Pregnancy is a most wonderful time in a woman’s life. However, it has its downsides as well. In simpler terms, it can bring about weight gain which can ultimately result in stretch marks. After giving birth, women are always found looking for ways to remove these unsightly marks.
When a woman becomes pregnant, her body starts changing rapidly. For starters, she may notice that stretch marks starting to appear in the abdomen area, as well as the thighs, breasts and buttocks. These stretch marks often appear in the second trimester for women and continue to get worse.
According to WebMD, approximately 90% of women end up with stretch marks after being pregnant. After giving birth, many women are also known to become amazed at just how many stretch marks they have acquired. The good news is that there are several products and procedures on the market today that are geared towards women who want to remove the pregnancy stretch marks that they acquired while carrying their baby to term.
Creams and Lotions Treatment
There are several products, available over the counter and via prescriptions, which are meant to aid in the removal of stretch marks in pregnant women. These creams and lotions include:
Creams and lotions are one of the most inexpensive ways to help treat the stretch marks that came to the surface, due to pregnancy. One of the most popular ingredients in this regards is Cocoa Oil. This is available in almost any type of stretch mark cream designed for pregnancy: it is available without a prescription.
Cocoa oil is supposed to help moisturize and heal the skin, which is damaged due to the stretch mark. In addition to that, it has a nice pleasant scent, making it a great choice for many women. Vitamin E creams are also effective in treating stretch marks; many women have been found to claim that they can put this oil onto their skin and see amazing results in a few weeks.
A prescription option for women who may have severe stretch marks include creams and lotions with Retinol. Retinol, for example, works to increase the elastin and collagen in the skin, thus helping to fade the stretch marks over time. The only problem with this is that many women find that it can cause minor itching in the places it is applied.
Laser Treatments
A more expensive way to treat stretch marks after pregnancy is the use of laser treatments. There are two types of treatments:
Laser treatments are meant to help fade the stretch marks that surface during pregnancy. Depending upon the severity, the stretch mark will determine which laser option is the best for a patient. Pulse Dye, for example, is most often used as it helps to break down the skin areas that are affected by the stretch mark. That done, the skin heals to a dramatically smoother area.
The C02 laser option is for stretch marks that may be turning white in appearance due to the age of the mark. This laser will help encourage the collagen to start building back up, which will lessen the appearance of the stretch mark. Laser treatment usually requires 4 or more times of getting this done in order to see a difference. However, recovery time is rather fast, so it should not interfere with your day-to-day life.
Surgical Treatments
The more permanent options for removing pregnancy stretch marks are surgical in nature. These methods include:
Most often, these two procedures are combined in order to reduce the stretch marks completely. This is the one method of removing stretch marks that is definite. Hence, it is often recommended that a woman not do this until she is through with having children. The procedure requires removing the excess fat in the abdomen area, which is called the liposuction treatment.
Most often, liposuction alone will not remove the stretch marks, as there will still be excess skin left behind after this procedure. The tummy tuck, on the other hand, requires making a hip-to-hip incision, and then tucking the skin tight against the abdomen muscles.
Due to the skin being pulled tighter, the stretch marks are removed completely. It should be noted that these are expensive surgeries that do require some healing time: sometimes a woman takes as long as 6 weeks to completely heal after these procedures.
Pregnancy is a great experience, but it does come with the increased chances of suffering with stretch marks later. The non-expensive treatment option is to use those creams and lotions on the market, while laser and surgical options are on the higher end of the price spectrum.
With any method you use, you will see that stretch marks will begin to fade, which may do wonders for your confidence and self-esteem. Be sure to talk with a doctor about your options and choose the one that is best for your particular situation.
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