What Causes Stretch Marks?
 Basically, stretch marks were caused when the skin were suddenly stretched. Other causes for stretch marks in both men and women include rapid weight gain and body-building, as expanding muscles or fat can stretch the skin. When the skin is subjected to extreme stretching, it causes the tiny skin fibers to tear. Other than that, body changes and development such as pregnancy and puberty may also be responsible.
The stretching of the skin beyond its capacity to do so at a given time are what causes stretch marks. The skin loses its elasticity and connective fibers are broken. This causes small tears to appear in the supporting layers of skin. Hence, making only sudden rapid weight gain or loss becoming the culprit of stretch marks.
“Stretch marks, the bane of women worldwide, are lines that appear on the skin during periods of rapid growth or stretching. They also can result from hormonal changes. While stretch marks are most often associated with the stretching of the abdominal skin during pregnancy, they can affect both men and women. Stretch marks are essentially a type of scar that forms when the skin is stretched beyond its limit, causing the connective fibers of the dermis, the middle layer of skin, to break. There may be a number of different causes for such scarring.” [source]
According to Wise Geek, stretch marks appear as a series of lines perpendicular to the direction of stretching. At first, they are dark red or purple, but over time, they fade to a much lighter color similar to the rest of the skin. If the stretched area of skin returns to its former size, the appearance of the stretch marks may decrease.
However, Health Guidance states that stretch marks starts as red lines on the skin that are slightly lifted. It depends on the color of the skin of the person which sometimes may look pink, reddish brown or dark brown. They are usually similar in lines. The appearance of the skin is lean and grey and sometime appears like a scar. They are usually pale and happen to be less obvious.
Stretch marks can come out anywhere on skin that has been stiffed. They normally take place on parts of the skin where fat is stocked, like the tummy, breasts, thighs and buttocks.
“The glucocorticoid hormones responsible for the development of stretch marks affect the epidermis by preventing the fibroblasts from forming collagen and elastin fibers, necessary to keep rapidly growing skin taut. This creates a lack of supportive material, as the skin is stretched and leads to dermal and epidermal tearing. If the epidermis and the dermis has been penetrated, laser will not remove the stretch marks.” [source]
There are several type of treatment in removing stretch marks. Using laser is a way of removing the affected skin that causes the scarring.
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