For those who want to keep their skin clear and smooth looking, stretch marks are an avowed enemy. They arrive as zebra like scars with different lengths and depths. They come to many different parts of the body such as the abdomen, breasts, buttocks, upper arms, and legs. Weight gain and rapid growth are the usual culprits for the existence of stretch marks. The dermis is what is what we call the middle layer of our skin, and a stretch mark results after it's stretched to a point it breaks its elasticity.

This being the case, what can be done?

Luckily, there are options for their treatment and here listed are a few of them.

Today's Available Stretch Mark Treatment Options

Surgery is the route to take if you are willing to take the hit on the bank account. Surgery for stretch marks in the stomach area is called abdominoplasy surgery, or the 'tummy tuck.' By tightening and molding the stomach walls excess fat and skin are removed which lessen the appearance of the stretch marks. The negatives to this procedure are that it is expensive and painful with a long recovery time.

A second option for surgery would be what's called laser treatment. The objective of this treatment is to produce new collagen in the skin by shooting cosmetic lasers into the dermal layer. The collagen then thickens which leads to the plumping of the skin that fills in the stretch mark from below. Laser treatment is not effective however for any stretch mark beyond the immature strange when they are still red in color.

A 20 to 50% improvement in the appearance of the stretch marks is a realistic expectation from using these surgical treatments.

Regarding the non-surgical route, an attractive option is microdermabrasion. There is no pain aftermath and the price tag is more down to Earth compared to surgery. This treatment can be carried out in a beauty spa or in the comfort of your own home with a microdermabrasion cream. It works by eliminating the top layer of the skin by using abrading microcrytals to wear it down. The original stretch mark covered skin is replaced by a newer and healthier skin created by the triggering of collagen and elastin production.