Stretch marks (or striae as they are referred to in dermatological terms) are caused when the skin is stretched too quickly: more specifically, the skin’s second layer is not stretched, but torn. The worst affected areas for stretch marks are the stomach, breasts, thighs and hips. Anyone can suffer from striae (the technical term for stretch marks) and they affect the majority of adults. Thankfully, they aren’t harmful to our health and only affect us cosmetically. Unfortunately, these concerns grow in the warmer seasons as the amount of our bodies we show, increases.

How do stretch marks occur?

This stretching occurs when the body grows so fast that the skin cannot keep up with it. Stretch marks are most frequently associated with pregnancy but can develop during puberty: sudden weight gain and even body building can also cause stretch marks.

Although skin is normally very elastic , when it is overstretched, the normal production of collagen is disrupted. It is this collagen which helps to keep the skin firm and elastic. There are other factors which affect the collagen levels produced naturally by the skin such as diet or smoking These collagen levels affect the appearance of wrinkles and lines in the face. They also influence how other blemishes, like surgery scars and acne scars, heal.

What do stretch marks look like?

When initially formed, stretch marks can look red and/or purple and be very visible. They appear indented and have a different texture to the rest of the skin. Over time, the deep colour fades, turning a lighter colour, generally silver,and fade away slightly. The ability to heal however does vary considerably from individual to individual.

Treatment for stretchmarks is possible either at home or by visiting an expert. Stretch mark treatments vary dramatically in cost and effectiveness, treatments range from creams purchased over the counter to expensive surgical procedures for most people, stretch marks are undesirable and often make people feel self concious, but this can be overcome or greatly reduced by treatment to remove stretch marks.

Creams and oils are sold over the counter and are the cheapest form of stretch marks removal but, only a small amount of the creams is absorbed into the skin so, overall, creams are not an affective way of treating stretch marks. Combining this process with techniques such as skin needling, results in a much higher percentage of cream absorbed by the skin so this method often proves the best method for most individuals.

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1. Improve your Skin with the Derma Roller
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The Derma-Roller is a amazing new tool which has the brilliant ability to stimulate collagen production in the skin without damaging it by making the skin to believe that it is damaged even though it is not and so it starts to heal itself and will continue to heal until the treatment is stopped. This means that so long as the treatment is carried out regularly, your skin will heal itself to a cosmetic level. Skin needling has lots of beneficial out comes:

* Hair loss reduction (and possibly reversal)
* Anti Ageing
* Anti Wrinkle
* Cellulite Treatment
* Scar Removal
* Stretch Mark Treatment
* Hyper Pigmentation Treatment

The needle length on a Derma roller is generally 1mm long giving you a tickling sensation on your skin when used. However, other sizes do exist with the longer sizes such as 2mm up to about 5mm being used by professionals using numbing cream and more vigorous treatments with longer breaks in between treatments whereas using a smaller needle length at home can be done up to five times a week with two days rest.

Not many people realize it, however most active ingredients found in your favorite skin care products remains on the surface of your skin and are only partially absorbed. The Derma roller has 192 surgical steel micro-needles which are able to part the pores of the epidermis without damaging it. After approximately one hour the pores close again, but during that time, your skin is a lot better able to benefit from skin creams and lotions.

The skin reacts to any injury by triggering the healing process to seal up the affected area, but it generally only heals enough to keep you healthy. By often initiating the healing process by using a Derma roller to represent an injury to be healed, you encourage your body to heal until the job is finished.

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1. Acne Free in 3 Days
2. Skin Diseases – Adult Acne and Rosacea
3. How to remove stretch marks