I would be lying to you if I said yes they do! To look at this in a bit more depth  we have to talk about what stretch marks actually are. They are tears in the skin caused by rapid growth and stretching or shrinking of the skin. They mostly arise during puberty growth spurts, pregnancy, weight training and changes in weight. They affect both men and women.

The result is an alteration in the collagen and elastin which ruptures due to the abrupt changes. When the tear heals it leaves a scar or stretch mark. At first they appear red, brown or purple but as they heal they turn white.

So back to the question of getting rid of stretch marks. No they cannot be removed, but they can be improved and can be made to look almost invisible. So do not get discouraged there are things we can do! There best way to start is by improving the collagen and elastin in the skin and we can do that with stimulating them through collagen induction therapies like SkinPen®, DermaFrac and mesotherapy. For heavier hitters the CO2 fractional laser can help rebuild collagen and the Morpheus8 RF Microneedling which is like microneedling on full blast due to the radiofrequency element. Results of collagen building take time and it is not realistic to see the stretch marks becoming finer and less visible.

I also like to look at diet and ensuring my patients eat lean protein and have good omega fats in their diet. They provide the building blocks for good skin after all. I often get asked, “is there a cream I can use?” Well not the typical lotions and potions that promise to get rid of scars and marks, they do not work. But I will recommend a retinoid based skincare regime. Retinoids are powerful skin reconstructors that thicken the deep layers of the skin. They also speed up renewal and get rid of old cells, think of them like a gentle version of a laser peeling away dead cells! So dreaming about tighter, tauter skin is not actually that much of a stretch is it?