Stretch marks are skin lesions resulting from a tear in the dermis produced by excessive stretching of the skin.
They appear mainly on the stomach, breasts, hips, thighs and buttocks in the form of purplish or silvery streaks.
In time they become whiter than undamaged areas of skin that surround them.
If the stretch marks are readily visible, then this is a sign that the dermis has lost a significant amount of its ability to resist further stretching, and consequently is extremely vulnerable to collagen and elastin fibre breakage.
Patients in this category should consider making semi-regular use of a stretch mark treatment such as Gernetic Anti-Stries, Jan Marini C-ESTA Hand & Body or Jan Marini Factor A Plus Cream to reduce the likelihood of repeat stretch mark formation.