The effect of stretch marks in Pregnancy
Stretch marks are so common to many women who are pregnant or already had their baby. Some mothers are happy to keep the stretch marks as its part and parcel of the pregnancy. Others will want to get rid of them as they don’t like the appearance and may feel disheartened during the summer months when wearing swim wear. Whoever you are and whatever your decision is it’s good to understand why stretch marks are caused and how we can help make them less visible for you. We can discuss the treatment options available to you, whatever you choose we will try to help you the best we can.
How are stretch marks caused during pregnancy?
Stretch marks are often caused during pregnancy and usually develop during the third trimester, they are very common and affect around 80% of women during this time, they appear as narrow lines across the skin and can vary in size and colour, they will most commonly appear just below the abdomen, lower breasts and above the thighs, the skin will become thinner the more the stretch marks develop and may become itchy.
Stretch marks will begin to gradually fade after the baby is born but there will still be stretch marks visible to you, this is usually because of the skin loosing its elasticity during the long periods of time of the skin being stretched similarly to an elastic band once it becomes so thin that it snaps and looses its elasticity, the same principle applies to the skin and it is hard to return the skin to its older appearance without treatment.
So how can I prevent stretch marks
Preventing stretch marks can be a hard task during the time of a pregnancy but with some natural methods it will help make stretch marks less visible and combat them during pregnancy and help the skin recover post pregnancy, but this can’t guarantee to get rid of them completely or be as of effective as micro needling could be.
Natural methods include
- Eating Foods Rich in Vitamin C
- Moisturising your skin Cocoa Butter
- Trying to eat healthy and keep a balanced diet
- Massaging with Aloe Vera
- Coconut Oil
All of these things can help minimize the appearance of stretch marks and can help keep them looking the best as you possibly can, this will not be a 100% prevention but it will help in some form to allow the effect of stretch marks to be as minimal as possible
Vitamin C Helps to keep your immune system up and helps tone the skin so it can be more resistant to stretch marks.
Moisturising is important and can really help keep stretch marks at bay, using coconut oil, aloe vera or cocoa butter will all help and benefit your skin, coconut oil and aloe vera benefits healing properties of the skin and can help battle those stretch marks during and after pregnancy, as cocoa butter can help fade stretch marks to make them less visible whilst moisturising the skin to make it less dry and to keep it hydrated, you could try a combination of these over a period of time to see the difference these could make for you but please remember that this doesn’t remove stretch marks completely but definitely help during reduce the appearance stretch marks have on the skin.
Having a balanced diet and eating the right food to keep you healthy helps not only the baby but it can help reduce and prevent stretch marks and keep the skin healthy and firm as you possibly can and by doing every little thing can help counter stretch marks before and after your pregnancy, gaining weight fast can increase stretch marks dramatically as it’s a sudden change.
So, what’s the best way to remove stretch marks after this?
The answer to that is microneedling, even though there is no guaranteed way to get rid of stretch marks completely this will be the best option to give you the best results and make you look great with in a number of weeks to make you feel fully confident about your body again.
Microneedling is a process where we will use a pen to make small tiny incisions to the skin around the area of the stretch marks, this will help by allowing the body to produce new collagen at the site of the area we have made the tiny incisions, collagen is a protein produced by the body to help the skin keep its firmness and to allow it to retain its stretch, this basically helps to repair the layers of dermal skin and does not effect the outer layer but the layers beneath which is where the stretch marks are mostly formed, the new skin created by the collagen will also have a similar colour to the skin and will help it blend in with the skin which will significantly reduce the visibility of the stretch marks.
This treatment plan is usually done over a period of 4-6 weeks and it is completely chemical free so you don’t have to worry about chemicals on your skin, we will work with you to fit everything in and it isn’t a long procedure so it can be done in a short about of time which will leave you with great results at the end of it.
You can also incorporate this with the natural methods to get your skin looking the best It possibly can after your pregnancy and it will make you look and feel great again.
Microneedling can also not only help stretch marks but scars, alopecia, wrinkles and acne can also benefit from this treatment.