Stretch marks can be a sensitive and self-conscious skin concern for many people. They affect both men and women of all ages and races, but are more common in women who have experienced pregnancy. In fact, approximately 75 to 90% of pregnant women begin to develop stretch marks in their third trimester, though they also begin to occur in approximately 70% of adolescent women and 40% of adolescent men due to growth spurts as they are ageing naturally. While you should accept and embrace your so called “tiger stripes”, we understand why you might want to cover them up or get rid of them.
Lotions and lasers might help with the redness that can be caused when stretch marks first appear, however, the results might disappoint because they aren’t what you were expecting. You will need something that will deeply penetrate and resurface the skin at the dermis level to start the healing process.
The skin has a natural level of elasticity, allowing to stretch and return to its natural shape. As we age, the skin starts losing its elasticity and stretch marks will appear on any areas of the body where the skin has less elastin and collagen and stretched beyond its capacity. A good analogy of this is to refer to the skin as an elastic band, the more times you stretch it the thinner it becomes until it eventually snaps or tears.
Stretch marks will never completely disappear, because the skin in the affected areas has been stretched too thin, however, there are ways to reduce their appearance and visibility. Micro-needling with Dermapen 4 is one of the most effective ways and can significantly improve the appearance of the stretch marks. Microneedle therapy can improve the colour and texture of stretch marks by blending them with the surrounding skin.
The natural healing process of the skin happens in three phases:
- Inflammation – Once the skin is pierced, it triggers the response from the immune system to naturally disinfect the wounds, remove debris, increase the blood flow, and create new tissue.
- Proliferation – The wound starts to rebuild itself with the new cells and the temporary collagen and elastin, as well as a new network of blood vessels.
- Remodeling – The collagen produced in Phase 2 is replaced by even stronger collagen, allowing the skin to contract and create a tightening effect on the skin.
Since stretch marks cause a disruption in the natural production of collagen, micro-needling will help not only restart that production, but the overproduction of elastin and collagen will help in healing the damaged connective tissue in the dermis that creates the stretch marks.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
By actively fighting their appearance and helping to reduce their visibility, you can effectively remove the stretch marks by masking them to a point where they aren’t noticeable.
A high quality micro-needling Dermapen can also reduce the width and depth of stretch marks while encouraging the growth of small amounts of normal skin.
Micro-needling can treat all stretch marks effectively resulting in younger and smoother skin.
The micro-needling procedure is the perfect method when it comes to fighting the appearance of stretch marks. The aim of micro-needling is to create a number of small channels in the skin which trigger the healing responses of the body and helps to release collagen. It’s the collagen that gives this treatment its alternate name of collagen induction therapy.