As it decreases your confidence dramatically, stretch mark has become a problem in society. It might never cause an excessive pain to almost everyone, but it does change the way you dress or even, the way you perceive your self-beauty. Although it also happens to men, stretch mark is a long-talked phenomenon in women’s world. This is an unavoidable topic when women are talking about weight gain and pregnancy. These two phases of a woman’s lifespan have been believed to distract skin elasticity which ends up in rough lines called stretch marks. In fact, are we all in the same risks of developing stretch marks?
Who is more susceptible of developing stretch marks?
Our skin structures are different from one person to another. Stretch marks are generally based on some characteristics. How elastic is your skin? How are your skin layers structured? Are you pregnant? Is your mother having stretch marks? Are you overweight?These questions are largely connected to the fact of how big is the possibility that you are going to develop stretch marks. In developing the rough reddish or white lines, there are some people who are more susceptible than the others. You are more likely to get stretch marks than your colleagues would if you:
- Are a woman. In percentage, women are twice more susceptible to stretch marks than men.
- Are overweight. If you are overweight, you skin is expanding and stretching largely. Therefore, it might lose its elasticity more easily. Hence, you are more exposed to the possibility of having stretch marks especially in your arms, thighs, and abdomen.
- Are pregnant. Pregnancy causes some hormone boosts. Hence, the development of stretch marks are more likely to happen during pregnancy, especially in the third trimester where the abdomen skin is fully stretched.
- Are from the family with stretch mark history. Genetic is said to be the black sheep of stretch marks occurrence. Women with family having a history of stretch marks are more susceptible than those who don’t.
- Are having dramatic weight loss or gain. Sudden weight gain or loss may affect your skin elasticity. Hence, it might cause stretch marks or cellulite. When you experience rapid weight gain, your skin is overstretching, while dramatic weight loss causes the skin to retract excessively. Both phenomena will heighten the risk of having stretch marks over your skin.
Will stretch marks go away when you lose weight?
Gaining weight, especially drastically is not good for both your health and physic. It is bad for health because it may cause fat to cover your vital organs, leaving them to malfunctions. As a result, you will get tired easily because your organs do not function normally as your body weight increases fast. In term of physical appearance, rapid weight gain might cause excessive skin stretch. This will cause stretch marks eventually.
If so, then will these stretch marks go away if you lose your weight? The answer is unfortunately no. Stretch marks do not go away even you are succeeded in losing some weights. Instead, it might be worse. When you lose weight, your skin will retract to its smaller size. Hence, your stretch marks, which were located separately before you lose weight, will be closer to one another after weight loss. Hence, it will seem wrinkly and more visible.
However, your stretch marks will be less visible if you lose weight and exercise regularly. Firmer skin will make stretch marks less visible, although the marks cannot be removed completely. Therefore, do not try to lose weight dramatically to remove your stretch marks, as it will on the contrary, cause worse visible stretch marks on your skin.
If you have worked on losing weight, try to do regular exercise to keep your skin firm. This way, your stretch marks might fade in color and therefore, are hard to spot. Massage over the stretch marks in circular motion is also believed as one of the effective ways of reducing its color intensity. Healthy diet is also important, not only for losing some weights, but also to keep your skin nourished, so that it keeps elastic to avoid the presence of more stretch marks.