Proven Ways To Prevent Stretch Marks

Every woman knows that stretch marks are a menace. While most people associate stretch marks with the growing belly of pregnancy, they can leave their mark on women who have never been pregnant.  Many teenage girls experience stretch marks on their thighs and hips as a result of hitting puberty and growing faster than their skin can keep up. Skin is made up of elastin and collagen fibers and when these fibers are rapidly stretched they can dry out, leaving stretch marks. While you can’t control the stretching of your skin in puberty or pregnancy, you can control the moisture content and as a result, you can prevent stretch marks from becoming too noticeable on your body.

Use Moisture To Prevent Stretch Marks

If you want to prevent stretch marks, you need to find a good moisturizer. For years, many women and dermatologists have sworn by cocoa butter to prevent stretch marks. In order for cocoa butter to prevent stretch marks, it must be used faithfully as a part of your daily body care regimen. Make it a habit to rub cocoa butter on the stretch mark prone areas of your body at least twice a day. Make sure that one of your applications occurs right after you get out of the shower. This can help to lock in the moisture from the shower, helping to prevent stretch marks from forming.

What you don’t put on your stretch marks can be as important as what you do apply. Remove from your beauty routine anything that has drying properties. This would include harsh soaps or body scrubs that are made for oily skin. Use a soap that contains moisturizers or cocoa butter when you wash the areas of your body that are prone to stretch marks.

It is also important to hydrate your skin from the inside as well as from the outside.  Every bit of skin on your body can benefit from drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day. Dermatologists aren’t completely sure whether or not drinking water will prevent stretch marks altogether, but they do know that drinking water and staying hydrated does help with the overall elasticity of skin and that is a big part of preventing stretch marks.

You may not be able to completely prevent stretch marks. Some women are more prone than other to developing them. However, if you take care to keep your skin hydrated, any stretch marks that do appear on your body will be much lighter.