The dreaded and terrorizing stretch marks they are right out of any woman's nightmare. They appear as very thin and red or purple scars on your skin, and they can happen to anyone. Some women end up getting them during pregnancy and others develop them as a result of losing or gaining weight. The outer layer of skin is find when you have stretch marks, but it is the dermis that gets thin and weak, and then tears. Once it does this it causes the red or purplish scars, but later the scars go on to become more white in color.

While they are pregnant, many women get stretch marks on their breasts as well as their abdomen and thighs. Hormones often are the cause of this problem. The hormones that are a part of being pregnant can make the collagen softer, allowing the tissues to more easily stretch, allowing stretch marks to form more easily. Some women just have weaker collagen in general, which can make them more likely to develop stretch marks. If you're a woman who dreads stretch marks or who wants to get rid of them, here are a few tips that you should keep in mind.

Try to Stay at Your Ideal Weight

It is important that you work hard to stay at your ideal weight if you want to keep from getting stretch marks. Gaining too much weight can cause stretch marks, and even if you are pregnant, you should work to avoid gaining too much while you are pregnant. Weight during pregnancy should be gained slowly and you usually should only gain about 30 pounds during your entire pregnancy. If you gain more, then you can just expect to deal with some stretch marks.

No Yo-Yo Dieting

Many people go on yo-yo diets. They start a fad diet, lose a bunch of weight, and before you know it they have put it all back on. This can be bad for your health and can also cause stretch marks. When you lose weight, it is healthy to lose about a pound each week. This way you are not losing the weight too fast. Fast weight loss or gain can lead to more stretch marks, so be sensible when you are trying to lose some weight.

Try Lasers While Stretch Marks are New

If you are interested in trying out laser therapy, this needs to occur while your stretch marks are still quite new. Often lasers to do work on newer stretch marks. If the stretch marks still look red, then the lasers may help. The lasers work by using the heat on the blood vessels to try to seal them up, getting rid of the bright red color. Just don't expect this to be a total cure for your stretch marks and expect to pay quite a bit of money for this treatment.