“I find stretch marks sexy”, said nobody.
What is there to like about those silvery lines that line your tummy, bum, hips, thighs, boobs or upper arms?
And so, I’m often asked, how do you get rid of stretch marks?
The answer is you can’t! But you can lighten them by 20%. That doesn’t seem much, but atleast it’s something.
Here’s how.
1. Moisturize like there’s no tomorrow.
Whenever you have any scar, you’re told to keep it moisturized so that it heals quickly. Stretch marks are actually tiny scars formed because your skin’s elastic fibres snapped. So if you want to make them fade, go overboard on the moisture.
I like to make what I call a “MOISTURIZER SALAD”. I simply mix all the amazing moisturizing superfoods I can lay my hands on, and then, massage it into my skin.
Here’s my recipe:
Cocoa Butter – 1 teaspoon
Aloe vera gel – ½ teaspoon
Vitamin E – 2 capsules (opened and emptied)
Mixture of oils (olive, coconut, gutti ka tel, castor) – 1 tsp
Do this religiously everyday (preferably twice a day) for a month, and see the difference.
2. Moisturize from the inside.
If you want to see a remarkable change, you got to plump up your skin from inside-out. And to do that you need to:
1. Drink 2-3 litres of water everyday.
2. Take a Vitamin C tablet.
3. Pop a Fish oil capsule.
3. Fade fresh, new stretch marks with Tretinoin cream.
When your stretch marks are new, they are either pink, red or purple-ish. Tretinoin is super effective when applied to new stretch marks. It does not work on older stretch marks (white, silvery in colour).
Tretinoin cream (such as Retin-A, Renova, Avita) exfoliates your skin on top, while stimulating collagen production below.
This gives your skin a “plumped-up“ effect, reducing the sight of those pesky stretch marks.
Because Tretinoin exfoliates your skin, it can cause redness, dryness and peeling. Don’t worry. Just use your regular moisturizer over it.
It takes a minimum of 2 months of daily application for Tretinoin to work. So be patient and don’t give up too soon.
Watch-out: DO NOT use Tretinoin if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding as it can cause birth defects.
4. Don’t gain or lose weight too quickly.
Stretch marks happen when you gain or lose weight way too fast.
Which is why most of us get them during puberty, pregnancy, dramatic weight loss, while lifting weights…
So if you’re on an exercise or diet program, are pregnant, are pumping iron – you can try to prevent them from cropping up by overloading on moisturizer, taking fatty acid supplements (like Fish Oil) and drinking water like a fish.
5. It’s in your genes.
Sometimes, no matter what you do, nothing can stop stretch marks from happening. That’s because it’s in your genes. If your mom has stretch marks, you’re most likely to get them too. Just stay moisturized (inside and out) and keep your fingers crossed.
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