When treatment is overlooked pregnancy, body building, rapid weight gain and even rapid growth become a common factor that causes stretch marks.

Stretch marks are caused by anomalous hormone activity. You don't have to be a pregnant woman or have weight problems to get them. As a matter of fact, it is a very usual skin affection, but most people who have them are embarrassed and try to hide them.

Stretch Mark Related Causes:

* Pregnancy

* Teenage growth spurts

* Rapid weight loss or weight gain

* Long term nutrient deficiency

* Sudden change in physical or environmental conditions

* Certain medication can also generate stretch marks, especially steroids analogous medications.

The real problem is that the body processes the wrong information about skin development. This causes skin to synthesize insufficient quantities of collagen and elastin, which conform the connective tissue of skin. When connective tissues are not strong enough to endure over-stretching they break apart and stretch marks are formed.

Although in many cases they seem to just appear overnight this isn't necessarily true. They start from deep skin tissues and slowly develop to the skin's surface.

Stretch marks happen to men and women, young and old, fat and thin. In many cases they don't cause harm or irritate the skin so a lot of people don't even notice them until it's too late to do anything about it.

In the beginning stage of development they are a pinkish or pale red color. The pinkish coloring is caused by micro blood vessels breaking open and bleeding. These scars usually evolve to a pale silvery white which is the final step of their developement.

Most people think that stretch marks are not curable because they are so difficult to erase. As a matter of fact, most specialists will even tell you: just live with them, they are not curable. But why would they say something like that if there is a way to treat them? Maybe they just don't bother enough or maybe in a doctor's point of view stretch marks are not a serious problem because they don't really cause any real physical discomfort

Stretch marks are partial thickness 'tears' within the skin, meaning that they are basically subdural scars. The best stretch mark product isn't one rich in elastin and collagen, but one that triggers the synthesis of collagen, elastin and the water retaining capacity of healthy skin. Collagen is the building block of skin, and elastin is the protein which gives skin its elasticity. By increasing the levels of these proteins in your skin, from the inside out , you can reinforce the epidermal layer.