When treatment is neglected pregnancy, body building, rapid weight gain and even rapid growth become a usual problem that generates stretch marks.

Stretch marks are generated by abnormal hormone activity. You don't need to be pregnant or have weight problems to get them. As a matter of fact, it is a very common skin affection, but most people who have them are ashamed and try to keep them to themselves.

Stretch Mark Associated Causes:

* Pregnancy

* Sudden growth spurts

* Rapid weight loss or weight gain

* Long term deficiency of specific nutrients

* Sudden variation in physical or environmental conditions

* Some medication may also generate stretch marks, especially steroids analogous medications.

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

Although in several cases they seem to simply appear overnight this isn't necessarily true. They are born from deep skin tissues and gradually develop to the skin's surface.

Stretch marks happen to young and old, fat and thin, men and women. In many cases they don't cause hurting or irritation so a lot of people don't even acknowledge them until they are in plain sight.

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

Most people believe that stretch marks are not treatable because they are so difficult to erase. As a matter of fact, most doctors will even say: 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 eyes stretch marks are not a real problem because they don't really inflict any real physical discomfort

Stretch marks are fractional 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 stimulates the generation of collagen, elastin and the water holding ability of healthy skin. Collagen is the skin's building block, 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.