Have you ever lost a bunch of weight, only for your skin to reveal stretch marks? We know it can be a bit disheartening, and you may be wondering what causes stretch marks in the first place?! Furthermore, can you get stretch marks from losing weight, or are they a product of weight gain? We’ll also answer another common question for you: what do weight loss stretch marks look like? Let’s jump right in.
What Causes Stretch Marks?
As we’ve discussed in many of our previous stretch mark blogs, stretch marks are scars. These scars form when the skin is pulled to its limits and the elastic fibers begin to tear. The extracellular matrix in stretched skin becomes damaged and becomes a wound. At the site of stretching, scar tissue eventually fills in the gaps.
Can You Get Stretch Marks From Losing Weight?
Stretch marks don’t develop during the weight loss process, but they can become visible during weight loss. Stretch marks develop from stretching, like in weight gain, pregnancy, or rapid growth. When the body underneath those stretched places shrinks again, the skin is now looser and has more surface area than before – this causes your stretch marks to be far more visible and wrinkly.
What Do Weight Loss Stretch Marks Look Like?
As you might imagine, stretch marks that are revealed after weight loss are loose, saggy, and rippled. The skin will be incredibly soft to the touch and will feel bumpy. This is a result of the stretched skin not needing to be stretched anymore! Stretch marks after weight loss might be reddish-purple, red, pink, or a shinier shade of your skin tone. Your stretched skin after weight loss may even be dimpled.
How Do You Treat Stretch Marks?
Stretch marks are scars, and we all know that scars don’t go away for good. However, there are things you can do to make scars less visible, and that’s one of the main ways stretch marks are treated. It’s always best to avoid scarring in the first place, but – we get it – it’s not always possible.
Luckily, stretch mark creams have come a long way in the past couple of decades. Stretch mark creams on the market today, like our Stretch Mark Cream, target both sagginess and discoloration. Plus, they can be used to prevent stretch marks in the first place.
How Do You Prevent Stretch Marks?
Since stretch marks are caused by rapidly growing skin, there’s not necessarily a one-size-fits-all approach to preventing them. One way to help prevent stretch marks includes keeping the skin hydrated and healthy. Skin with a damaged barrier or dry, unhealthy skin is much more likely to break when under stretch pressure. We can try to avoid this by keeping the skin moisturized and healthy wherever we think stretching might occur.
For example, expectant mothers can begin using our Stretch Mark Cream at the very beginning of their pregnancies – before stretching even happens on the belly. Bodybuilders, quickly growing children, and people experiencing rapid weight gain for any reason can also use these products for the same protective effect!