Weight gain and stretching skin during pregnancies leads to stretch marks in most women. Post pregnancy stretch marks are also a common occurrence. The abdomen and breast are the areas that are most likely to develop stretch marks, but you can also get them on your thighs, hips and upper arms.

Most women feel that they are condemned to live with these striations for the rest of their lives, but this isn't entirely true. There are actually several procedures and treatments that can help reduce the appearance of stretch marks.

Surgery is the most effective type of treatment as it completely removes the skin that has stretch marks. However, there are less invasive alternatives if you want a gentler form of treatment for your pregnancy stretch marks. If you do prefer a less invasive approach then you should either try microdermabrasion or stretch mark creams, or both.

Stretch mark removal with these non invasive treatments will be slow, therefore, you'll need to have a little patience if you want to see positive results.

Stretch Mark Removal & Microdermabrasion

Traditional microdermabrasion can be done in a spa or salon. This treatment does not require anesthesia and lasts no more than an hour per session.

Microdermabrasion works by producing a tiny bit of "damage" to the treated site. The body will then respond to the injury by producing new, healthier cells to displace the damaged skin cells. After several sessions, you should begin to see a difference in your stretch marks.

Besides treating stretch marks, microdermabrasion can also remove the signs of aging. Fine lines and age spots will become less apparent. And, dull skin will become more even and more radiant.

Stretch Mark Creams

Stretch mark creams and microdermabrasion creams are another alternative to surgery. This treatment option is even more gentle than microdermabrasion. For this reason, the treatment will likely have to be longer.

For a stretch mark creams to be effective, it should contain a combination of ingredients that can help eliminate striae. In other words, your stretch marks cream should contain peptides and enzymes that are the ones responsible for this action. In essence, they dissolve scar tissue and help promote the growth of new skin cells.

Two other ingredients you should look for are snail serum and rose hip oil. Both of these components are known for their success in treating scars and stretch marksBoth of these components are known to effectively help treat scars and stretch marks. Rose hip oil contains high levels of Vitamin C and A and essential fatty acids, while snail serum depends on enzymatic action to help the generation of healthy skin. Microdermabrasion creams work because they contain micro crystals that produce an abrading action. These micro crystals are very similar to the ones used in traditional microdermabrasion. Obviously, they are much gentler than traditional microdermabrasion.

You can also purchase at-home microdermabrasion systems that usually comes with a machine that produces the abrading action. Some even come with different attachments and with some type of microdermabrasion cream.