They are not dangerous or painful, but many of the people who are susceptible to stretch marks seek out ways to prevent them.
Highly common during pregnancy, more than 75% of pregnant woman report the marks, they can also show up during puberty and in the course of body building.
Following these simple steps before they appear may help to prevent stretch marks and keep them away from your skin.
Eat a healthy diet.
This may seem obvious, but a healthy diet is a sure way to control the necessary weight gain that pregnancy brings.
In this case, control means maintaining a steady level of gain.
Rapidly putting on weight will stretch the skin, which is the main cause of stretch marks.
Fibers in the skin are stretched too quickly and beyond their strength, which causes them to break leaving scars behind.
Eating healthy will not only keep any weight gain steady, but it will keep the skin well nourished as well.
Drink plenty of water.
Skin is best when it is moisturized and hydration of the body is the easiest way to do that.
Keeping the proper balance of moisture in your skin is key to its strength.
Strong skin is less likely to development stretch marks.
When training for body building try to steer clear of steroids, which enlarge the body quickly.
Along with all of the other negative effects of steroids, using them will likely leave you with plenty of stretch marks.
Use creams or lotion to keep your skin moisturized.
Many different products are marketed directly to help prevent stretch marks.
Some provide elements that are essential in keeping skin strong, like elastin and collagen.
Others have skin toning properties, which helps to keep skin taut and may work better to eliminate stretch marks that have already appeared.
Various oils have also been used to naturally moisturize the skin, including castor oil, olive oil and emu oil.
These are fairly inexpensive and easy to obtain.
Butters are also very common, including cocoa butter and shea butter.
Massaging the target areas is a good idea.
The motion helps to increase circulation, delivering nutrients to the site.
Also, massaging with lotion or oil can do double duty, moisturizing and improving circulation.
Use a body brush or a glove for exfoliation if desired, but it isn't necessary.
If stretch marks have just begun to appear and are still reddish or purple, treatment with lotion or cream may help to fade them almost to invisible.
The sooner that you begin to treat them, keeping the skin moisturized and providing necessary elastin and collagen, the less severe the marks will be.
Although they do not pose any health risks, stretch marks can be seen as a blight on our skin.
Taking steps to prevent them from appearing is a pro-active approach.
If they do appear despite your best efforts, treat them quickly and regularly and be comforted with the thought that they will eventually fade.