The appearance of unsightly stretch marks on your body can really mess with your body image and your self confidence. It’s a subject that is seldom talked about by those who have them. Yet when they do appear, it’s best to learn as much as possible about the reasons for their development and also how to get rid of stretch marks.

When your skin is stretched beyond its limits, such as during pregnancy or periods of excessive weight gain or loss, it loses its elasticity and becomes hurt. The middle layer of your skin, or dermis, is where the hurt takes place. But the hurt appears on the topmost layer of your skin, which makes the stretch marks highly visible.

Researchers claim that the process that leads to stretch marks also expands your capillaries. That leads to stretch marks which are often red or purple in color. At the beginning, they are often purple. As time passes they gradually fade and become whitish in color.

One of the simplest and most effective means of stretch mark removal is to use a specially formulated stretch mark cream. The ingredients of these creams include moisturizers such as lanolin, cocoa butter and Vitamin E, or beneficial oils such as lavender and olive oil. AHA and Vitamin A are common ingredients in the more advanced stretch mark cream formulations.

These creams help to improve the flexibility of your skin and also to regenerate cells. Any of these products, especially creams that contain cocoa butter, are recommended because they are very effective at lessening the scars.

Another simple way to get rid of stretch marks is by using vitamin E oil, which is particularly effective at treating pregnancy stretch marks. Vitamin E oil helps to keep your skin firm and taut, even during pregnancy.

When it comes to choosing the best stretch mark removal cream there are a number of choices, many of which are over-the-counter medications that are easily bought from any corner drugstore. Many highly effective stretch mark creams can also be bought online.

You might also want to consider methods such as dermabrasion, laser treatment and stretch mark surgery to reduce the appearance of those hideous stretch marks. You might reckon that undergoing a surgical procedure to get rid of stretch marks is somewhat drastic, but the truth of the matter is that it’s still one of the most effective means of managing the problem.