Freetrainers.com brings you another article of the week. This week we will look at stretch marks, their causes and how to make them less visible. This article is published on Beauty Lady World Though associated with pregnancy, stretch marks are not limited to a particular condition, specific age, or even gender. Kids on a growth spurt might get stretch marks on their arms or hips. Men who lift weights to body build might see the striations pop up on various parts of their body. Women, pregnant or not, often get stretch marks on their breasts, abdomens, thighs and buttocks. And nature, not nurture, is a factor. Your genetic predisposition plays a big part in whether you’ll get stretch marks or not. But in general, stretch marks come with an increase in weight or growth when the skin is excessively extended over a relatively short period of time. Often starting out quite noticeable in appearance, stretch marks may change with time diminishing from a deep red, thick squiggle to a thin, whitish line. Nothing will eliminate them or make them completely disappear, but they will fade. - Treatments to Diminish the Appearance of Stretch Marks - What are the best solutions to diminish the appearance of stretch marks that are obvious and a cosmetic concern to the person who has to live with them? Microdermabrasion - Microdermabrasion is a promising new technique even on older stretch marks. A non-invasive procedure, a stream of very fine, chemically inert crystals are "blasted" at the skin to exfoliate the outermost layers, and are then suctioned away. The overall skintone of some stretch marks can be improved and the procedure seems to encourage collagen remodeling deeper in the skin, which helps restore the skin texture more towards normal. Retin-A (Tretinoin) - Fairly new studies show that a 1% Retin-A (or tretinoin) cream, an anti-acne cum anti-wrinkle medication, can be very helpful particularly when used on relatively new stretch marks. In a year study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, people who used the cream every day saw improvements within two months. You need a prescription from your doctor to get Retin-A. Laser Therapy - Another study suggests that older stretch marks may respond to laser therapy with the pulsed dye laser. Laser treatments are not painful, but the skin will need healing time, and you may need a series of treatments. As for other commonly suggested remedies to vanish the marks such as cocoa butter, vitamin E oil and other preparations or creams, there is no evidence that they work. published on beautyladyworld.com