How to Prevent Pregnancy Stretch Marks

During a joyful period of pregnancy, a woman undergoes several changes in the body due to growing baby inside the womb.

Pregnancy stretch marks are light scars which occur mainly on the abdomen, back, hips, belly, chest, and waist. Stretch marks occur due to speed hormonal changes and weight gain. When skin size increase than its normal size will show skin stretch marks.

Normally body has elastin fibers and collagen which makes the body to adapt the ability to stretch the skin. When skin stretches bigger than normal size, the skin causes to tear slightly. The body itself begin to heal the scars. Despite natural protection mechanisms in the body, the small scar still appears after healing.

During pregnancy, hormonal changes such as estrogen and cortisol decrease the fibroblasts activity potency in the skin. It causes to reduce the elastin and collagen which helps stretchiness in the skin.

A woman can not completely prevent the stretch marks as it requires time to heal. As the body return in its normal shape and size, the stretch marks start to disappear. There are many ways to reduce the scars of stretching such as applying lotion, creams, oils but it won’t work quickly and make skin flexible and smooth.

After several months or years, the stretch marks slowly change into a fine line. It may also depend on the type of skin to heal the scars fast or slow.

Risk factors

There are some important risk factors which increase the chances of getting stretch marks such as

• Weight gain
• Being a woman
• Pregnancy
• Rapid weight gain or weight loss
• Unhealthy diet
• Family history
• Breast enlargement
• Corticosteroids
• A genetic disorder such as Marfan syndrome or Cushing’s syndrome.

Signs that tell you will get stretch Marks During Pregnancy

Female family history

Genetics elements play a vital role in the changes of the human body and stretch marks is one of them. If your mom and grandmother got stretch marks during their pregnancies due to reduced skin elastin and connective tissue, then you are also more likely to get the stretch marks.

Young Age

Anybody can start a family in the early young age, and medically it is the best decision, but it will not help stretch marks. Young skin is very soft and smooth, and pregnancy stretch marks tear the skin apart due to the huge pressure. As skin gets mature, naturally it begins to lose its stability and will not effect on a growing body.

Here are the ways to prevent pregnancy stretch marks

Hydration

Staying hydrated during pregnancy is necessary. As your blood volume raise, you will require more water to build a water sack to protect the baby. You may feel the necessity of drinking more water because your skin also requires hydration to sustain skin elasticity. You must take at least 8 to 12 glass of water every day.

If you are dehydrating, then you may get indications of dry throat and dry lips. There will be headaches, tiredness, and confusion which are also signs of dehydration. There are more chances of damaging skin such as getting deep stretch mark which happens due to dehydration.

Gelatin

Gelatin is amino acid substances made of proline and glycine. You can obtain it from fibrous tissues, bones, and animal organs. It also refers as collagen also. Its uses include

• Skin formation
• Hair and nail growth
• Weight regulation
• Overcome gut inflammation
• Insulin sensitivity
• Fights free radical destruction
• Maintaining immune functions
• Decrease joint pain
• Heal Wounds
• Improve sleep

Gelatin is an eco-friendly and deeply nourishing food. It is available in animal bones, skin, and tendons which highly responsible for making collagen and gelatin.

You can use gelatine to prevent stretch marks. Your body requires collagen formation to maintain your skin elasticity,

Add gelatine in diet and eat it regularly to produce natural collagen in your skin. A pregnant woman and normal women often miss gelatine in their food intake which affects skin during pregnancy.

You can drink plain bone broth to get gelatine. You can add gelatine in soup, sauce, casseroles, and gravies.

Boil the rice in gelatin which adds some amazing flavor to the rice.

You can get gelatin powder which you can add in drinks.

It can also use as jello and fruit gummies.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is essential for producing cartilage and collagen. It effectively helps to decrease the free radical damage which can destroy elastin and collagen. You can get the vitamin C from natural foods such as lemon, kale, broccoli, greens parsley, turnips, and guava.

Vitamin C contains an antioxidant which helps to fight toxin which represses healing of scar tissues.

Coconut Oil

You can utilize coconut oil during pregnancy to moisturize your belly. Coconut uses are famous from the ancient world to nourish the skin. The coconut oil comprises saturated fatty acids which include medium and primary fatty acids chain. This kind of fatty acids chains is not easily get oxidized and also limit free radical damage in skin.

The oils comprising polyunsaturated fatty acids are more likely to get oxidized and free radical damage. It is true that the oil we eat, we can apply it on skin also. Earlier every one used to consume saturated fats which helped to keep healthy skin and body, but nowadays people consume polyunsaturated and trans-fat. It lessens the skin’s moisturizing natural ability.

Coconut oil is the best idea to prevent stretch marks. Apply the oil on the skin after taking a shower which prevents dry skin.

Maintain A Healthy Diet

Healthy food is a prime step to prevent stretch marks during pregnancy. As stretch marks happen due to weight gain, you cannot stop the increasing weight because as baby starts to grow the mother body need more space for a baby for healthy development.

Follow the given below diet for managing health.

• Eat plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits – 4 servings each day
• Have lean protein such as fish, chicken, and beans – 3 servings each day
• Consume dairy product for calcium – 1000 mg a day
• Fill nutritional gaps with prenatal vitamins C, Vitamin E, Vitamin D, and proteins.
• Eat a few sugary foods to avoid nausea.

As every pregnancy is different, consult your doctor for a proper diet.

Moisturize Your Skin

Keep your skin moisturized can help to prevent the stretch marks. You can use oils or topical creams and massage your belly and another body part to reduce the risk of a stretch. Many creams help to make your skin moisturized which help to maintain the elasticity of skin tissue. Even if the skin stretches it will not have the marks or scars. You need to massage the cream gently until it gets to absorb and promote blood flow to the top skin layer.

After consulting your doctor, you can use the topical cream during your whole pregnancy which helps to limit the growing stretch marks. Dryness is the main cause which creates skin problems. Therefore, it is important to stay moisturized.

Oil Treatment

You can prevent stretch marks by massaging with different oils. Oil therapy can make your skin soft and diminish the stretch marks. Here are the essential oils which you can help to remove stretch marks.

Olive Oil

Massaging with olive oil helps to exfoliate and moisturize your skin. Gradually it increases blood circulation and lightens the stretch marks.

How to massage?

Take some olive oil in your palm and massage the stretch mark skin area.

Let it for 30 minutes to absorb the vitamin A, E and vitamin D from oil in the skin.

After massaging stretch mark area take a bath.

It takes some time to reduce the stretch mark, so you need to follow the massaging regularly.

You can also apply a mixture of water, vinegar and olive oil at night.

Vitamin E Oil

You can take a vitamin E capsule and extract the oil.

Mix the vitamin E oil with moisturizer which you use regularly. Then apply this mixture on stretch marks.

Castor Oil

Another oil is for stretch marks is castor oil. Simply apply the castor oil on stretch marks and massage gently in circular motion for 5 – 10 minutes.

Apply warm compression by covering the skin with a plastic bag or hot water bottle. Do this for 30 – 40 minutes. The heat from warm compression open the skin pores which helps the oil to get absorbed.

Repeat this process every day and wash the skin before applying oil.

Essential Oil Treatment

You can mix normal coconut oil or almond oil with an essential oil such as lavender, myrrh, geranium, rose or Helichrysum.

Massage the stretch marks with essential oil for 30 minutes. It also helps to heal the marks.

Zinc

Stretch marks also occur due to reduced levels of zinc. When it comes to beautiful skin, zinc content is important for every skin cells. Zinc also refer as trace mineral because the body needs it in a very less amount every day. It also essential for 100 different enzymes for proper functions.

Specifically, skin cells depend on zinc’s qualities. The top outer skin layer comprises of mineral. Therefore, zinc is important.

Zinc act as an antioxidant even though it is technically not like vitamin E or C. It is an important part of dietary defense unit of skin. Mineral helps to reduce free radical damage and protect your skin from fats and collagen making cells during exposure to pollution and UV rays.

Zinc deficiency may affect different things in the body which include

• Tight skin
• Brain disorder
• High blood cholesterol
• low blood sugar
• Poor bone health
• Male and female infertility
• Nail and hair problems
• Poor taste sense

Silicea and Calcarea Fluorica

Silicea and Calcarea Fluorica are mineral based homeopathic treatment. It also helps to reduce stretch marks by balancing skin elasticity and also limit varicose veins and hemorrhoids.

Calcarea Fluorica dissolves in outer bones. It helps to connect the keratin by managing skin tightness, stretches of elastic fibers, ligaments, and tendons in the body.

Manage weight

Managing healthy weight can help to get rid of stretch marks during pregnancy. Fast weight gain causes to stretch your skin quickly. You will gain more weight in conditions such as you are expecting twins.

You can control healthy weight with the following ways.

• Eat fresh and healthy food
• Exercise regularly
• Keep stress away and stay happy
• Avoid fast food

Get vitamin D

According to research, stretch marks have a link with vitamin D low levels. Still, the research going on. However, the research result implies that getting an adequate amount of vitamin D can also reduce the stretch marks.

You can get the vitamin D easily with sun exposure. It is also found in a dairy product such as milk and yogurt.

Other Effective Home Remedies

Aloe Vera

Aloe vera is the best natural remedy for pregnancy stretch marks. You can directly apply the fresh aloe vera gel on affected parts. Wash it after 15 minutes of applying the gel.

You can also make an application of aloe vera gel and vitamin A and vitamin E oil. Massage with this application till the skin get absorbed.

Honey

Apart from many skin and health healing qualities, honey can work for removing stretch marks after pregnancy.

Apply some honey on cloth and place the cloth on stretch mark area. Wait until it gets dry then wash with warm water.

You can also apply honey scrub with glycerin and salt. Keep till it gets dry and washes with water.

Egg White

The protein-rich egg white helps to rejuvenate the stretch mark skin areas and make it look young.

• Take two eggs white and beat it with a fork.
• Clean the affected body part and apply egg white with a makeup brush so the thick layer can sit on the affected part.
• Wait till egg white get dry then wash with cold water.
• Later apply some olive oil to moisturize your skin.
• Do the egg white remedy every day for better skin improvement.

Cocoa Butter or Shea Butter

Cocoa butter is the best ingredient which normally found in body lotions. It is also a kind of oil treatment, but here you will use the cocoa or shea butter.

Regularly apply cocoa butter on stretch marks and wash after some time.

Cocoa butter remedy helps to regain the skin elasticity and remove dryness. Its regular use nourishes the skin and keeps moisturized.

Sugar

You can use sugar remedy for stretch marks after pregnancy. It helps to exfoliate the dead cells and make the stretch scars lighter.

• Mix some almond oil and lemon juice in one tablespoon sugar.
• Scrub it on the stretch mark and take a shower. You can do this remedy for one month.

Potato Juice

Potato juice helps skin texture improvement with its content such as carotenoids, phytochemical and polyphenols.

• You can cut the potato and rub it directly on stretch marks.
• Let it get absorbed in the skin and get dry. Later wash it with lukewarm water.

Turmeric and Sandalwood

Sandalwood and turmeric are known for their healing qualities from ancient time. It helps to brighten the skin texture.

• Take a sandalwood stick and rub it with water to get its paste.
• Combine the sandalwood turmeric root paste together.
• Use it on the stretch mark area and let it dry. Then scrub gently to remove the dead skin surface.
• Do this stretch marks remedy for six months every day.

Alternative Medical Treatments

During pregnancy, a woman can massage very lightly to limit stretch mark because the baby is still inside so skin can change any time till delivery. You can prevent scars after pregnancy also. Here are the two treatment alternatives if home treatments and other prescription don’t work.

Retinoid cream

 

You can get Vitamin A based retinoid cream which is a topical treatment. After applying the retinoid cream, you will notice the improvement in your stretch mark spots. You can apply it on fresh stretch marks to get the fast result.

Do consult your doctor about the topical cream to avoid related risk.

Glycolic acid

Glycolic acid comes as chemical peels and creams for stretch marks treatment. These are very expensive stretch mark treatments. It will reduce the fresh stretch marks appearance by lightening the marks but, it cannot stop the new stretch marks formation. It is a better idea to consider this treatment after a long time of pregnancy.

Skin Restoration Activators

There will be skin collagen restoration creams available to prevent stretch marks. This cream helps to blend the skin pigmentation and makes skin smooth. Slowly it will remove the appearance of silvery and red marks. These products made of organic ingredients such as vitamin E oil and cocoa butter.

Ultra-Targeted

Ultra-targeted treatment is an outstanding alternative for preventing the stretch marks. It is an easy and cost-effective treatment which doesn’t require frequent doctor visits.

You can use stretch mark serum which helps to recover good skin.

This serum specially designed for skin scars after pregnancy which contains Elastoregulator. It helps to relieve damaged cells and make skin to return its natural elasticity.

Some serum includes micronutrients which help to remove the scar tissues in the body.

Invasive Treatments

Invasive treatment is one of the option to remove the stretch mark. But you should not do it recently after pregnancy, and you must use all the other treatment before considering invasive treatment.

Microdermabrasion is a strong exfoliant. The invasive treatment process involves microcrystals spray to remove the dead skin cells and dry skin from the outer skin layer. It will help to remove large stretch marks and produce the appearance of healthier young skin.

It’s completely dependent on the health and skin type of woman to remove the stretch marks. For some woman, it fades away in less time. Some woman who has 4 – 5 pregnancies will have dark and bigger stretch marks because skin get to stretch in each pregnancy and the previous scar gets chance to spread more. For some woman, it becomes very difficult to prevent such scars.

You will get many creams and oils which claim to remove stretch marks after pregnancy such as boi-oil.

Try the above stretch mark prevention ways and talk your doctor if the scars develop in large part. Maintain a good and healthy lifestyle with the help of regular exercise and a healthy diet.