Stretch marks after pregnancy are common among pregnant ladies, like morning sickness while pregnant. Most pregnant women want to know how to get rid of stretch marks after pregnancy and don’t like to continue their life with these marks on their skin. Fortunately, there are some ways that help in fading stretch marks.
In this article of “hi pregnancy”, we will tell you how to get rid of stretch marks after pregnancy, through medical treatments and simple home remedies as well. Keep reading to the end to figure out all you need to know about stretch marks after pregnancy, causes, preventing ways, how to get rid of, etc.
What are stretch marks?
Stretch marks are red, purple, pink, or brown tiny scars, that show up where the elastin and collagen fiber tear from stretching and when the skin stretches rapidly.
The reason of appearing marks, their age, and also their place, are the three main factors of the difference in stretch marks’ color. Arms, lower back, thighs, abdomen, breasts, buttocks, and hips, are the known places for appearing stretch marks.
These marks can show up during any time of life, for different reasons, such as significant weigh gain, but at the most of the time, they are inseparable part of the pregnancy. Although most stretch marks are not painful and harmful, ladies don’t like to see them on their skin after pregnancy.
It is good to know that you may experience painful stretch marks after pregnancy. These types of stretch marks are not common but they may happen to you. Do you want to know what makes your stretch marks painful? Let us tell you. When the stretch mark constricts the skin, the blood flow to that area of skin decreases, and lead to pain.
There are plenty of ways to fade stretch marks, in the form of medical treatment and home remedies, that all of you can use to get rid of stretch marks after pregnancy or at any time during your life. Read on to be familiar with these ways in the following parts.
Also Read: How To Lose Weight After Pregnancy?
Cause of stretch marks after pregnancy
According to scientific researches, skin has three layers;
- The epidermis, uppermost layer
- The dermis, middle layer
- The hypodermis, the deepest layer
Stretch marks, which you see during and after pregnancy, are formed on the dermis layer of the skin, due to the quick expansion of your skin. Here are some important causes of pregnancy related stretch marks;
- Significant weight gain over a short time
- Carrying a large-sized baby
- Over-stretching of the skin, due to carrying more than one baby
- Pregnancy related hormonal changes
- Producing high levels of cortisone during pregnancy
- Application of corticosteroid lotions and creams, for skin disease or arthritis
All the above reason, lead to stretching and expansion of the skin, which is the main cause of stretch marks. In fact, your body’s effort to make enough pace for the baby and gaining weight while pregnant, leads to significant stretching in the skin, which is followed by pregnancy stretch marks.
Also Read: how do you get a flat stomach after pregnancy?
Preventing pregnancy stretch marks
Although all pregnant ladies get at least fine stretch marks during pregnancy, there are some recommendations to prevent stretch marks and reduce the amount of them. Those ladies who have a family history of severe stretch marks are at a higher risk of these pregnancy related marks. In other words, experiencing these marks can be related to genetic.
Keep in mind and follow the following magic points while pregnant, to minimize or even prevent having stretch marks after pregnancy;
- Pay attention to the link betweennutrition and pregnancy. You should eat well, and have nutrient-dense foods in your diet.
- You should be aware ofhow many calories you eat during pregnancy. The only magic guideline is to gain weight slowly, and steadily, not rapidly and excessively.
- Ask your doctor to prescribe creams and lotions which help in minimizing stretch marks during pregnancy.
Is it possible to get rid of stretch marks after pregnancy?
If you want to get rid of these marks, you should not waste your time and start treatment as soon as possible after pregnancy. Because stretch marks have a life cycle. It means that, at first they are brightly colored and they are easier to treat and fade. However, when the time passes, marks become fainter color and harder to treat.
Although some ladies except these lines as a sign of pregnancy and having child on their body, but there are some ones that do their best to make stretch marks disappear or at least makes them lighten enough to not be noticeable.
There are some points and ways of treatment that you should know about how to get rid of stretch marks after pregnancy, which can help you gain back your confidence and make your skin flat, without any stretch marks, as it was before pregnancy.
How to get rid of stretch marks after pregnancy?
Now, you know that there are some options that you can stick to in order to pregnancy stretch mark removal. But it is better to mention that, treating stretch marks at early stages is easier and more effective than treating older ones. In other words, if you want to get rid of these marks, you need to start removal treatment soon.
During treatment, you should be patient and wait until you see the signs of disappearing marks. Here, we will discuss some common option that can help you in this way, but it is more advisable to consult your doctor or dermatologist before choosing the following options as treatment. The reason is that not every treatment will work the same for all ladies, and you should select the treatment which works best for you.
Here are 7 options that can help in fading stretch marks after pregnancy;
- Chemical peels
Chemical peels refer to chemexfoliation, in which chemical solutions such as, glycolic, salicylic, trichloroacetic, lactic, or carbolic acids are used and applied on stretch marks. These chemical solutions help in stimulating collagen production in your skin. During the procedure of chemical peels, the parts of the skin where marks exist, is peeled off for the formation of a new skin layer.
Although this kind of treatment can lead to fading stretch marks, it can put those ladies who take birth control pills, or have a history of brown discoloration, at the risk of issues like, a color change of the skin or abnormal skin pigmentation.
- Laser therapy
This kind of stretch marks removal treatment is expensive option, but it is proved to remove these marks. The good news about laser therapy is that, it can fade old marks as well as newer ones. In the process of laser therapies, e.g. pulsed-dye laser or fractional non-ablative laser therapies, specific wavelengths of light are used to remove, vaporize, and also break down affected skin tissues and also improve cell production.
In addition, laser therapy can increase collagen production of the skin, thicken the epidermal layer, and restore elastin fibers as well. The noticeable point about this medical treatment is that you need repeated treatments to see good and acceptable results.
- Microdermabrasion
Do you want to know how to get rid of stretch marks after pregnancy with fewer complications? Microdermabrasion is such a minimally invasive procedure that can be effective at improving tone and texture of the skin and minimizing pregnancy stretch marks as well. In addition to stretch marks removal, microdermabrasion can be used to treat skin-related issues such as, acne scar, age spots, wrinkles, as well as sun damage.
- Microneedling
In this type of skin care method, fine needles are used to puncture the skin. The healing process of tiny injuries lead to increasing new skin cell production, which can help you get rid of stretch marks after pregnancy. Studies found that, microneedling works better than microdermabrasion on removing marks. It needs about 4-6 sessions to treat and lessen pregnancy related stretch marks, as well as wrinkles and scars.
- Radiofrequency
There is not enough information about this method to conclude that whether it can be useful for every one or not. But according to small researches that had been done on a few people, it seems that radiofrequency as a noninvasive procedure, can activate natural wound healing process of your body, improve collage production and also tighten skin, in order to reduce length and width of stretch marks.
- Using hyaluronic acid gels or creams
Scientists found that, applying cream or gels containing hyaluronic as the main ingredient, can help in reducing the sign of stretch marks after pregnancy and make them less noticeable. Studies proved that if you message early stretch marks with hyaluronic acid product such are cream and gel, you can reduce and even fade your marks after delivery.
- Applying creams with tretinoin
Tretinoin cream can help in removing early stretch marks, due to their effect on collagen production, and skin cell turnover. In order to see good results after using these creams, you need to use them daily and at early stages. We should warn you that, tretinoin cream must not be used during breastfeeding, because it can be absorbed into your breast milk and put your child’s health at risk.
7 Home remedies to get rid of stretch marks after pregnancy
Home remedies are safer than medical treatment, but the process of home remedies are usually taking a long time, and also it needs to be patient. If you are interesting to use home remedies for your problems and issues, stick to the following options to get rid of stretch marks after pregnancy;
- Olive oil
It is a natural source of vitamin A, E, D for exfoliating and moisturizing your skin, stimulating blood circulation, in order to remove stretch marks;
- Take a few drops of olive oil to message the area of stretch marks with the help of your palm and fingers.
- Let the oil remain on your skin for about 30 min, and take a bath after that. Use it regularly to see the good results.
- Also, you can mix olive oil with water, lemon juice, or vinegar and apply it at night.
- Castor oil
- Apply a few drops of castor oil on the area of marks.
- Gently massage the area for about 5-10 minutes.
- Then cover the area with a plastic bag, after that use a hot water bottle to roll on the area of stretch marks for 30-40 min.
- At last, wash or clean your skin, and repeat the above steps each day for at least one month.
- Vitamin E oil
- You need vitamin E capsule, in order to extract the oil.
- Then, you should mix the oil with your regular moisturizer.
- Apply the mixture of oil and moisturizer on the stretch marks and massage the skin, until the oil gets absorbed.
- Honey
There are two ways to use honey to get rid of stretch marks after pregnancy;
- Apply a little amount of honey on a small piece of cloth. Then, put the cloth on the area of stretch marks, and let it remain there until the honey is dried. At last, wash the place with warm water.
- Or, you can mix honey with salt and glycerin to make a honey scrub and use it twice a day. Cover the affected area with the scrub and massage until it gets absorbed.
- Home-made cream
Do you want to know how to get rid of stretch marks after pregnancy by making an easy and effective home-made cream? Here what you are searching for;
- You should mix half a cup of cocoa butter, 2 tablespoons of grated beeswax, and 1 tablespoon of vitamin E, all together. If it is possible, add a few drops of wheat germ oil and apricot kernel oil to your mixture.
- Then, you need to boil the mixture, until the beeswax gets melted.
- Refrigerate the mixture and apply it on your stretch marks every day, until you see the signs of marks removal.
- Home-made moisturizer
- For dry skins, you can mix cocoa butter, olive oil, and wheat germ oil in equal portions.
- For oily or combination skin types, you can make a mixture of aloe vera, olive oil, wheat germ oil in equal portions to get rid of marks.
- Home-made lotion
- In order to make this natural lotion, you need to extract oil from 4 vitamin A capsules, and 6 vitamin E capsules. Then, you should mix them with a half cup of extra virgin olive oil, and also a quarter cup of aloe vera gel.
- Store the mixture in the refrigerator and apply it daily.
Best cream to remove stretch marks after pregnancy
Now, you know how to get rid of stretch marks after pregnancy. As we mentioned in previous parts, one of the common ways to get rid of these marks is applying special creams used to remove stretch marks after pregnancy. Let’s take a look at these useful creams.
- Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Tummy Butter for Stretch Marks
This stretch mark cream is a great option to fade stretch marks after pregnancy, as it is highly concentrated with vitamin E and cocoa butter. This cream can keep your skin hydrated and help you to get rid of stretch marks. Since this stretch mark cream can show results in about less than three months, we recommend you use this cream, if you want to get the best results in a short time after child birth.
- Sebamed Anti Stretch Mark Cream
Another best cream to fade stretch marks is Sebamed, which is rich in avocado oil, shea butter, and tiger grass. It is good to know this stretch mark cream has been clinically and dermatologically tested, and its safety for breastfeeding mothers has been proven. This cream can increase your skin’s elasticity and help to fade stretch marks after pregnancy.
- DreamBelly Stretch Mark Cream
This cream is one of the best products available in markets. DreamBelly contains aloe vera gel, rosehip oil, grapefruit and honeysuckle, which all are combined to reduce, lighten, and fade stretch marks. This product provides deep moisturizing and keeps your skin hydrated, which can help you to get rid of these marks.
There is a point about the time this cream needs to get absorbed. Since this cream is thick, you need to give it extra time to get absorbed after applying.
- Mustela Stretch Marks Double Action
Mustela anti-stretch cream is one of the best products to promote reduction of stretch marks after pregnancy, and even during that. Applying this cream can strengthen the elasticity of your skin and keep your body hydrated, as it contains ingredients like shea butter and vitamin E. It is recommended to apply this cream twice a day to see best results.
Conclusion
Having a baby is a sweet happening that most ladies want to experience, but it can change your body, especially the surface of the skin. Stretch marks are one of those pregnancy-related changes that may annoy you after delivery. In fact, most pregnant women want to know how to get rid of stretch marks after pregnancy?
Fortunately, there are home remedies and medical treatment to get rid of these marks. The best way is to consult your doctor and choose the best way for stretch marks removal based on your doctor’s guidelines.
FAQs
1. How to get rid of stretch marks after birth?
There are many ways to get rid of stretch marks after giving birth, including laser therapy, applying special creams, microneedling, taking chemical peels, etc. Your doctor can help you choose the best way to treat stretch marks after birth.
2. Does honey help with stretch marks after pregnancy?
Yes, honey is one of the most popular natural remedies used to decrease stretch marks after pregnancy and giving birth. We can’t say that you can get rid of stretch marks by only using honey, but it can improve the appearance of the stretch marks.
