They appear on the skin virtually overnight, and take their own time going away. Sometimes, stretch marks don’t go away at all and sit on the skin clearly visible to the rest of the world. They don’t hurt you or impede your daily life in any way, but you still can’t make peace with their appearance and wish you still had your smooth, unlined skin before the marks appeared.
The good news is, you still can. Though most stretch marks fade over time and become virtually invisible, others do not and may need a doctor’s intervention for their removal. This article discusses stretch marks, why they are formed on the skin, and the best stretch marks removal treatment in Dubai.
What are stretch marks?
As the name suggests, ‘stretch marks’ are marks or visible signs of stretching of the skin. They are formed when the elastin fibres in the skin are stretched beyond their endurance point, due to a number of factors. They appear on the skin in the form of dented streaks or ridges, and are often clearly visible. Their colour varies from reddish or maroon on very fair skin to yellowish on dark skin tones. They do not hurt while they are being formed – you will not even feel them – and you can trace them on your skin with your fingers.
Stretch marks are most commonly seen in pregnant women and those who have lost or gained weight rapidly. How many of them appear, how severe they are, and whether they will fade over time or not, are all determined by the health of your skin, the degree of the cortisol hormone present in your skin (it weakens elastin significantly) and your genetics.
Some causes of stretch marks are:
- Rapid gain in weight, especially during adolescence or due to pumping weights at the gym
- Pregnancy, where the skin stretches rapidly in the third trimester
- Personal or genetic disposition to stretch marks
- Using hormonal supplements especially those with corticosteroids
- Using anabolic steroids to retain muscle mass after exercise
- Undergoing breast augmentation surgery
- Suffering from a genetic disorder like Marfan Syndrome or Cushing’s Syndrome
Can they be removed by creams?
Most stretch marks, though visible, are completely harmless and painless. However, you might be uncomfortable with their presence on your skin and would like to remove them.
The mass media is awash with advertisements for stretch mark removal creams and gels. However, most of these products do not diminish or remove stretch marks at all. In most cases, you might need stretch mark removal treatment from a certified doctor in your area.
Others use DIY home remedies to remove stretch marks, such as packs using lemon juice, ripe tomato and potato pulp. These will not remove the marks, but may certainly cause some lightening (lemon and tomato juice have natural bleaching properties) and impart some degree of hydration to the affected skin. However, don’t pin your hopes on them and take an appointment with your dermatologist soon – stretch marks should be removed sooner rather than later.
Stretch mark removal with a doctor’s help
Stretch marks vary from person to person, depending on the reason why you got them in the first place. It naturally follows that stretch mark removal treatment also cannot be a standardised procedure that applies equally to all. Experienced dermatologists in premium skin care clinics in Dubai use multiple treatments to remove stretch marks by using the body’s own natural defences.
Your doctor will recommend the use of Carboxy Therapy, Mesotherapy and Bipolar Radiofrequency to remove the marks from your skin, either in combination together or two of them, and individually. This is how they work:
– Carboxy Therapy kickstarts the skin’s natural repair functions. The doctor administers minute doses of CO2 to the affected areas of the skin. Once the CO2 is inside the skin, the body responds by infusing the targeted area with oxygen to protect the skin from the excess compound. In the process, the interaction between the two, known as Carboxy therapy, repairs broken collagen and elastin fibres that formed the stretch marks in the first place. Meanwhile, the skin is spurred to create new collagen in place of the old.
– Mesotherapy is a process of administering a cocktail of essential nutrients to the skin to rejuvenate and repair the damage. Using a microneedle, the dermatologist injects a mix of vitamins and other nutrients into the marks – the nutrients are released slowly into the mesoderm or middle layer of the skin, and start the healing process. The skin cells are activated to repair connective tissue that was broken earlier and stimulate natural elastin and collagen production.
– Bipolar Radiofrequency is administered to activate the skin’s flagging healing process. The doctor uses a beam of fractional radio frequency just beneath the affected skin to spur the natural healing process and accelerate the growth of collagen. In a few days, this process causes the skin to become softer and reduce the colour and indented stretch mark texture.
However, you might need a few repeat sessions to remove the stretch marks permanently from the skin. Meanwhile, you can you do your bit by consuming nutritious food, keeping the skin hydrated with sufficient fluid intake, and lightly massage the treated skin with a doctor-recommended hydrating cream or oil after a few weeks of taking the treatment.
What’s next?
Schedule an appointment with a leading dermatologist in Dubai who specialises in stretch mark removal. The doctor will examine your skin in detail and decide which treatments listed above are necessary, or if the marks are likely to fade on their own. Based on their treatment plan, you can undergo the procedure(s) and await the best results. However, do give the treated skin some time to heal and repair itself – the marks will not magically disappear overnight. You will see a gradual fading over weeks and months, till there is no semblance of marks on the skin at all.
Online Information Hub 