Home » Beauty » Health and Beauty »  Care For Stretch Marks What's the modern woman's worst cosmetic nightmare today? It's not dry flaky skin, or the little mole on the lip. It is nothing but stretch marks or as medically known as Straie that appear as fine white lines across the skin's surface.

So what causes stretch marks? It happens when the skin gets stretched and becomes less elastic and the connecting tissues break. Though visible on the epidermis, stretch marks are really scarring of the middle layer of our skin. Though dermis is a very elastic and resilient layer, but even elastics can be stretched too taut that they break.

This is what happens to our skin. During phases like excessive weight gain, pregnancy and even early teens when hormones run amok, the skin gets stretched beyond its limit and get scarred easily.

How They Look

Depending on your natural skin tone, the stretch marks appear as raised pink, reddish brown or dark brown lines. Gradually these marks flatten and fade to a colour few shades lighter than your skin colour. In most Indian skin they appear as pale white marks. They do become less noticeable over time, however they never vanish.

Fading Them Away

Let's face it stretch marks don't go away. Only thing you can do is to try and reduce the appearance. The earlier you start treating stretch marks, the more successful you'll be. Stretch marks are easier to treat when they appear rather than when they begin fading.

• Avoid letting you skin get dry and itchy.
• Always moisturise areas where you feel the skin stretching or have the potential to stretch. Slather on any emollient or a heavy moisturiser in the area on a daily basis preferably after bath to keep the skin supple.
• One of the best ways to prevent this is to regularly buffing your body. Gently massage your skin with a massage brush or glove to increase circulation in the area.
• A note of warning especially for pregnant women, avoid scratching the area.
• Eat healthy to fortify your skin from inside go for nuts, fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamin C, E, zinc and silica.
• Try laser treatments as early as possible to get maximum benefit. It fades the area.
• Most dermatologists prefer to treat stretch marks with creams containing Tretinoin, or Retin-A. These are vitamin A derivatives that work by loosening the keratin or outer layer of the skin to remove dead skin cells. Tretinoin thins the outer layer of skin in order to penetrate it. It is most effective when used in the early stages.