Striae: a modern approach to treatment using hardware techniques

The vast majority of women have skin stretch marks on the thighs, chest, and abdomen. They usually form during pregnancy, the postpartum period, during lactation, and also as a result of sudden weight gain or loss.

Scarring of the skin is not dangerous to health, but it is aesthetically inconvenient. Because of them, women are embarrassed to wear revealing clothes and sunbathe. It should be noted that this is not only a women's problem. Striae in the groin, legs, buttocks and back are quite often diagnosed in men.

Types of stretch marks on the skin

Striae may look like:

• pale pink small scars,
• shallow thread-like whitish stripes,
• cicatricial longitudinal defects of blue-burgundy color, which become lighter over the years.

Stretch marks caused by hormonal imbalance are localized on the skin of the face, sudden weight loss - on the torso vertically, endocrine disorders - horizontally.

Causes

The reasons for the appearance of stretch marks can be different. They are the result of overstretching of the skin, the outcome of the healing of skin elastin and collagen fibers after microtrauma. This leads to:

• Increased production of the adrenal cortex hormone - cortisol. Due to its hypersecretion, the skin becomes thinner and stretched, skin fibers are torn, and stretch marks appear.
• Insufficient elasticity of the skin, their poor regenerative ability.
• Rapid weight gain (the skin does not have time to stretch).
• Puberty. The cause of stretch marks on the back in adolescents is the accelerated growth of bones. Muscles and skin grow more slowly, causing tears to form in the epithelium.
• Taking steroid hormones (Prednisolone, Hydrocortisone, etc.), hormone replacement therapy for diseases of the endocrine system.
• Heredity.
• Pregnancy, lactation period.
• Itsenko-Cushing syndrome.

Stretch marks during pregnancy

The most acute problem of stretch marks arises from the beginning of pregnancy.

Firstly, during pregnancy, significant changes occur in a woman’s body at the hormonal level, secondly, she is faced with sudden weight gain, and thirdly, the first two changes lead to another one - the surface layers of the skin are depleted, so it is now especially susceptible to various types of damage.

This creates excellent soil for the occurrence of stretch marks. During pregnancy, the skin of the abdomen stretches, according to the growth of the fetus, and the skin of the breast due to the arrival of milk. In addition, the female body builds up adipose tissue throughout the body as a backup source of nutrition for the fetus, so the likelihood of stretch marks forming is almost 100 percent.

Most often, those parts of the body that increase in volume the most are affected - the abdomen, breasts, thighs, buttocks. Stretch marks are initially pinkish-red in color due to the presence of blood vessels in the connective tissue, but over time they will fade and become less noticeable.

Symptoms of stretch marks

Striae in men, adolescents and women have the same appearance. These are always wavy narrow stripes that are localized on the stomach, hips, chest, buttocks and legs, red-bluish or white.

Striae do not lend themselves to tanning. Visually they resemble scars (you can verify this by looking at a photo of stretch marks).

If you experience similar symptoms,
consult your doctor . It is easier to prevent a disease than to deal with the consequences.

Preventive actions

Getting rid of stretch marks on your back is much more difficult than preventing their appearance. To prevent the occurrence of microtraumas, follow these simple rules:

• Review your diet and give preference to eating a diet with plenty of vegetables and fruits. Enrich the menu with products containing proteins, vitamins, and microelements to maintain skin elasticity.
• Ensure that your body receives enough clean drinking water. On average, a person needs up to 2 liters of fluid.
• Provide careful skin care during adolescence, use a moisturizer (preferably for children).
• Regularly use scrubs and other exfoliating agents during water treatments to remove dead skin and intensively renew the epidermis.
• Temper your body by regularly taking contrast showers.
• Control your body weight, do not try extreme diets that promise sudden and rapid weight loss in a few days.

Prevention of stretch marks must be done regularly, this is what the result depends on. Men should also remember that when playing sports they should not go to extremes and engage in excessive uncontrolled physical activity.

Stretch marks on the body of a teenager or adult are most often observed due to weight fluctuations or rapid growth. But sometimes they are only a symptom of serious hormonal imbalances. In this case, you cannot do without consulting a specialist. Also a reason for treatment is a constant change in the shade of stretch marks, acquiring a purple tint. Since this may indicate the onset of diabetes mellitus, diseases of internal organs.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis of stretch marks includes:

• analysis of patient complaints;
• examination of the skin;
• blood test to determine cortisol levels.

If there is a suspicion of endocrine system pathology, additional examinations are carried out:

• determination of the level of cortisol in daily urine;
• Ultrasound of the adrenal glands;
• determining the level of adrenocorticotropic hormone in the blood (this hormone regulates the activity of the adrenal glands);
• MRI or CT scan of the adrenal glands;
• MRI or CT scan of the pituitary gland.

The patient may also need to consult an endocrinologist.

Folk remedies

In the fight against stretch marks, remedies prepared according to traditional medicine recipes have proven themselves well. The following drugs are effective in the treatment of striae:

1. Oil mixture used during massage. Mix ¼ cup of avocado oil with rosemary, jasmine, neroli, lavender, red rosemary esters, taken 10 drops each. Leave for a day in a dark place, use with each procedure.
2. Mix for chocolate wraps. For it you need to melt a bar of dark chocolate, mix with 1 tsp. olive oil. The mixture should be applied to areas with stretch marks, wrapped in film and covered with a blanket. Wash off after 40 minutes, do every day until the desired result is achieved.
3. A scrub made from sugar, salt, taken in equal proportions, and a few drops of oil (linseed, peach, sesame, etc.). Apply the mixture to the skin and scrub it with massage movements. Leave on for 30 minutes, then rinse off.
4. Mask against stretch marks. Melt two squares of dark chocolate and, after cooling, pour into a blender bowl. Add a glass of coffee grounds, ½ cup each of honey and potato starch, 0.5 tsp. salt, stir. Apply the mixture to stretch marks, leave for 0.5 hours, then rinse.
5. Oil-vitamin composition of 5 drops of vitamin A, 10 drops of vitamin E, aloe and olive oils, taken in equal quantities. The mixture should be applied to problem areas twice a day.

Treatment of stretch marks

Whether stretch marks can be cured completely depends on how long ago they occurred. If they appeared less than a year ago, the chances of giving your skin a healthy look are very high. Unfortunately, old stretch marks cannot be removed 100%.

Modern treatment of striae includes a comprehensive course based on alternation and combination of different techniques. This is a long and painstaking process that involves the use of:

• chemical peeling;
• laser peeling;
• wraps;
• methods of plastic surgery.

At home, women can independently resort to help:

• products that are structural components of the skin and aimed at its rapid restoration;
• drugs that improve circulation in the skin;
• formulations for topical use against stretch marks (ointments, gels, creams, lotions);
• vitamin preparations (vitamins E, A, C, group B are especially important).

Chemical peeling

To make stretch marks disappear, strong acids are applied to the skin, which burn the epidermis and activate the production of its own collagen. During the chemical peeling procedure the following are used:

• phenolic acid;
• trichloroacetic acid;
• alpha hydroxy acids.

The most pronounced effect is produced by phenolic acid, but it has serious side effects. Also, its use is associated with severe pain, so the removal of stretch marks is carried out under anesthesia. This drug is not suitable for people with heart and vascular diseases.

Trichloroacetic and alpha-hydroxy acids do not act as deeply, but require safety precautions.

Laser peeling

Laser peeling to eliminate stretch marks cannot be performed unless the patient undergoes special training. Its essence consists of applying creams that contain a large percentage of ascorbic acid to damaged skin. The procedure itself takes up to one hour and is performed under general anesthesia in a hospital setting.

During laser peeling, the doctor treats stretch marks with a laser beam, due to which they are burned out. The patient is discharged the next day. After laser treatment of stretch marks, swelling and red lesions that resemble burns form on the skin. They need to be lubricated for a long time with a special restoring cream.

Wraps

Thinking about how to remove stretch marks on the thighs, many women decide to take a body wrap course. The option is optimal if stretch marks appeared recently (no later than 6 months ago). Good results can be achieved by thalassotherapy - seaweed wrapping. Spirulina (seaweed) improves skin tone, saturates it with microelements and vitamins.

During the wrap, an algae mask is applied to the body, a film and a thermal blanket are placed on top. Due to heating, beneficial substances penetrate into the deeper layers of the skin more efficiently. Afterwards, wash off the mask with warm water.

Plastic surgery

The most radical and effective method of getting rid of stretch marks on the skin is surgery. During abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), excess skin is excised along with stretch marks. The sutures are removed within 7-10 days. The patient can return to her normal life after 2-3 weeks - it all depends on the individual characteristics of the body.

Like any other surgical intervention, abdominoplasty can lead to purulent complications, the formation of noticeable postoperative scars, and poorly healing wounds.

Table of contents

1. Etiology and pathogenesis
2. Clinical manifestations
3. Principles of treatment, hardware techniques

Striae (stretch marks on the skin, striae distensae, stretch marks) are linear scars on the skin, the appearance of which in most cases is associated with atrophy of the epidermis as a result of excessively rapid stretching of the skin. A genetic predisposition to scarring, hormonal changes and other factors are of some importance.

In our company you can purchase the following equipment for removing stretch marks:

• M22 (Lumenis)
• Fraxel (Solta Medical)
• AcuPulse (Lumenis)
• Maximus (Pollogen by Lumenis)

Striae can occur in representatives of any race and any gender, but women are approximately 2 times more likely than men. Many girls (up to 70%) and boys (up to 40%) have stretch marks during adolescence. In pregnant women, stretch marks occur in 80–90% of cases.

Prevention

It is quite difficult to avoid the appearance of stretch marks on the skin if there are objective reasons for this (endocrine diseases, pregnancy, obesity, insufficient elasticity of the skin), but it is still possible. Dermatologists include preventive measures:

• treating the skin with creams containing vitamins A, C, E, collagen-elastin complexes;
• regular massage with olive oil rubbed into the abdomen, thighs, buttocks and chest;
• use of special phyto-creams;
• maintaining an active lifestyle;
• proper nutrition (you need to drink at least 2 liters of clean water per day, include more fruits and vegetables in your diet);
• hardening (pouring with cold water);
• maintaining an active lifestyle;
• avoiding sudden weight gain.

During pregnancy, women should constantly:

• use high-quality creams for stretch marks for expectant mothers,
• do self-massage with a terry towel,
• wear a special elastic bandage.

This article is posted for educational purposes only and does not constitute scientific material or professional medical advice.

Contraindications and precautions

Cosmetological and hardware techniques are not a universal means of getting rid of stretch marks, especially when it comes to teenagers 14-15 years old or people with chronic pathologies. Before taking the course, you must consult your doctor to rule out the possibility of an allergic reaction. The main contraindications are usually:

• The presence of neoplasms on the body.
• Oncology of any localization.
• Blood disorders or serious bleeding disorders.
• Severe form of diabetes mellitus.
• Any mental disorders.
• Pregnancy or lactation period.
• Infectious diseases in the acute period.
• Cardiovascular pathologies.

When taking pharmaceutical drugs, you must follow the dosage indicated in the instructions. You should not exceed the recommended amount to enhance the effect, as this can lead to serious poisoning.