Who does not like to show off beautiful skin, without blemishes, hydrated and full of radiance? Everyone, of course. But inevitably, at times, our skin suffers injuries.
Among the most common skin conditions are stretch marks, marks that appear when the skin is stretched quickly. Stretch marks are an aesthetic problem for many people but, at present, they can be corrected, since there are very effective treatments for the correction of stretch marks.
No one is safe from stretch marks. It does not matter if you are a man or a woman (although they affect 2.5% more women). It is also indifferent how old you are. Furthermore, stretch marks do not understand physical conditions, athletes can also suffer from them. What is common to all is that stretch marks are not to anyone’s liking, because these lesions remain on the person’s skin permanently and are very difficult to treat. At least they have been so far.
Stretch marks can cause, in the most serious cases, a serious physical and psychological complex in a person. If this is your case and you want to get rid of these lesions that mark your skin in a definitive way, then we are going to explain which treatments for the removal of stretch marks are the most effective.
What are stretch marks?
Stretch marks are skin lesions that appear due to the breakdown of elastic fibers and collagen in the skin . Although the most common causes of this prolonged and intense distention of the skin are weight gain, rapid growth spurts and, in the case of women, pregnancy. There are also other causes that affect the appearance of stretch marks, such as genetic and hormonal factors or not metabolizing corticosteroid treatments well (usually used in anti-inflammatory or autoimmune diseases).
Stretch marks have an appearance of elongated fine lines that are somewhat irregular. Lines that are similar to the skin of a tiger, not in vain in the Anglo-Saxon world they are popularly called tiger stripes . The grooves may have various hues , the color depends on its evolution: the most recent exhibit a reddish color (called recent stretch marks) and eventually turn white (called now evolved striae).
The marks can appear anywhere on the body, however some areas of the body are more prone to develop such as the belly, thighs, buttocks and breasts. It is also common in men, especially athletes, to appear in the arms. In short, stretch marks will appear at any point on the body where fat has been stored rapidly and recurrently; they can even appear on the face.
The laser for stretch mark removal
Stretch marks are a difficult cosmetic problem to solve. These marks can disappear or fade naturally in some cases, but in the vast majority of people such a result does not occur. It should also be noted that almost all of the cosmetic treatments that can be purchased on the market will not help you much more than what your body is capable of eliminating naturally.
However, aesthetic medicine has developed some methods capable of eliminating these skin atrophies. The old medical treatments were quite aggressive, since they damaged the skin considerably and, as a consequence, the recovery of the patient was insidious. In addition to this, with the old techniques, satisfactory results were not obtained either, they could not completely eliminate the marks of the stretch marks.
Currently, there is a very effective treatment for the removal of stretch marks : the laser. This is the only method capable of making these skin atrophies disappear completely and without causing harmful lesions on the skin. Furthermore, the patient does not need to undergo specific cures or care; the only precautions you should take are to avoid exposure to the sun (the doctor will give you all the necessary instructions) and apply moisturizer to the area.
The laser works so effectively because it introduces small beams of energy into the patient’s skin that produce micro-coagulation columns more than 1mm deep. This coagulation causes an intense remodeling of collagen and elastin that have been atrophied to be generated . On the other hand, the laser is also capable of rebuilding the affected microvasculation and correcting the superficial pigmentation caused by stretch marks on the skin.
The recommended number of sessions to remove stretch marks is 4, although this will depend on the degree of injury of the person. The time that must elapse between sessions is 3 or 4 weeks. Laser treatment, provided it is performed by a medical professional, is very safe and has little incidence of side effects. The only thing that the patient will notice is a slight redness in the area during the first three days. To appreciate the first results, the patient will have to wait between 3 and 6 months from the first session.
Other treatments for the removal of stretch marks
But in addition to laser treatment, there are also other techniques that help make the removal of stretch marks much more decisive. One of them is biostimulation that is carried out with infiltrations of silicon and other autologous growth factors.
Silicon is an element that is present to a large extent in our body, specifically in all kinds of tissues, such as bones, muscles and skin. Silicon intervenes in the formation of new collagen, helping its generation to be more effective and of quality. On the other hand, autologous growth factors enhance the repair of striated skin. All these elements are infiltrated into the patient through intradermal microinjections.
Another complementary treatment that helps skin regeneration is radiofrequency. This technique tightens, firms and improves skin texture. It is a highly recommended treatment when stretch marks are accompanied by flaccidity.
The removal of stretch marks is already possible thanks to aesthetic medicine techniques such as lasers and complementary treatments such as radiofrequency or growth factors. But, as we always recommend, it is important to put yourself under the hands of a professional expert, a trusted doctor. What are you waiting for to show off beautiful skin without a trace of imperfections?