It isn't uncommon for your skin to form a few stretch marks during the course of your pregnancy. As the skin physically stretches while your stomach grows, these reddish to pinkish bands are simply a result of exhausting the elasticity of the skin. To rid your skin of these stretch marks after you give birth, you may only need time to see them disappear. The most effective means of ridding your skin of stretch marks is to prevent them from ever forming. According to the Mayo Clinic, you can do this by conservative weight gain during pregnancy based on your height and age, through proper diet and exercise.
Step 1
Give your skin some time to remedy itself. For many women, the stretch marks caused by pregnancy fade away given some time, according to the National Institutes of Health. Time varies among women, but you can often see the appearance of the stretch marks improve soon after childbirth.
Step 2
Get a prescription for a medicated tretinoin cream. Tretinoin essentially rebuilds the collagen in your skin, which lessens the appearance of stretch marks over time. And according to the Mayo Clinic, this product works best on new stretch marks or those that are still reddish to pinkish in color. Apply the cream every day for best results, but follow the instructions given by your doctor.
Step 3
Talk to your doctor about laser therapy. If time and tretinoin cream fail to provide results, laser therapy may help to lessen the appearance of stretch marks left on the skin after childbirth. Different wavelengths are used to treat newer and older stretch marks by rebuilding collagen and thereby improving the appearance of the skin.
Step 4
Consult a dermatologist or cosmetic surgeon about microdermabrasion. This procedure basically resurfaces the top layer of your skin, promoting new skin growth and thereby lessening the appearance of the stretch marks.
Step 5
Avoid over-the-counter creams that claim to remove stretch marks. According to both the Mayo Clinic and the National Institutes of Health, these types of products rarely provide the results they claim to. Instead, use the tretinoin cream as described in Step 2.
Things You'll Need
- Medicated creams
