“Vanity thy name is woman”, study shows that having stretch marks is one of the top 5 causes of embarrassment, anxiety, and stress for most women. It is no wonder women spend a lot of time and effort shopping for the right stretch mark cream. With so many stretch mark creams available on the market today, it is sometimes difficult to determine which cream really works. We most often assume that the best creams are the more expensive ones or the latest cream advertised on television.
Knowledge is always power, knowing what you are looking for in any skin care regiment is always the best tool for getting great results. Take note of the components that make up the cream, ingredients such as Collagen, Vitamin C, Aloe Vera gel, Vitamin A, Glycolic Acid, Castor Oil, Vitamin E, Emu oil, Grape Seed Extract and Vitamin K are substances you will need to look for in a stretch mark cream. Lets take a look at some of the ingredients and learn their uses as it relates to your skin cells:
– Emu Oil is known to penetrate the skin’s outer layer reaching the layer between the epidermis and subcutaneous tissues, known as the dermis. Due to emu oil natural vitamin A and E properties, it acts as a healing agent repairing the layers of your skin cells. The Oleic Acid available in Emu Oil is not only an anti wrinkle agent but it also aids in the regeneration of skin cells.
– Vitamin E serves as the best antioxidants which delays skin aging. Like any other antioxidants, it helps nourish and protect the skin from further damage. For some people, simply applying pure Vitamin E or Castor Oil to the marked area of your skin at least twice a day will work wonders.
– Grape Seed Extract is high in antioxidant content and also aids in the absorption of vitamin C while strengthening the cell membrane. Grape Seed Extract will help prevent the development of those unwanted enzymes, protecting the wall of the capillary.
– Glycolic Acid is a translucent crystalline compound found in sugar cane and unripe grapes. Glycolic Acid acts as an exfoliant and moisturizer reducing the build up of dead skin cells, giving your skin a more youthful and smoother appearance. Due to the acidic natural of Glycolic Acid and the fact that it penetrates the outer layer of the skin, pure Glycolic is not recommended.
– Aloe Vera is useful for treating sunburns, wounds or other injuries. It promotes healing and reduces inflammation.
– Collagen is primarily found inside the tissues of our body. Collagen is used as a healing aid for burns and inflammation of the skin tissues.
Creams that only contain Vitamin K and Vitamin C will only cover up your scars with new skin cells without attacking the root of the problem. One of the key reasons most stretch mark creams are ineffective is because they only treat the outer layer of your skin even though the damage starts from the middle layer (Dermis). A cream composed of a combination of some of the ingredients listed above have a higher percentage of success in treating and getting rid of stretch marks. These ingredients will deeply penetrate the layers of the skin, exfoliating, healing and regenerating skin cells, giving you a more positive result.
