Most of us have stretch marks – some hidden, some visible, some big, some small, some obvious, some not so obvious. They can be souvenirs from pregnancy, puberty and rapid weight gain or loss.
What are they and what causes them?
Stretch marks are a form of scarring that occurs in parts of our body where the skin has been exposed to excessive stretching. Areas most often affected are abdomen, breasts, underarm area, thighs, hips and buttocks. All those areas change dramatically during pregnancy and puberty. When a pregnant woman’s skin isn’t able to stretch quickly enough to catch up with the growing baby, abdominal stretch marks are likely to occur. As the breasts enlarge during pregnancy, and especially during breastfeeding, it's fairly common to find stretch marks. During puberty, when most people tend to grow in height, the areas for them to appear are the thighs, lower back and buttocks. If you rapidly lose or gain weight they might appear in unexpected places like under the knees or on the underside of the upper arms.
At first, when stretch marks appear on the skin, they tend to be very visible as they usually have a reddish or purple tinge to them. Over time the colour fades leaving them a slightly silvery colour.
Prevention and treatment
Unfortunately, to date, there is no scientifically proven way to prevent stretch marks. However, the good news is that by improving the skin’s condition and elasticity, you can mitigate against them occurring, or decrease the size of the area affected.
We highly recommend regular application of moisturising products before and during pregnancy. Our natural body moisturizers can help maintain the skin's moisture level and elasticity.
Our favorite is Tamanu and Macadamia Oil, as it aids in the prevention and treatment of scars and stretch marks. Tamanu Oil is known to be very effective in treating all kinds of scarring, and applying it regularly lessens the visibility of stretch marks. Macadamia oil, in addition, is a wonderful moisturiser, and your skin will love it.
Although stretchmarks can’t be completely avoided, moisturising regularly will help your skin's elasticity and will reduce the likelihood of them occurring.