Stretchmarks are striae on the skin (as of the hips, abdomen, and breasts) from excessive stretching and rupture of elastic fibers especially due to pregnancy or obesity.
Stretch marks occur when expanding skin is stretched to its limit and tiny tears appear in the supporting layers of skin. Stretch marks are quite common in pregnancy; about 50-90% of women will get stretch marks on their abdomen, breasts, thighs or buttocks during pregnancy.
Stretch marks (also referred to as striae distensae) are the result of an increased level of circulating glucocorticoids throughout the bloodstream.This hormone, secreted by the adrenal glands, becomes elevated during pregnancy, adolescence, with obesity, weight lifting and Cushing’s syndrome.The glucocorticoids hormones responsible for the development of stretch marks affect the epidermis by preventing the fibroblasts from forming collagen and elastin fibers, necessary to keep rapidly growing skin taut.
They first appear as reddish or purple lines, but tend to gradually fade to a lighter color. The affected areas appear empty and soft to the touch.
Human skin has three different layers: the epidermis (outer layer), the dermis (middle layer), and the subcutaneous stratum (innermost layer). Stretch marks occur in the dermis, the resilient middle layer that helps the skin retain its shape. No stretch marks will form as long as there is support within the dermis. Stretching plays more of a role in where the marks occur and in what direction they run. Stretching alone is not the cause.
Stretch marks can appear anywhere on the body. They are most likely to appear in places where larger amounts of fat is stored. Most common places are the abdomen (especially near the belly-button), breasts, upper arms, underarms, thighs (both inner and outer), hips, and buttocks. They pose no health risk in and of themselves, and do not compromise the body’s ability to function normally and repair itself.
The glucocorticoids hormones responsible for the development of stretch marks affect the epidermis by preventing the fibroblasts from forming collagen and elastin fibers, necessary to keep rapidly growing skin taut. This creates a lack of supportive material, as the skin is stretched and leads to dermaland epidermal tearing. If the epidermis and the dermis has been penetrated laser will not remove the stretch marks