Stretch marks aren’t only the result of pregnancy, nor do they all look alike. Anyone can develop these skin striations that are scars from rapid skin stretching or shrinking. While they’re not harmful, and they don’t cause complications, the appearance of stretch marks can be distressing, robbing you of confidence in your appearance.
Wandisan-Rosete Medical Group in Tracy, California offers their patients stretch mark reduction treatments using the CynoSure® Icon™ laser system, the industry-leading aesthetic laser platform. Icon delivers non-invasive light energy that stimulates tissue regrowth and minimizes the appearance of stretch marks.
The rapid skin growth accompanying pregnancy seems to be a logical reason for stretch marks, but not every woman develops them. About ¾ of all pregnancies produce stretch marks, though they’re not limited to bellies. Stretch marks can appear on your breasts, thighs, arms, back, buttocks, and hips.
A combination of factors affects the severity of stretch marks from patient to patient. There’s a genetic component, as families sometimes share the tendency to develop marks. The amount of stress your skin endures also factors in, as does the amount of cortisone produced by your adrenal glands or used in corticosteroid medications. Cortisone weakens fibers in your skin.
Pregnancy isn’t the only stretch mark instigator. Weight loss, weight gain, and adolescent growth spurts can all trigger the lines that materialize in many forms. Stretch marks can be black, blue, pink, purple, or red. Streaks may appear brightly colored, but most usually fade over time to a light silver. Shapes are nearly as varied as patients.
Stretch marks appear due to changes in the middle layer of your skin, called the dermis, where collagen and elastin reside. The collagen layer has long been the target for aggressive skin rejuvenation treatments such as deep chemical peels. Controlled damage to your skin prompts the body to rebuild the collagen matrix supporting your surface skin.
The Icon laser accomplishes this controlled damage without impacting the surface skin like other methods do. Light energy from the Icon system passes harmlessly through outer skin layers before warming the dermis.
This warming action starts the natural repair process, signaling your body to make new collagen tissue, while simultaneously flushing treated tissue through your lymphatic and circulatory systems. As the new collagen replaces the old, it starts to fill in stretch mark voids, and color variations fade. Together, these effects start to reduce the appearance of stretch marks.
The best part is that Icon treatments have no need for recovery time. You can schedule a session in the middle of a busy day and continue on your way without interruption. If you feel anything, it’s probably a slight warmth, as though you got some sun on the beach, but without the tanning effects of ultraviolet rays.
Results vary between patients, so the best way to find out more about Icon as a treatment for your stretch marks is through a consultation with the doctors and medical aesthetics professionals at Wandisan-Rosete Medical Group. Call 209-226-4308 or use the appointment request tool on this page.
