This may not be what you want to hear…but there really isn’t anything that will 100% get rid of your stretch marks. Trust me when I say, if it could be done, I wouldn’t have any myself. I’ve done a lot to mine over the years, and don’t get me wrong, they are significantly better but still visible.
I used to be way more self-conscious about these; however, as more time goes on and maybe as I mature and realize it is just a way of life, I’ve stopped fussing over them. If someone sees me in a bikini and wants to cast judgment…my only response will be… I made life, and I think I look damn good! Haha.
Let’s get to the bottom of how stretch marks are formed:
When our body changes rapidly, usually with growth spurts as a kid, weight gain, and pregnancy, strain is put on our skin. Everyone’s skin can tolerate a different amount of strain…it’s really the luck of the draw. For me, I got the bad gene…Thanks, Mom. Actually, my mom has hardly any, so who knows who blessed me. Haha
Think of your skin like a new hair elastic; you stretch it, you manipulate it, and for a while, it bounces back. But with time, it gets weaker, and eventually, it no longer has that same stretch, or worse, it snaps. That is basically our skin as we gain mass.
A stretch mark starts internally in the second layer of skin, known as the dermis. This means that the tare on the surface of our skin started well below what our eyes could see. Due to this, a stretch mark is often larger the deeper we go into the skin, making us limited if we only treat the skin’s surface.
My first stretch marks showed up as a kid from growing too fast, and during pregnancy, I swear my stretch marks got stretch marks. My skin just couldn’t tolerate my ever-expanding belly and thighs, and no amount of cream would help me.
Yes, I am sorry to say that since stretchmarks happen internally first, layering up with lotion won’t save you! It will take the itch and discomfort from your skin stretching and snapping, but if you are going to get stretch marks, it’s happening – sorry, friend!
It’s a process…
Our body will naturally heal itself over time, turning once red or purple marks to a silvery tone, but the tare and texture will always be visible without intervention. This processing time can vary from person to person.
The red or purple coloration we see is simply vascular vessels in the skin. Think of it as a bruise in the skin or like that annoying red mark that lingers long after the pimple is gone. This is actually the easiest visible marker to get rid of.
Light-based treatments like IPL or Lasers can coagulate those blood vessels and accelerate the healing process quite rapidly in as little as 1-3 sessions over the course of a few months.
Secondly, this process creates a lack of collagen & elastin.
Save yourself; I will tell you right now no home gadget or miracle cream is repairing this loss…. or at least not on its own.
We need to stimulate the cells at a much deeper level.
My go-to for this is the TempSure body platform by Cynosure. I have used many different devices from various reputable companies, but TempSure exceeded my expectations in every way. I started training on this device before I bought it and initially fell in love with how user-friendly it was and how much deeper the radiofrequency energy could go while being highly comfortable to the client. As I began to see more results and try it myself—I was sold!
TempSure is a radiofrequency device that heats up deep in the dermis to wake up your cells and tell them to start getting rid of the damaged cells and create an influx of new collagen & elastin fibers to heal the skin from the INSIDE out essentially.
I was a demo model for this and had zero expectations to see results given my extensive history of other treatments, but I was instantly a believer. I texted my colleague at Cynosure two days after my first FlexSure treatment and said…
“Okay, am I nuts? I feel like my skin already feels firmer.”
If you have stretch marks, you will know what I mean; my skin just felt thin and crepe and just not plump anymore. After this treatment, my skin just felt totally different, and even though I could still visibly see the little silver lines, I felt better.
Thirdly, we have the textural issue to tackle. Often stretch marks can be indented or raised, making those track marks more pronounced.
Regular exfoliating products or superficial mechanical exfoliating treatments like microdermabrasion and chemical peels will not cut it.
My go-to treatment for stretchmark texture has always been resurfacing lasers…until now!
I still love it, and I will probably do a combination. Still, the introduction of Potenza RF micro-needling has given me the ability to target multiple issues in one treatment.
The Potenza creates a mechanical injury with controlled needles to cause a wound healing response in the skin. Basically, whenever we injure ourselves, our body goes…oh, it’s time to repair and get rid of these damaged cells and send up some new ones. Our body is actually very smart, and it wants to fix itself.
In combination with that mechanical injury, the Potenza delivers radiofrequency (like the Tempsure) directly into the deep layers of the skin. Like a two-for-one powerhouse, AND if that doesn’t sound awesome enough, I have developed some topical protocols to work on the upper layers at the same time.
Man, I love technology!!!
All this to be said, yes, I can improve your stretch marks, but if anyone ever promises they will completely erase their memory from your body…I’d bet everything that you will be let down.
Your expectation is KEY! I use my own experiences to make sure that I set yours accordingly. I want you to be happy, I want to make them better, but I need you to understand my limitations and trust that if I can’t improve them enough that it’s worth the investment, I’m just not going to do it.
If I ever discover the magic solution or develop a way to just fully regrow new skin, I’ll let you know! For now, let’s focus on minimizing vs. erasing and learn to love our skin.
Interested in my honest opinion? Let’s talk!
As always, Your Skin Revival,
Alexis Fry
