Stretch Marks!!

[king_fedor]

this is guaranteed to make everyone who sees this feel better about their so called "problems"

im 21 years old and im 180lbs and 5'11...im in amazing shape and have never been obese at any point in my life...but for some reason, i have the worst case of stretch marks ive ever seen in my life.

40-50% of my back is covered in deep red, depressed stretch marks...i also have them scattered throughout my body in other places such as under my arm pits (semi-tolerable), on my buttocks(very bad) and on my thighs (pretty bad)

i have no idea what caused them...ive always thought it was because i just had really sensitive skin, or maybe because i had a growth spurt one year.. but lately after doing some research im pretty confident its because i had HORRIBLE nutrition as a child. my parents werent always the healthiest people in the world, and their idea of being in bad shape is having a big round belly...but thats NOT the case as its very possible to be in bad shape and not have any external signs of it...(people have different bodies and the fat is distributed to different places, not always the belly)...in my case, my buttocks, and back took the hits as they are DRAPED in stretch marks...

ive had v-beam treatments, maybe 10-15 of them, and nothing has worked...it doesnt even seem like they improved. i have thought about killing myself as these marks severely hinder my life. for example, i have -0 self confidence in my own skin and ive never actually had sex with a girl or had a girlfriend even. why? because i would never be comfortable taking my clothes off in front of another human being (besides my mother and doctor's)...i dont see this changing any time either, i dont think i will EVER have any self confidence...its like a nightmare waking up in my skin every morning, and for the most part i wish i was dead . to make matters worse, these are only just one of my many problems in life, so now you see why i wish i was dead...

is there ANY hope for me whatsoever? fraxel? chemical peel? rollers? anything? ...ive completely missed out on my teenages years, and will most likely miss out on my 20's...i have no friends, and no girlfriend and i just stay home pretty much all the time because i hate my body...this is a very unhealthy way to live and i want to change it, so if there is any information anyone has on how to remove stretch marks (i will empty my entire bank account on it if necessary) then please tell me. you would probably end up saving a life..

oh yeah, if anyone wants to see a pic of my back...i can email it to you, because i dont know how to post pics...thanks..

From a guy who's in the same position, the best advice I can give is come to grips with the situation. I also have stretch marks over about 1/2 my body, in my case it was from being overweight. There's no way that I can convince you that stretch marks don't suck, but most of the limitations that you say they cause are ones that you allow them to have. Sometime your just going to have to say F*** it and rip your shirt off at a pool party, etc. Yea, some people are going to say wtf are first, but many won't notice, many won't care, and most will get over it very quickly. I know plenty of guys who have lost massive amounts of weight and went on to have perfectly fine relationships even though they had massive amounts of stretch marks. There's a lot of shallow people in this world, but there is nothing that says they are the ones that you have to make part of your life. There's plenty of girls out there that will accept stretch marks, and you'll find one. Also keep in mind that although many girls in their early 20's are shallow (not that guys aren't), this does get better with age.

its good that you have confidence, but i would NEVER dare to rip my shirt off at a pool party...the thing that sucks about my case is that i SHOULDNT have them...im not 7'1, and i was never 50+lbs overweight at any point in my life...like i said im 5'11, 180lbs...it sucks that i have them being this size....people look at me and expect a normal body - maybe even a nice one with a 6-pack due to my build and physique...but if i took my shirt off boy would they be surprised...

i dont understand how a person my size got marks this bad, when there are actual fat people 3x the size of me who dont even have them anywhere near as bad...

so is there any hope for me?

[Guest]

When I get to the point that they are gone on my lower leg I will post pics, I have posted pics of that area before, so the two can be compared.

As I have stated before if the marks return when I am rid of them I will post and let people know because it is important we all stick together on this.

I know tca does not work for everyone, but on me it has been an absolute godsend, it really has.

J

I know this may be too personal, and if it is please tell me, but if you could post pics of ANY results it would be a huge confidence boost for me. I have just ordered the TCA stuff and the knowledge that improvement of any extent is possible would be amazing motivation. Thank you so much for your information and spirit!

The only pics I could post are of my left lower leg, and that is in the process of peeling at the moment. I would rather wait until the marks are gone, but I will think about posting update shots before, maybe in a couple of weeks once the skin there has settled down again. There is no point in my posting pics of anywhere else because there is nothing for you to compare them to.

If you are purchasing tca please be careful, stick to the lower percentages (water down if you are using higher) and do a test area first to check you don't have an adverse reaction.

J

[Guest]

this is guaranteed to make everyone who sees this feel better about their so called "problems"

im 21 years old and im 180lbs and 5'11...im in amazing shape and have never been obese at any point in my life...but for some reason, i have the worst case of stretch marks ive ever seen in my life.

40-50% of my back is covered in deep red, depressed stretch marks...i also have them scattered throughout my body in other places such as under my arm pits (semi-tolerable), on my buttocks(very bad) and on my thighs (pretty bad)

i have no idea what caused them...ive always thought it was because i just had really sensitive skin, or maybe because i had a growth spurt one year.. but lately after doing some research im pretty confident its because i had HORRIBLE nutrition as a child. my parents werent always the healthiest people in the world, and their idea of being in bad shape is having a big round belly...but thats NOT the case as its very possible to be in bad shape and not have any external signs of it...(people have different bodies and the fat is distributed to different places, not always the belly)...in my case, my buttocks, and back took the hits as they are DRAPED in stretch marks...

ive had v-beam treatments, maybe 10-15 of them, and nothing has worked...it doesnt even seem like they improved. i have thought about killing myself as these marks severely hinder my life. for example, i have -0 self confidence in my own skin and ive never actually had sex with a girl or had a girlfriend even. why? because i would never be comfortable taking my clothes off in front of another human being (besides my mother and doctor's)...i dont see this changing any time either, i dont think i will EVER have any self confidence...its like a nightmare waking up in my skin every morning, and for the most part i wish i was dead . to make matters worse, these are only just one of my many problems in life, so now you see why i wish i was dead...

is there ANY hope for me whatsoever? fraxel? chemical peel? rollers? anything? ...ive completely missed out on my teenages years, and will most likely miss out on my 20's...i have no friends, and no girlfriend and i just stay home pretty much all the time because i hate my body...this is a very unhealthy way to live and i want to change it, so if there is any information anyone has on how to remove stretch marks (i will empty my entire bank account on it if necessary) then please tell me. you would probably end up saving a life..

oh yeah, if anyone wants to see a pic of my back...i can email it to you, because i dont know how to post pics...thanks..

From a guy who's in the same position, the best advice I can give is come to grips with the situation. I also have stretch marks over about 1/2 my body, in my case it was from being overweight. There's no way that I can convince you that stretch marks don't suck, but most of the limitations that you say they cause are ones that you allow them to have. Sometime your just going to have to say F*** it and rip your shirt off at a pool party, etc. Yea, some people are going to say wtf are first, but many won't notice, many won't care, and most will get over it very quickly. I know plenty of guys who have lost massive amounts of weight and went on to have perfectly fine relationships even though they had massive amounts of stretch marks. There's a lot of shallow people in this world, but there is nothing that says they are the ones that you have to make part of your life. There's plenty of girls out there that will accept stretch marks, and you'll find one. Also keep in mind that although many girls in their early 20's are shallow (not that guys aren't), this does get better with age.

its good that you have confidence, but i would NEVER dare to rip my shirt off at a pool party...the thing that sucks about my case is that i SHOULDNT have them...im not 7'1, and i was never 50+lbs overweight at any point in my life...like i said im 5'11, 180lbs...it sucks that i have them being this size....people look at me and expect a normal body - maybe even a nice one with a 6-pack due to my build and physique...but if i took my shirt off boy would they be surprised...

i dont understand how a person my size got marks this bad, when there are actual fat people 3x the size of me who dont even have them anywhere near as bad...

so is there any hope for me?

I am in the same boat, I too have never been overweight (though my weight has fluctuated by about 1 stone). I am considered slim or even skinny. My marks got much worse in my late 20's so it is really important to adopt some sort of routine to help yourself. Luckily for me I could have relationships but I am on my own now and none too keen to show my marks to prospective partners.

There is always hope, read around the board and start a routine, if your marks are still red retin a might help too, you can get it on prescriptions from the doctor.

J

[king_fedor]

thanks, but im looking for a more permanent suggestion. something like a powerful laser that is proven to improve or even remove (yeah, like that'll ever happen ) stretch marks

any new lasers out there?

[Guest]

Hey! this is to king_fedor. a lot of people write about how low they feel but i was really touched by what you said. I am a 20 year old girl and my ex boyfriend had stretch marks and i can tell you i honestly never thought twice about them. it no way affected how i felt towards him or how attractive i thought he was. I know it might not mean much but i not everygirl out there is going to think badly of you because of your stretchmarks i promise you!
i understand that you somtimes feel suicidal because i do too (not helped by the fact that said boyfriend of four years dumped me last week) but while we're still going, and until that illusive laser is created, i think its worthwhile starting some sort of routine as there are people that have posted success in getting rid. i would be interested in looking at a picture because sometimes i find it hard to guage how bad mine are and it might be the same for you if you had somthing to compare it to?
but whatever, don't give up hope! we're young and thers no way we're not going to get a chance to be free and have fun!

[king_fedor]

Hey! this is to king_fedor. a lot of people write about how low they feel but i was really touched by what you said. I am a 20 year old girl and my ex boyfriend had stretch marks and i can tell you i honestly never thought twice about them. it no way affected how i felt towards him or how attractive i thought he was. I know it might not mean much but i not everygirl out there is going to think badly of you because of your stretchmarks i promise you!
i understand that you somtimes feel suicidal because i do too (not helped by the fact that said boyfriend of four years dumped me last week) but while we're still going, and until that illusive laser is created, i think its worthwhile starting some sort of routine as there are people that have posted success in getting rid. i would be interested in looking at a picture because sometimes i find it hard to guage how bad mine are and it might be the same for you if you had somthing to compare it to?
but whatever, don't give up hope! we're young and thers no way we're not going to get a chance to be free and have fun!

thanks for taking note of my situation. and it is encouraging to hear that there are girls out there who wouldnt mind too much. here is the problem though, i already knew that...but FINDING ONE is pretty much impossible...im 21 years old and time is ticking and i get more and more depressed as each day goes by...i can send a pic if u want, but i have to send it through email because i dont know how else to post pics

[Guest]

Hey! this is to king_fedor. a lot of people write about how low they feel but i was really touched by what you said. I am a 20 year old girl and my ex boyfriend had stretch marks and i can tell you i honestly never thought twice about them. it no way affected how i felt towards him or how attractive i thought he was. I know it might not mean much but i not everygirl out there is going to think badly of you because of your stretchmarks i promise you!
i understand that you somtimes feel suicidal because i do too (not helped by the fact that said boyfriend of four years dumped me last week) but while we're still going, and until that illusive laser is created, i think its worthwhile starting some sort of routine as there are people that have posted success in getting rid. i would be interested in looking at a picture because sometimes i find it hard to guage how bad mine are and it might be the same for you if you had somthing to compare it to?
but whatever, don't give up hope! we're young and thers no way we're not going to get a chance to be free and have fun!

thanks for taking note of my situation. and it is encouraging to hear that there are girls out there who wouldnt mind too much. here is the problem though, i already knew that...but FINDING ONE is pretty much impossible...im 21 years old and time is ticking and i get more and more depressed as each day goes by...i can send a pic if u want, but i have to send it through email because i dont know how else to post pics

She is right, I am not trying to depress you more than you already are, but if you do not start a routine for your skin your marks will probably get worse (mine most certainly did, at your age I only had them on my bum and back of calves, I now have them over a large proportion of my body). Get a routine and start taking vits each day asap. At least then you will stop more developing and hopefully improve or remove the ones you already have.

J

[rice]

times not ticking that quickly! at least your still young enough to do somthing about it. sure send it to me... my email is rice20@hotmail.co.uk

[rice]

also i am the person who wrote previously its just iv set up a username now..

[Guest]

Hi - can anyone recommend an alternative to emu oil for using with acids and copper peptides - I know it's the best oil to use but I just can't bring myself to use it. Would olive oil do the job?

[Guest]

I have had massive improvements already. I think tca just must not work on some people. I am considering ordering 30% tca next time I get it. Its hard for me to say when the marks will be gone, but I would think it would be this year at the latest. I will definitely post if they return, but here is the thing, I plan to do at least 2 peels after I believe I have completely removed them, just to make sure they are totally gone. Out of interest, on the whole do they go forever or return debate, I have posted that question for Dr Pickart on skin biology, though I think he is already of the belief that you can completely remove them and they will not return. We shall see what he has to say.

I really hope that mine do not return, because if they don't then it means that many other peoples won't too.

J

I'm the person who posted the glycolic/tca routine around p410 or so!

I'll say it once more & once more only. TCA results for scarring are or anything of that nature is PERMANENT. TCA is only semi-permanent for RECURRING conditions....Meaning acne, wrinkles etc, etc. Scarring isn't recurring, it's a permanent condition. So the results you get are permanent. What TCA won't do though, is shrink loose skin back in. So if you've a baby & have a lot of loose hanging skin. It'll burn away the marks & to a degree it'll tighten the skin back in. But it'll never go back in completely. So if this is your problem, then use some sort of skin firming/tightening cream, lotion or potion as well.

The problem with TCA is that when your first start using it. It can seem like they're gone because of the redness that occurs, only for the skin to get back to normal in a few weeks & you see them still there. The other one is for some, it seems to make them worse with a little bit of temporary hyperpigmentation & then they panic. Stop the routine because it obviously isn't working & any it's back to square one. Problem is it does work, but it takes time & patience!

There is one reason that someone might think the marks come back after a few months. This is because the marks are so deep. Everytime you peel, your talking away the surface layers. Good skin grows, the older damaged layers beneath get pushed up further & further every time. If someone sees they are gone. They may be on the surface, but as your skin sheds. The healthy skin will be taken away & if there are any marks still lying underneath, they will begin to show through again.

It's not that the marks have returned. It's simply they were never fully removed in the first place! This is why you should continue to do a few peels after you think they're totally gone. They may be on the surface, but if there is any traces left underneath. There is a possibility that it will show back through in the coming months/years as it slowly gets pushed up to the surface.

Once you remove damaged tissue. It DOES not grow back, it's gone for good. You just need to keep peeling & peeling. Even when you think they're totally gone because it's not worth taking the chance that there could be any bits of scar tissue left underneath the good healthy skin. Anything that shows up after peeling simply means you didn't get all the scar tissue. So you'll need to do a few further peels again to remove whatever is left of the original damaged tissue.

[Guest]

I have had massive improvements already. I think tca just must not work on some people. I am considering ordering 30% tca next time I get it. Its hard for me to say when the marks will be gone, but I would think it would be this year at the latest. I will definitely post if they return, but here is the thing, I plan to do at least 2 peels after I believe I have completely removed them, just to make sure they are totally gone. Out of interest, on the whole do they go forever or return debate, I have posted that question for Dr Pickart on skin biology, though I think he is already of the belief that you can completely remove them and they will not return. We shall see what he has to say.

I really hope that mine do not return, because if they don't then it means that many other peoples won't too.

J

I'm the person who posted the glycolic/tca routine around p410 or so!

I'll say it once more & once more only. TCA results for scarring are or anything of that nature is PERMANENT. TCA is only semi-permanent for RECURRING conditions....Meaning acne, wrinkles etc, etc. Scarring isn't recurring, it's a permanent condition. So the results you get are permanent. What TCA won't do though, is shrink loose skin back in. So if you've a baby & have a lot of loose hanging skin. It'll burn away the marks & to a degree it'll tighten the skin back in. But it'll never go back in completely. So if this is your problem, then use some sort of skin firming/tightening cream, lotion or potion as well.

The problem with TCA is that when your first start using it. It can seem like they're gone because of the redness that occurs, only for the skin to get back to normal in a few weeks & you see them still there. The other one is for some, it seems to make them worse with a little bit of temporary hyperpigmentation & then they panic. Stop the routine because it obviously isn't working & any it's back to square one. Problem is it does work, but it takes time & patience!

There is one reason that someone might think the marks come back after a few months. This is because the marks are so deep. Everytime you peel, your talking away the surface layers. Good skin grows, the older damaged layers beneath get pushed up further & further every time. If someone sees they are gone. They may be on the surface, but as your skin sheds. The healthy skin will be taken away & if there are any marks still lying underneath, they will begin to show through again.

It's not that the marks have returned. It's simply they were never fully removed in the first place! This is why you should continue to do a few peels after you think they're totally gone. They may be on the surface, but if there is any traces left underneath. There is a possibility that it will show back through in the coming months/years as it slowly gets pushed up to the surface.

Once you remove damaged tissue. It DOES not grow back, it's gone for good. You just need to keep peeling & peeling. Even when you think they're totally gone because it's not worth taking the chance that there could be any bits of scar tissue left underneath the good healthy skin. Anything that shows up after peeling simply means you didn't get all the scar tissue. So you'll need to do a few further peels again to remove whatever is left of the original damaged tissue.

I pretty much agree with your theory which is why I decided to do extra peels once I think they have gone. it makes sense, but you know what some are like on here, they will start the old, the marks will return debate up again. Thats why I have posted the question on the skinbiology site. It should resolve the argument once and for all.

I am having such good results using tca, but I can also see now that I would never have gotten rid of them using light acid peels, even with my thin marks it is taking multiple layer peels to get improvements.

Thanks for posting!

J

[Guest]

I'm the person who posted the glycolic/tca routine around p410 or so!

I'll say it once more & once more only.

Thank goodness!

[sk 81]

I also agree with this theory. Thanks! I've had both things happen to me, one is the masking of my marks with the redness making them temporarily look better, and the other making them look worse because of the surrounding hyperpigmention. I've had one peel recently so far, as I can't do more because of my microdermabrasion treatments (which I believe is a waste of time and money; footfiling seems 10 times more effective to me). What I haven't tried is multiple layers (and also taking lots of vit C). This could make the difference.

Thank goodness!

Huh?

[cr]

Just to add for anybody who is trying to tighten loose skin, I have had great results tightening my skin after pregnancy by using peels (glycolic and TCA), dry skin brushing, needling, copper-peptides, emu oil, vitamins/minerals, and exercise. I am not sure which one really did the trick, or a combination of all, but just to give hope to those who are also working to tighten their skin. I am 5'3", gained 40 lbs. while pregnant, most of the weight was carried in my stomach due to having a big baby, and after 2 years since delivering my son, my skin is firm and taut again. It took a long time, but if you saw my stomach even a year after having my son, the skin had lost its elasticity, but now it is firm and tight again. Sorry to get off the subject of stretch marks but often these run hand in hand. Best, CR