The Touch: Living with your stretch marks

The battle with stretch marks is one most women find themselves in regardless of age or size. Stretch marks are a result of weight loss or gain. They are normal and occur when the body stretches or shrinks really quickly due to weight loss or gain. They appear in places where fat is stored: the abdomen, breasts, upper arms, thighs and buttocks. They pose absolutely no health risk. However, their cosmetic risk can be detrimental to many women. According to medical reports, when a person goes through rapid weight loss or gain, the skin is over stretched and the result is a form of scarring called stretch marks. Should you worry? Should you scream? How will you deal with these marks you never dreamt of having? What happens to bikinis? And your low cut shirts? A surgeon or a miracle seems like the only solution to your ‘dilemma’. So you are probably used to magazine shots of celebrities with flawless skin and you are wondering why nature has to be this selective. Well, the truth is stretch marks may have a different colour or may look exactly like your skin colour, so may not be easy to notice stretch marks on some people. Some people view it as a skin decoration while others view it as a permanent mark of ugliness. I personally believe that there is nothing wrong with having them. After pregnancy, they are like a living mark of the blessings you have brought into the world. It’s said that they are a mark of motherhood. Their beauty lies in their meaning and their pride of achievement into womanhood. However, this may not be a shared meaning hence the vigilance to destroy the strips that people have learned to call ugly. So what do you do when your growth produces these stretch marks that you so loath. What do you do before they spread across areas you would wish they weren’t? First, be patient, the marks will eventually fade in colour. With the right treatments and determination they can become just a memory. Stretch marks are, in fact, tiny scars, it might take time but they will disappear. Doctors say its possible use cocoa butter creams to speed the fading process. Bio oil and Vitamin E gel have also proven miraculous when eliminating scars and stretch marks. One is advised to start treatment as soon as stretch marks apear. There are many other skin products available but may not necessarily be a blanket approach for everyone. So, depending on the doctor’s advice, be prepared to try out most before landing on your magic weapon against the stretch marks. So what if they don’t go away? Well, breathe easy. Life is possible even after or with stretch marks. The key is to learn to live with them. There is no reason of hiding beneath clothes, they are a reality and it’s time you learnt to flaunt them. So what if your skin is a little stretched? It means you are growing and it should not be a cause of shame but pride. So next time you are debating whether to wear a short skirt that shows your stretch marks don’t think long, wear it no one is clear enough to judge you. You are beautiful with or without the marks. Ends