Do you feel conscious and are not able to wear short skirts and sleeveless tops? Are you embarrassed by the scars on your body that appear during pregnancy or puberty? Those nasty thin lined streaks make you feel ugly? Women, stretch marks are very common and there is nothing to worry about. Though they are various medical treatments for this, they are not risk-free of chemical side effects. In this article, we are going to provide you with some home based remedies which will give you your smooth, glowing, beautiful skin you have always wished for.
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What Are Stretch Marks?
Stretch marks are long, narrow, stripes shaped marks usually develop on skin areas like thighs, hips, breasts, upper arm and lower back. Human skin consists of three main layers. Stretch marks appear in the middle layer of the skin called dermis. As the body grows, the connecting fibres in dermis start to expand in order to accommodate. However, this growth is sudden and rapid which leads to the stretching of the skin.
What Are The Causes?
The very common reason of why stretch marks appear is when skin is suddenly stretched in an abnormal way because of reason such as sudden weight gain, weight loss or during pregnancy.
This sudden and unexpected growth of body causes the human skin to get stretched in an unusual way leading to stripped, narrow thin-lined marks. In medical terms, your body develops stretch marks when there is a lack of collagen. Collagen is a protein which is responsible for maintaining your skin’s elasticity. The rapid growth of body can happen because of puberty in which our bodies start gaining weight in a short period of time. Another crucial event when most of the women suffer from stretch marks is pregnancy.
The medical treatment for stretch marks can be quite expensive and not always effective. However, there are some natural home remedies that have done this task are much healthier and cost-effective way. Here, we are going to provide some of the most beneficial ways to get rid of stretch marks at home.
How To Remove Stretch Marks Naturally
Aloe Vera
One of the most effective and natural remedy to remove stretch marks is aloe vera gel. Extract the fresh gel from an aloe vera leaf, add vitamin E oil and mix well. Massage it on all the targeted areas such as thighs, upper arms, hips etc. Wash them with warm water after 20-30 mins. Do this once or twice a day regularly to see the stretch marks vanishing. This is extremely beneficial to the human body, especially skin as it helps in regenerating skin tissues and accelerate the healing process. Aloe vera has certain compounds like glucomannan and gibberellin, which helps in increasing the collagen synthesis and result in fading of stretch marks. It also has a high degree of essential vitamins and minerals which makes your skin more healthy and natural.
Coconut Oil And Almond Oil
The secret of removing stretch marks is coconut oil mixed with almond oil. The correct method is to take both the oils in equal quantities and mix well. Massage this oil on your skin at least twice a day. You will witness effective results within a month. This remedy is completely natural so that you would not have to worry about the harmful chemical effects. Coconut oil, when mixed with almond oil nourishes your skin, helps in scarring and improve the complexion.
Cocoa Butter
The most powerful natural ingredient that helps in getting rid of stretch marks caused by pregnancy or puberty is cocoa butter. If you want your stretch marks to disappear completely, massage cocoa butter on the affected areas at night. Make sure that you massage it well so that the cocoa butter heals the inner level of your skin, resulting in clear, stretch marks free skin. Cocoa butter is quite effective in hydrating your skin and it penetrates into the deeper layers of the skin and heals it by repairing damaged skin cells. Apply cocoa butter on the targeted areas twice a day, and you will observe instant improvement in the vanishing of your stretch marks.
Lemon Juice
Take 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice, a tablespoon of cucumber juice and two tablespoons of gram flour. Add them together and mix them well to make a paste. Gently apply this paste on your skin, let it dry for 15 mins and then rinse with warm water. Using lemon to reduce stretch marks is a very efficient solution as the acidic nature of lemon helps in the healing of stretch marks along with acne and scars.
Baking Soda
The easiest way to deal with stretch marks is to use baking soda. Baking soda is something that is usually found in everybody’s kitchen. Just mix 2 tablespoons baking soda with one tablespoon of lemon juice in order to make a paste. Apply it on your targeted areas for 10 mins and wash it off with warm water. If you practice this habit daily, you will see astounding results since it exfoliates the skin, remove the dead skin cells and lighten the stretch marks.
Turmeric Powder
Add one tablespoon turmeric powder with some yoghurt/cream to form a paste. This simple recipe can be very helpful if you are aiming at getting rid of your stretch marks. Apply this paste on your skin for 10-15 mins and then wash it with warm water. Turmeric might dry sensitive skin so do not forget to use moisturizer afterwards. Application of turmeric on daily basis can be very advantageous as it is full of antioxidants along with anti-inflammatory and skin lightening properties which fades away your stretch marks to a high extent.
Sugar
Many experienced dermatologists claim that microdermabrasion can be a highly effective solution for removing stretch marks. Microdermabrasion is an invasive procedure used to renew overall skin and texture. Instead of using chemical based options, we can also switch to natural home remedies. Sugar scrub is very beneficial for human skin as it exfoliates the area and helps in the regeneration of new skin cells. Mix one cup sugar with 1/4 cup of almond oil or coconut oil. Along with this, add some lemon juice as well. Apply this on the affected areas and scrub them for 8 to 10 minutes. The gentle scrubbing would enhance the blood flow in that area leading to more beautiful, healthy skin.
