collagen. It could signal fading vision and even weak joints in the (near) future. It may also mean you have a condition called Cushing's disease. Go see a dermatologist and find out if your stretch makrs could mean something more is goin on under your skin.
Here's what most of the thread got WRONG!:
- No amount of moisturizer or cream is going to work. Any lotion that promises to get rid of them IS a scam. That I can say for sure. Especially if the creme/lotion/moisturizer is white (in other words, not clear or translucent... the clearer types work moderately well i.e. Mederma, StriVectin, Vitamin E, pure from the caplet soothes them but still doesnt get to the root of the rpbelm...) Lotions and creams and moisturizers dont penetrate that deep. NOT EVEN PALMER'S COCOA BUTTER. So if your friend used it on her belly while she was pregnant and didnt get stretchmarks, she probably wasn't going to get them anyway.
- Exercise won't get rid of them. exercise tones muscles, not skin, ESPECIALLY if your collagen has already torn. Skin stretches and contracts with muscles, but once your skin has stretched from stretch marks, it cant contract or expand as well.
- Microdermabrasion isn't that expensive. It's getting cheaper as the demand for microderm. procedures goes down (due to over-the-counter microderm. products like Neutrogena and L'Oreal ones). Microdermabrasion isnt even the only skin treatment that works. Chemical peels do a fairly good job as well (I used the Neutrogena one on some of my stretch marks and it showed improvement.)
- There's no cure for stretch marks short of having your skin resurfaced somehow.
What do to about them:
- Microdermabrasion works. It usually takes a few treatments but if you're deadbent on getting rid of your scars, it can be worth it.
- Chemical peels work. But it has the same advantages/ disadvantages as microderms.
- Mederma, StriVectin, Nutrius work but only moderately well and you have to have ALOT of patience and persistence as some of these treatments require multiple applications throughout the day.
- Lasers work but they are expensive. "Puls dye" lasers today only target redness so they only work on fresh stretch marks. Another thing about these lasers is that they only really work well on fair complexions so ti eliminates some of the potential patients who could benefit from it. The newest adition to the laser family is the "Gentle Yag" laser which emits light and heat in high amounts into the deepest layers of the skin in order to stimulate collagen production. This might be the best hope for stretch marked men and women.
- Get some Retin A. You're not really gonna find it in anything on the shelves, so see your dermatologist and get some prescribed to you. It burns!, but it works pretty well and is kind of cheap.
In the meantime, if you want a quick coverup...
- Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs ($9 at drugstores) works well to coverup just about anything on your legs.
- Self tanner can disguise them some.
Some words of advice and consolation:
- Stretch marks do fade with (alot) of time. That can be a good thing for some, because it means they stay red long enough for them to be treated with a pulse-dye laser. It's bad if you want to get into that bikini by next summer.
- Something like 85% of pregnant women get them.
- In general, 60% of everyone walking around you has them.
- I saw a model in an ad in my InStyle magazine who had them on her butt (she was in a swimsuit, so you could see them very well). She was a model!!! In a nationally printed ad!!! For a big designer (I don't want to call names because I can't remember which designer it was for, but when I find out, I will repost)!! It was very comforting to see. SO WEAR YOUR BIKINI IF YOU WANT TO!
- Persistence will get you far in this game.
- Science is coming a long way. Finally dermatologists are finding out what to do when THE LARGEST ORGAN ON YOUR BODY breaks down. You'd think there would be more current research on the subject, but I guess they're realizing now that collagen is VERY important (without it your bones can weaken, your eyes can go bad, and other things... they just MANIFEST in a superficial thing like stretch marks).
- Sometimes you can tell when you're getting stretch marks. You skin will usually feel itchy, so DON'T SCRATCH! It'll tear your little dermis all up.
Hope this helps girls and guys! If you have any questions, I'm an open book on the subject. I may have left out some stuff...
Yeah I'm studying in college to be a dermatologist so here's what I know about stretch marks. Get our your pens, girls (and, yes, you GUYS, too
Here's what the thread already knows:
- Everyone gets stretch marks. Girl, guys, dogs, andything with collagen can get em.
- Stretch makrs usually rely on genetics; that's the easiest way to find out if you're atleast prone to getting them. Ask your mom if she got them while growing up or when she was pergnant.
Here's what can cause them:
- A little background info: Stretch marks occur in the dermis, a lower layer of skin. Collagen is housed there. Usually it happens when the collagen in the dermis is stretched past its ability to hold together. When the collegen "snaps," so to speak, it results in the ugly buried scar we all call STRETCH MARKS! Therefore, stretch marks are caused by a malfunction in the collagen located in the dermis layer of the skin. Here are some examples of what can damage the dermis:
+ Weight gain
+ Weight loss
+ Steroids (Including corticosteroids, a compound found in Cortizone creams. This is another reason why males tend to get them. So if a tiny wee-wee isnt reason enough to stop using steroids, how about a tiny wee-wee AND stretch marks?
)+ Muscle bulk
+ Anything else that can thin or weaken your dermis.
- Why worry? Stretch marks are more than superficial scars on your booty and belly. It means you have weakened or damaged collagen. It could signal fading vision and even weak joints in the (near) future. It may also mean you have a condition called Cushing's disease. Go see a dermatologist and find out if your stretch makrs could mean something more is goin on under your skin.
Here's what most of the thread got WRONG!:
- No amount of moisturizer or cream is going to work. Any lotion that promises to get rid of them IS a scam. That I can say for sure. Especially if the creme/lotion/moisturizer is white (in other words, not clear or translucent... the clearer types work moderately well i.e. Mederma, StriVectin, Vitamin E, pure from the caplet soothes them but still doesnt get to the root of the rpbelm...) Lotions and creams and moisturizers dont penetrate that deep. NOT EVEN PALMER'S COCOA BUTTER. So if your friend used it on her belly while she was pregnant and didnt get stretchmarks, she probably wasn't going to get them anyway.
- Exercise won't get rid of them. exercise tones muscles, not skin, ESPECIALLY if your collagen has already torn. Skin stretches and contracts with muscles, but once your skin has stretched from stretch marks, it cant contract or expand as well.
- Microdermabrasion isn't that expensive. It's getting cheaper as the demand for microderm. procedures goes down (due to over-the-counter microderm. products like Neutrogena and L'Oreal ones). Microdermabrasion isnt even the only skin treatment that works. Chemical peels do a fairly good job as well (I used the Neutrogena one on some of my stretch marks and it showed improvement.)
- There's no cure for stretch marks short of having your skin resurfaced somehow.
What do to about them:
- Microdermabrasion works. It usually takes a few treatments but if you're deadbent on getting rid of your scars, it can be worth it.
- Chemical peels work. But it has the same advantages/ disadvantages as microderms.
- Mederma, StriVectin, Nutrius work but only moderately well and you have to have ALOT of patience and persistence as some of these treatments require multiple applications throughout the day.
- Lasers work but they are expensive. "Puls dye" lasers today only target redness so they only work on fresh stretch marks. Another thing about these lasers is that they only really work well on fair complexions so ti eliminates some of the potential patients who could benefit from it. The newest adition to the laser family is the "Gentle Yag" laser which emits light and heat in high amounts into the deepest layers of the skin in order to stimulate collagen production. This might be the best hope for stretch marked men and women.
- Get some Retin A. You're not really gonna find it in anything on the shelves, so see your dermatologist and get some prescribed to you. It burns!, but it works pretty well and is kind of cheap.
In the meantime, if you want a quick coverup...
- Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs ($9 at drugstores) works well to coverup just about anything on your legs.
- Self tanner can disguise them some.
Some words of advice and consolation:
- Stretch marks do fade with (alot) of time. That can be a good thing for some, because it means they stay red long enough for them to be treated with a pulse-dye laser. It's bad if you want to get into that bikini by next summer.
- Something like 85% of pregnant women get them.
- In general, 60% of everyone walking around you has them.
- I saw a model in an ad in my InStyle magazine who had them on her butt (she was in a swimsuit, so you could see them very well). She was a model!!! In a nationally printed ad!!! For a big designer (I don't want to call names because I can't remember which designer it was for, but when I find out, I will repost)!! It was very comforting to see. SO WEAR YOUR BIKINI IF YOU WANT TO!
- Persistence will get you far in this game.
- Science is coming a long way. Finally dermatologists are finding out what to do when THE LARGEST ORGAN ON YOUR BODY breaks down. You'd think there would be more current research on the subject, but I guess they're realizing now that collagen is VERY important (without it your bones can weaken, your eyes can go bad, and other things... they just MANIFEST in a superficial thing like stretch marks).
- Sometimes you can tell when you're getting stretch marks. You skin will usually feel itchy, so DON'T SCRATCH! It'll tear your little dermis all up.
Hope this helps girls and guys! If you have any questions, I'm an open book on the subject. I may have left out some stuff...
Golden_butterfly
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^ An excellent way of summing up this thread, karma! 
k...well..ma stretch marks were already white...so wen i started using retin A...it started getting really itchy and irritating for awhile...of course i couldn't resist scratching then... but .. it wouldn't matter if i scratched it when i already had them right?... my dermis layer was already destroyed!
Missoni~Heiress
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this is too much to take inThanks Dymond Diosa. YOu've convinced me to get mine checked out. I have tons, and my mom has none. My skin stays saggy when i lose weight (it doesn't bounce back like an elastic). My eye sight suddenly got bad one summer about 10 years ago. I went from being able to see better than 20/20 to not being able to see the chalkboard over just one summer. I think it was fairly immediate actually. Now I can't see my monitor without high prescription glasses. Could something there be related? My mom only needed glasses in her old age, and my dad got classes since he was a kid. I'm not like either of them (nor is my brother). So maybe this is all related somehow. I would pay THOUSANDS to get this fixed. I know it's superficial, but it's the ultimate let down for me. I can't stand the way I look, and even when I'm slim my skin just hangs. I'm only 25.
I'm going to see a dermatologist when I get back to Canada, and look into some of the resurfacing treatment for scar treatments. Then look into what i can do about my collagen levels. Maybe something can be done and it's not too late for me.
I'm going to see a dermatologist when I get back to Canada, and look into some of the resurfacing treatment for scar treatments. Then look into what i can do about my collagen levels. Maybe something can be done and it's not too late for me.
DymondDiosa
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To AnhPhan:
Scratching even when using Retin-A is still probably not a good idea. It's gonna be a little irritating 4 a while, and your lucky that it's only itchy and its not burning or anything.
To Assembler:
Those symptoms sound like collagen depletion or damage, but they also sound like other, more common things. Unless you've used Cortizone creams alot or any other topical steroid cream, then your ailments may not be related. Nevertheless, go see your primary care physician so he/she can tell you a good dermatologist to see unless you already have one. I don't think it's ever too late to do something about your skin as it is constantly regenerating (sadly, however, collagen is slow to keep up in the process).
Buena suerte, ladies!
Scratching even when using Retin-A is still probably not a good idea. It's gonna be a little irritating 4 a while, and your lucky that it's only itchy and its not burning or anything.
To Assembler:
Those symptoms sound like collagen depletion or damage, but they also sound like other, more common things. Unless you've used Cortizone creams alot or any other topical steroid cream, then your ailments may not be related. Nevertheless, go see your primary care physician so he/she can tell you a good dermatologist to see unless you already have one. I don't think it's ever too late to do something about your skin as it is constantly regenerating (sadly, however, collagen is slow to keep up in the process).
Buena suerte, ladies!
silk skin paws
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Mines have faded with time but I still find them annoying and still very self conscious about them.
I'll definitely try microdermabrasion.
I'll definitely try microdermabrasion.Ungaro Kitty
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Icon said:
I personally don't think it's a big deal. I got used to mine and never notice anyone else's!!
ShuggaStiletto
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dymonddiosa thanks for posting that so much. I've realized that mine are most likely from figure skating....thigh muscles 
Missoni~Heiress
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i cant get rid of mineEshatorres
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Golden_butterfly
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It's ok to have stretch marks on ur chest..it's the ones on the arms and
waist that bothers one...
waist that bothers one...
darlingnicki
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What's the relation between a lack of collagen and diminishing eyesight, Dymond Diosa? That worries me because I do have a tendency to get stretchmarks even if I only gain a small amount of weight (the ones on my sides were from gaining 7lbs in over a month), and I've had increasingly bad eyesight for years. uhoh.
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