Stretch marks are visible scars occurring in the skin. Stretch marks are caused by a tearing of the dermis and are the result of rapid stretching of the skin seen during periods of rapid growth. The normal expansion of the skin cannot keep pace with the volume growth and a rent or tear occurs within the dermis. This most commonly occurs during puberty, pregnancy or weight gain.
The scars are heightened by a color change with pink or red hues occurring when the stretch marks are young and newly formed up to 9-12 months. During this early phase lasers and IPL may be effective in lessening the appearance of the stretch marks.
Mature stretch marks are those that are older than a year. Depending upon one’s skin type, these may appear either as hyper- or hypopigmented scars.
At this time, surgical excision is the only effective modality-either by targeting individual stretch marks alone or by removing a segment of skin that is populated by numerous stretch marks, as seen in tummy tucks and body lifts, etc. A prospective patient who is considering surgical excision must realize that it is a tradeoff in visible improvement… exchanging surgical scars for the stretch mark(s).
I hope this helps.
