Stretch marks are not likely to disappear, even if you lose weight. Sometimes, rapid weight loss increases the risk of stretch mark formation. However, the majority of the stretch marks are from your weight gain. So when you lose some weight, they become more visible.
Stretch Marks After Weight Loss
Stretch marks that remain after weight loss are common. They likely are not preventable and are not necessary to treat. However, they will likely fade over time, just like stretch marks that occur due to any period of growth where the skin has stretched.
You can have more noticeable stretch marks depending on how much weight you lose and if your skin rapidly stretches or shrinks. Stretch marks are usually there to stay and remain on your body after weight loss. While stretch marks aren't harmful to your health, they can be permanent but may change and fade over time.
Stretch marks often fade over time and become unnoticeable. For women who develop stretch marks in pregnancy, these usually become less noticeable around 6 to 12 months after giving birth. Makeup can be used to conceal stretch marks on more exposed areas of the body while they are more pronounced.
In general, stretch marks take between six and 12 months to fade.
The main culprit is the excess weight that originally made skin stretch beyond its means in the first place. As you lose weight, and the skin shrinks, sometimes, deep stretch marks remain, and look even more prominent with excess skin around them.
Depending on where you gain excess pounds, red stretch marks could appear anywhere on the body. Sometimes stretch marks can also occur due to rapid weight loss.
Stretch marks may fade naturally but often won't disappear completely. Using topical treatments can help to keep skin moisturized and reduce their appearance. If a topical product is still not enough, you may consult your dermatologist to discuss more drastic solutions, such as laser, radio and ultrasound therapy.
When stretch marks first appear, they tend to be red, purple, pink, reddish-brown, or dark brown, depending on your skin color. Early stretch marks may feel slightly raised and can be itchy. In time, the color fades and the narrow bands sink beneath your skin.
Stretch marks often begin as red or purple marks, and slowly fade to white or silver over time. The difference in color distinguishes how old the marks are. Though they may never disappear completely, treatment can lighten the color of your marks and shrink them. In other cases, stretch marks fade away on their own.
Permitting that rapid weight gain stops and prevents your skin from stretching more, you'll notice your marks will fade from deep red or purple to a silvery or white color.
Bio-Oil has been proven to help reduce the appearance of scars and stretch marks. Some of its ingredients can also help with the appearance of wrinkles and hyperpigmentation, and possibly in the treatment of acne. As long as you're not allergic to its ingredients, Bio-Oil is considered generally safe to use.
In terms of how your body looks, “it usually takes 4 weeks for your friends to notice weight loss, and 6–8 weeks for you to notice,” says Ramsey Bergeron, a certified personal trainer. “Your friends who don't see you every day are much more likely to see a change than someone you're around all the time,” he adds.
Derived from vitamin A, retinoids — such as tretinoin (Retin-A, Renova, Avita) — that you apply to your skin may improve the appearance of stretch marks less than a few months old. Tretinoin, when it works, helps to rebuild a protein in the skin called collagen, making the stretch marks look more like your normal skin.
Exercise and Stretch Marks
No exercise can remove or reduce stretch marks, but regular, moderate exercise may help prevent stretch marks from developing. The American Pregnancy Association recommends regular exercise to pregnant women to promote energy and healthy sleep.
Losing weight and strengthening the muscles in the legs, buttocks and abdomen may make cellulite less noticeable in those areas, but it won't go away altogether. That is because once a fat cell develops, it is yours for life.
Consistently applying virgin coconut oil to the skin, either alone or with other emollient oils, may help reduce the occurrence of stretch marks or speed their healing. It may also help to diminish their appearance.
Try massaging a moisturizing cream or lotion that contains petroleum jelly into your skin using circular motions – the physical act of massaging may be beneficial for stretch marks as it can help promote new tissue growth and break down the bands of collagen that form in the underlying tissue leading to stretch marks.
The cause of stretch marks is stretching of the skin. Their severity is affected by several factors, including your genetics and the degree of stress on the skin. Your level of the hormone cortisol also might play a role. Cortisol — a hormone produced by the adrenal glands — weakens elastic fibers in the skin.
To be more precise, excess leftover skin after rapid weight loss is often the primary cause of stretch marks. However, your skin stretches when you gain weight, but those marks are usually not visible at this stage. You start seeing those hidden stretch marks only after you shed some pounds.
Stretch marks are also associated with long-term application of corticosteroids and with certain health conditions, such as Cushing's disease and Marfan syndrome. Darker colored stretch marks, such as purple ones, are typically newer. Without treatment, they'll usually fade to white or silver over time.