Understanding Stretch Marks

Stretch marks happen for a variety of reasons. They occur when the middle layer of your skin, the dermis, is stretched past its elasticity and begins to tear. Tiny blood vessels break, and blood pools under the skin, which lends a purplish-red tint to new stretch marks. And, stretch marks can form almost anywhere on the body, with many people getting them on their thighs, stomachs, and arms.

When the dermis stretches, the epidermis stretches also. It becomes a bit translucent, so that you can see the purplish marks underneath. When these marks are healed, a scar remains, and that’s the stretch mark. As they age, stretch marks fade to a silvery white color a shade or two lighter than your skin tone. Stretch marks are lighter in color because the skin’s collagen production gets disrupted when the mark occurs.

Some studies say that glucocorticoids play a role in stretch mark formation. Cortisol is the most well known glucocorticoid, and elevated cortisol levels are known to promote weight gain. When your body thinks it’s being stressed, it releases more cortisol. Pregnancy, growth spurts, weight lifting, smoking, and caffeine intake are all forms of stress, but just dealing with daily life is a big stressor for some, too. When you get stressed, your body goes into survival mode, storing fat more easily and faster than usual. This can lead to very rapid weight gain, resulting in stretch marks.

Those that are most likely to get stretch marks are body builders, teens, and expectant mothers. Pregnant women usually get stretch marks during the last trimester of pregnancy, when the baby is growing its fastest. Almost eighty percent of pregnant women get stretch marks on their stomachs, with some also occurring on the thighs, breasts, and buttocks.

Men can’t be completely counted out of the picture. Those  who lift weights regularly are likely to get a few stretch marks on their upper arms, shoulders and even their chest. Muscle in these areas tend to build fastest, opening the opportunity for the skin to stretch. This can also result from taking different kinds of supplements, that boost muscle gains far past how a regular human’s muscles would grow.

Some teens can also get them, while hitting a rapid growth spurt, throughout their adolescence. Although these type of marks fade tremendously over time, and they often disappear completely.