Stretch marks are common among women. These may be caused by pregnancy, change of body hormones and in some cases, stress. These marks usually appear in body parts with excess amounts of body fats such as the abdomen, hips, breasts, underarms and thighs. There are effective remedies to get rid of stretch marks by the use of home remedies and some medical procedures as well.

The most effective way to avoid stretch marks is prevention. Be fit, watch your diet and control your weight. Remember that they are caused by abrupt increase of weight or decrease of weight in body areas that have fats. Eat plenty of foods rich in vitamins E and C to enhance tissue growth. Drink plenty of water instead of carbonated drinks to hydrate your skin.

Remedies for Old Stretch Marks:

• For home remedies, mix essential oils like 5 drops of chamomile, 7 drops of lavender oil and an ounce of carrier oil; massage this mixture to the stretch marks.

• Mix olive oil, castor oil, vitamin E oil and add an ounce of avocado or sweet almond oil. Massage on stretch marks and all over skin.

• Mix herbs like mint, lemon and lavender and wrap the area with a plastic wrap and put some hot compress for about 20 minutes every night until you notice the marks disappear.

• Make a mixture of 1 tsp apricot kernel oil, 1 tsp vitamin E oil, 1 tsp wheat germ oil and 2 tsp of grated beeswax. Add all these to ½ of cocoa butter. Then heat until beeswax and cocoa butter melt. Cool down and massage this mixture over the stretch marks.

• Regularly massage into skin any of these - macadamia oil, pomegranate seed oil, rose hip oil, tea tree oil, honey, lemon and vinegar to lessen appearance of old stretch marks.

You can also try exfoliation by removing dead skin cells to make stretch marks less prominent on skin. Use an exfoliation body scrub together with a loofah or pumice stone twice a day to hasten the disappearance of stretch marks.

Take vitamin E capsules to help nourish skin. After taking a shower, you can also use the vitamin E capsule by cutting one end and gently rub the oil and let it penetrate the skin and also on the stretch marks. Make use of lotions and creams rich with vitamin E which you can rub on stretch marks at least twice a day for good results.

Eat lots of tomatoes and green leafy vegetables rich in vitamin K. This is effective in healing old scars and stretch marks. You can buy a lotion rich in vitamin K which can be massaged 2 to 3 times daily.

A medical procedure is your last resort to get rid of stretch marks. If above procedures have not satisfied you, then there are the laser treatments or removal by surgery. You just have to discuss your options with your doctor on how to go about with these procedures.

There are many available topical creams and lotions to help keep your skin healthy and lessen old scars and stretch marks. Make sure to check with your dermatologist which products are good for you. Maintenance and continued use of good skin products would help rejuvenate skin and lessen the appearance of stretch marks.

Jason Ladock

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