There are few people that are not affected by stretch marks. Whether they were caused by genetics, fast weight gain or weight loss, or growth spurts, stretch marks can affect everyone. And even though there are things you can do to help prevent them, this effort may be in vain.

For example, if your mother or father had stretch marks, then the odds are that you will end up having stretch marks too. And although you can control pregnancy and weight fluctuations, growth spurts are something you'll have to deal with. So your best bet is to treat stretch marks as soon as the appear.

Treatment Methods to Get Rid of Stretch Marks

Laser therapy is one of the most popular ways of treating stretch marks as well as other skin problems. This procedure is almost painless and requires little downtime. If you choose this option, you doctor will recommend the type of laser that is best suited for your situation.

In general there are three types of lasers: ablative, non-ablative and fractional. Ablative lasers remove every skin cell they touch, while non ablative lasers bypass the epidermis and only treat the dermis. As for fractional lasers, they use a scattered beam and do not cause damage to the cells surrounding the treated area.

Other common types of treatments for stretch marks are chemical peels and dermabrasion. These procedures include removing "sanding" or "burning" off superficial and deeper layers of the skin to get rid of imperfections. Both treatments are quite painful and require a few weeks for recovery.

These options are not suitable for people with sensitive skin as they are quite aggressive on the skin. An effective alternative may be the use of a light chemical peel, but the process will be more extensive. As a matter of fact, people with sensitive skin should use microdermabrasion with bicarbonate crystals instead of the usual crystals used when treating more resistant skin types.

Stretch marks creams are also a good option for treating and preventing stretch marks. In all honesty, a lot of women use this type of treatment during pregnancy to make their skin feel suppler and less prone to stretch marks. However, if you do decide to use creams to treat your stretch marks you should consider the fact that they will take longer to show results then other, more aggressive treatments.

Opt for creams that contain rose hip seed oil or snail serum to ensure that you are using the best possible stretch mark cream. Both of these ingredients are natural and can help promote the dissolution of scar tissue while boosting the production of new cells and collagen.

All of the previously mentioned options will help minimize the appearance of your stretch marks, old and new. However, if you want to permanently remove stretch marks, surgical excision is your only option. The only real problem is that this type of surgery is most often used to eliminate excess skin and not stretch marks.