All about Stretch Marks

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As a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, I am no stranger to patients looking for plastic surgery tampa also wanting to remove stretch marks. They are those wide, scary marks that start out pink and can turn red or brown depending on your skin type. Eventually they turn silvery white. What might surprise you is that more and more of them are men.
Men get stretch marks for different reasons than women. The most common causes are puberty, rapid weight gain, steroid use, and overaggressive weight lifting especially at younger ages. Women get them from pregnancy, hormonal changes, and weight swings.

Stretch marks are a tear in the deeper layers of the skin caused by a stretching force from the inside out. This leaves the surface of your skin intact, but it is empty underneath making it appear like a run in a stocking. Most often they appear on the stomach, shoulders, and hips and thighs.
How do you erase a stretch mark? That is the trillion dollar question. In short, you can not erase a stretch mark, but you can make it look much better. There is no laser, cream, or peel that will magically eliminate these scars as of yet.

The only way to remove a stretch mark 100% is to remove the skin it is on. In women, a tummy tuck can often accomplish this. In men, if it is the stomach that has the striae after weight loss, this is possible. Yes, I have done tummy tucks on many men. But what about shoulders and legs?

We treat each stretch mark differently. We use some creams to help fade the color, and have had good success with Silkpeel, dermabrasion, and laser in the right patients. Men like it, because it does not involve surgery or time off from work.
So don’t feel alone, ladies. Some men also feel your pain.

Men and Stretchmarks

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Women often complain about the stretchmarks that develop after pregnancy, especially in the lower stomach and hip areas. They are caused by the baby growing and pushing outward on the skin. Stretchmarks are scars to the skin that do not break the outer layer. They start in the deeper layers of the skin, the dermis, and leave the epidermis intact. No bleeding occurs, and you just see what appear to be “runs” in the skin similar to what happens with stockings.

There are no true cures for stretchmarks except for removing the skin upon which the stretchmarks appear. This is what abdominoplasty, or tummy tucks, do. There are, however, treatments that can help. When the stretchmarks are new and pink, it is easier to treat with retinoid creams and laser, as the scar has a blood supply that can be used to give a more effective treatment. Once they are silvery, they are harder to remove.

Men get stretchmarks from significant and rapid weight changes, as well as during puberty and with weight training in teens. Steroids, if taken to body build or even for illness, can cause them as well. Occasionally, men do need abdominoplasty, especially following massive weight loss.

At Yager Esthetics, we have had some success with microdermabrasion, Silk Peel , and combinations of skin creams. We recently filmed a report for television which will appear soon. Check our Facebook page for details.

I continue to research each new “cure”, and make sure whatever I offer actually works, and that my patients know what to realistically expect. If you have stretchmarks, there is hope.

What Are Stretch Marks?

Posted on

As a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, I am no stranger to patients looking for plastic surgery tampa to also want to remove stretch marks. They are those wide, scary marks that start out pink and can turn red or brown depending on your skin type. Eventually they turn silvery white. What might surprise you is that more and more of them are men.

Men get stretch marks for different reasons than women. The most common causes are puberty, rapid weight gain, steroid use, and overaggressive weight lifting especially at younger ages. Women get them from pregnancy, hormonal changes, and weight swings.

Stretch marks are a tear in the deeper layers of the skin caused by a stretching force from the inside out. This leaves the surface of your skin intact, but it is empty underneath making it appear like a run in a stocking. Most often they appear on the stomach, shoulders, and hips and thighs.

How do you erase a stretch mark? That is the trillion dollar question. In short, you can not erase a stretch mark, but you can make it look much better using products like candelilla wax. There is no laser, cream, or peel that will magically eliminate these scars as of yet.

The only way to remove a stretch mark 100% is to remove the skin it is on. In women, a tummy tuck can often accomplish this. In men, if it is the stomach that has the striae after weight loss, this is possible. Yes, I have done tummy tucks on many men. But what about shoulders and legs?

We treat each stretch mark differently. We use some creams to help fade the color, and have had good success with Silkpeel, dermabrasion, and laser in the right patients. Men like it, because it does not involve surgery or time off from work.

So don’t feel alone, ladies. Some men also feel your pain.