When treatment is neglected pregnancy, body building, rapid weight gain and even rapid growth become a common problem that generates stretch marks.

Stretch marks are caused by anomalous hormone activity. You don't need to be pregnant or be overweight to get them. As a matter of fact, it is a very common skin condition, but most people who have them are ashamed and try to hide them.

Stretch Mark Associated Causes:

* Pregnancy

* Sudden growth spurts

* Sudden weight fluctuations

* Long term deficiency of certain nutrients

* Unexpected change in physical or environmental conditions

* Certain medication can also generate stretch marks, especially steroids analogous medications.

The real problem is that the body sends the wrong information about skin development. This leads skin to produce insufficient amounts of collagen and elastin, which conform the skin's connective tissue. When connective tissues are not strong enough to withstand over-stretching they break apart and stretch marks are formed.

Although in several cases they seem to just appear overnight this isn't entirely true. They are born from deep skin layers and slowly develop to the skin's surface.

Stretch marks happen to fat and thin, young and old, men and women. In most cases they don't cause harm or irritate the skin so a lot of people don't even acknowledge them until they are in plain sight.

In the first stage of development they are a pinkish or faint red color. The pinkish coloring is because the micro blood vessels break open and bleed. These scars usually evolve to a pale silvery white which is the final step of their developement.

Most people think that stretch marks are not curable because they are so difficult to erase. As a matter of fact, most specialists will even say: just live with them, they are not curable. But why would they say something like that if there is a way to treat them? Maybe they just don't bother enough or maybe in a doctor's point of view stretch marks are not a serious problem because they don't really inflict any real physical discomfort

Stretch marks are partial thickness 'tears' within the skin, meaning that they are basically subdural scars. The best stretch mark product isn't one rich in elastin and collagen, but one that stimulates the generation of collagen, elastin and the water holding capacity of healthy skin. Collagen is the building block of skin, and elastin is the protein which confers skin its elasticity. By elevating the levels of these proteins in your skin, from the inside out , you can strenghten the epidermal layer.