As a woman, have you been battling with stretch marks since God knows when? Worry not. I’m here to give you a tested and tried herbal cure for stretch marks. This method will fade and eliminate stretch marks completely over a period of 1 month, depending on the toughness of your skin.
What are stretch marks?
Stretch marks are long, narrow streaks, stripes, or lines that run perpendicular to maximum lines of tension in the skin. It is medically known as striae distensae. Stretch marks begin as flat reddish or purple lines on a skin that has been overstretched. The affected areas are soft to touch and appear empty as slightly depressed white streaks over time. They are most likely to appear in places where larger amounts of fat are stored.
They tend to occur in places like the abdomen (especially near the navel), breasts, upper arms, underarms, back, thigh (both inner and outer), hips, and buttocks.
Common Causes of Stretch marks
Stretch marks are caused by stretching of the skin, through one of the following ways –
Pregnancy
Most women experience stretch marks especially during the last trimester due to the rapid growth of their stomach and/or breasts during pregnancy. Hormonal changes during pregnancy can also play a role in formation of stretch marks.
Weight Gain
Stretch marks occur as a result of rapid weight gain or growth spurts during puberty causing teenage stretch marks. The skin literally does not have enough time to adjust and stretch during these periods of growth, thus causing stretch marks.
Weight Training
Those who body-build or experience rapid muscle growth may also notice stretch marks due to the same reasons mentioned above.
Medication Use
Pills, creams, lotions or other medications that contain cortisone or steroids can cause stretch marks.
Diseases or Conditions
An adrenal gland disease can cause stretch marks on the entire body. For example, Cushing’s syndrome.
Its severity is affected by several factors, including genetic tendency, degree of stress on the skin and cortisone level. Cortisone is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands which actively weakens elastic fibers in the skin.
An increase in cortisone levels can increase the probability of stretch marks by reducing the skin’s flexibility. It does this by affecting the dermis which is the resilient middle tissue layer that helps to keep the skin in shape.
High level of cortisone in the dermis prevents the fibroblasts from forming collagen and elastin fibers, necessary to keep rapidly growing skin taut.
This can create a lack of supportive material as the skin is stretched, and lead to dermal and epidermal tearing. This tearing, in turn, produces scarring which over time tend to atrophy and lose pigmentation to form stretch marks.
No stretch marks will form as long as there is support within the dermis.
From the above, we can summarize like this: increase in cortisone levels can produce stretch marks, while presence of collagen in your skin will ensure that stretch marks don’t form, or help in eliminating them.
Stretch marks aren’t painful or harmful, but some people feel distressed about the way it looks. It’s just one of the numerous skin issues people have, especially ladies and some men.
Herbal cure for Stretch Marks
This remedy will gradually fade the marks with consistent application. It’s also important to note that you cannot get the best results if you are using chemicals that aggravate the situation, such as steroids, and expect to get desired results.
This remedy involves formulating a body scrub, body oil and cream. All these work together to heal and repair skin damaged by stretch marks. You can get some of these ingredients from a herbal shop, or even online. The key plant-based ingredients in this formulation are orange peels and shea butter.
Let’s look at the different materials you are going to need.
Stretch Marks Cream
- Shea butter
- Vitamin E oil or
- Vitamin A oil
- Olive oil
- Cetyl Alcohol
Stretch Marks Oil
- Olive Oil
- Argan oil
- Aloe Vera Gel
- Orange/Lemon/Grape/Lime peels
- Collagen Oil
Stretch Marks Body Scrub
- Powdered Sugar
- Rice powder
- Honey
- Mulberry powder
- Olive Oil
- Cetyl Alcohol
How to prepare the Stretch Marks fade cream
Ingredients
- Shea butter (200g / 7oz)
- Vitamin E oil (10ml) or
- Vitamin A oil (5ml)
- Olive oil (25ml)
- Cetyl Alcohol (10ml)
Directions for preparation
Measure up to 200 grams (about 7 ounces) of shea butter cream into a small bowl. Place the shea butter on a source of heat, such as hot water, until it melts totally.
Add 25 ml of Olive oil, 5ml each of vitamin A oil OR 10ml of Vitamin E oil, add 10 ml of cetyl alcohol as a preservative, mix thoroughly using a spoon until everything is uniformly mixed.
Allow to cool and set. Spoon into a small container for use.
How to prepare the Stretch Marks fade oil
Ingredients
- Olive Oil (500ml/7oz)
- Argan oil (50ml)
- Aloe Vera Gel (100g/3.4oz)
- Orange/Lemon/Grape/Lime peels (2 or 3 handfuls)
- Collagen Oil (100 ml)
Directions for preparation
Pour the olive oil into a glass jar big enough to accommodate it, add the Aloe Vera gel, Argan oil, and the orange or lemon peels. You can use grape or lime peels if you can’t get orange or lemon peels.
Stir the whole thoroughly, cover and place the glass jar into a pot containing some water. Cover and heat the pot on a stove for 1 hour, ensuring that the water does not dry out. After 1 hour of continuous heating, turn off the stove and allow the mixture to cool.
Strain the oil into a clean container using a clean cloth sieve. You can squeeze the orange or lemon peels to extract maximum oil from them. Once the mixture has cooled adequately, add the collagen oil to the mixture and stir thoroughly. Store in a 500 ml container for use.
How to prepare a body scrub for exfoliation (Optional)
This is optional – you may decide not to do it, and this solution will still work, though it may not work as quickly as it should. It is recommended to scrub your skin first before taking this treatment.
Ingredients
- Powdered Sugar (300g/10.5oz)
- Rice powder (100g/3.5oz)
- Honey (100ml)
- Mulberry powder (30g/1oz)
- Olive Oil (50ml)
Directions for preparation
Mix all the ingredients in a large enough bowl and stir until mixed thoroughly. You may add some cetyl alcohol as a preservative. Store in cosmetics cups and always cover totally.
Method of application
First of all, exfoliate the affected areas 2 times every week if your skin texture is thick. You can exfoliate just once a week if your skin is light.
First of all, wet the area with water, then apply the scrub and wait for up to 1 hour before shower. You can apply the cream in the morning, oil in the afternoon and night. If you maintain this routine consistently, within a week or 2, the stretch marks will begin to fade.
You may need to keep applying for up to 4 weeks or even 8 weeks in some cases for total effect. If you are using steroids in any form, discontinue that because it is a causative factor for stretch marks. You may need to stop using your regular creams on the affected areas throughout the period of treatment.
Conclusion
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See other herbal remedies which we have here. Thanks for reading.