Think of looking into a mirror, your fingers carefully tracing the pale silver lines etched onto your skin. Silent witnesses to life’s passage, be it through pregnancy, growth spurts, or abrupt weight changes. Although these marks are ubiquitous, they still elicit feelings of insecurity for a large number of people.
The modern world offers solutions such as laser treatments, which have become popular over the past few years. But the question still stands: can laser remove stretch marks permanently? In this blog, I aim to explore the science, outcomes, and realities of laser therapy, particularly with systems found at Dr. Afsheen’s Clinic in G-8 Markaz, Islamabad.
Stretch Marks: Understanding the Condition
More commonly known as striae, stretch marks are lesions that appear when the skin undergoes rapid stretching associated with pregnancy, reckless weight loss or gain, and adolescent growth spurts. This results in collagen and elastin being torn from the deeper strata of skin tissue. Stretch marks start off as reddish purplish streaks (striae rubra) and eventually turn silver or white (striae alba).
Stretch marks in themselves are not an ailment, but they can profoundly shake one’s self-esteem. Some risk factors include family history, skin hormone levels, and skin elasticity. Even though there are innumerable creams and cosmetics that claim to be effective, it is only laser therapy that seems to be scientifically proven to yield results.
Laser Treatments: When Beauty Meets Science
Laser treatments for stretch marks work by stimulating the body’s natural healing process. Various types of lasers are used to correspond to the color and age of the stretch marks.
- Fractionated lasers (think CO₂ or erbium) create micro-injuries to the skin to trigger collagen and elastic restoration to help smoothing and blending the stretch marks with the skin.
- Pulsed dye lasers help shrink the blood vessels in red stretch marks, which decreases redness and helps with healing.
- If you have darker skin, the Nd:YAG laser is ideal because of the deeper penetration with minimal changes to the pigment of your skin.
How Much Improvement Can You Expect?
- Newer Stretch Marks (Red/Purple): Newer stretch marks will respond best. After 3–6 treatment sessions you should see 50–75% improvement.
- Older Stretch Marks (White/Silver): Older stretch marks are more resistant to improvements in appearance; however, you may still see some texture and tone improvements compared to your original stretch mark after laser treatment. You’ll still see some improvements in the appearance of older stretch marks but you may not reach full clearance. Typically, the laser provides the most substantial visible reduction to the stretch marks compared to options like microneedling or topical products.
Factors that Impact the Effect of Laser Treatments
There are a variety of factors to consider:
- Purity of Skin Color and Type: If you have dark skin, you may need to use gentler lasers that are safe for your skin type to reduce the risk of permanent changes in coloration.
- Intensity of Stretch Marks: Newer stretch marks will respond more dramatically to laser treatments.
- Active Hormones: If you have a hormonal event or are experiencing a hormonal event (ie: pregnancy, puberty, hormone therapy/cycle) you may develop new stretch marks even if you’ve completed successful laser treatments.
- Diet: Changes in weight, hydration status, and sun exposure will all have an impact on the long-term results post treatment.
Caring for Your Skin Post Treatment
It is critically important to care for your skin after a laser procedure to protect your skin while enhancing the results. After Laser for Stretch Marks
- Avoid direct sun exposure to redness: This may seem obvious but it is incredibly important to avoid direct sunlight for at least 1–2 weeks post-laser treatment, or else the redness will darken even further and take substantially longer to heal.
- Use gentle, Hydrophillic moisturizers: After a treatment, hydrate your skin with a gentle moisturizer to lock in hydration with soothing ingredients like aloe and witch hazel.
- Don’t use any exfoliators for at least 1–2 weeks: Avoid commercial, or home made, exfoliation methods until your skin has completely healed to help retain your new skin texture longer.
Long-Term Care Routine
- Use SPF 30+ on a daily basis to prevent UV related damage.
- Use hydrating agents such as hyaluronic acid or retinoids (when healing is done)
- Make sure your weight is stable and you’re well hydrated to support elasticity of the skin.
Will Stretch Marks Come Back?
No, the marks should not come back when laser is used to treat; however, new stretch is possible from:
- Pregnancy
- Rapid weight gain/loss
- Hormonal changes
- Genethics
As a result, this is why maintenance treatment is encouraged to hold on to results, along with a proactive behavioral plan.
Holistic Treatment Approach
- Laser treatment is more effective with:
- Topical retinoids used for collagen stimulation
- Microneedling to stimulate collagen by injury to the skin while guided.
- Chemical peels that use varying acids like glycolic, to exfoliate the skin and add cell turnover.
A combination treatment approach is excellent for stubborn/longstanding marks.
Why Dr. Afsheen’s Clinic:
Dr. Afsheen’s Clinic in Islamabad offers Pakistan’s ONLY Clearfit system, which is an advanced non-invasive laser treatment intended for safety, minimal pain and without waiting period. Dr. Afsheen and her expert team take great care to individually manage skin treatment with a plan formulated for the individual skin type, goal, and comfort.
Dr. Afsheen’s Clinic is trusted because they offer procedural assurance for all types of skin:
- Safe procedures for all skin types/tones
- Procedures at a standard used globally
- Real long-term results, without aggressive procedures.