With hundreds to choose from, you'll want to know which creams for stretch marks work to eradicate those stretch marks, and which are a complete waste of time and money.
But what if your current budget doesn't quite stretch to the cost of these creams? This article is going to look at creams for stretch marks which you can make up at home for a fraction of the cost.
First however you need to know how they are formed so you can make the most of your homemade remedy. Stretch marks are formed when the collagen and elastin fibers in the dermis, which is the middle layer of our skin, tear. Usually this is the result of rapid weight gain, as in pregnancy, or body building, or a rapid growth spurt. Initially they show up as livid deep red or purple scars, but over time, fade to a pale silvery white color.
The important thing to remember here is that stretch marks are scars. And scars are notoriously difficult to get rid of. No creams, homemade or otherwise, are ever going to remove stretch marks completely. The same is true of the expensive cosmetic procedures like laser therapy or micro dermabrasion. But what you can expect is that the stretch marks are faded to the point of being barely noticeable. The trick here is to try to get the most from your homemade cream, so that its effects begin to approach those of the proprietary creams for stretch marks.
Here are a couple of popular recipes for homemade creams for stretch marks:
Cocoa butter cream is probably one of the best known home remedies:
• ½ cup cocoa butter
• 1 tablespoon wheat germ oil
• 1 teaspoon vitamin E oil
• 1 teaspoon apricot kernel oil
• 2 teaspoons grated beeswax
Mix together and heat until the beeswax is just melted. Massage the cream into the affected areas twice daily. You can store the mixture in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Aloe vera has long been used for its skin care properties, and even today is an important ingredient of quality creams for stretch marks, as well as other skin care products. Try this recipe for a massage oil:
• ¼ cup aloe vera gel
• ½ cup virgin olive oil
• Liquid from 6 capsules of vitamin E
• Liquid from 4 capsules of vitamin A
Blend the ingredients together and once again massage into affected areas a couple of times a day.
Those were just a couple of examples of two popular creams. A quick search online will provide you with more. In fact any oil massaged into the skin should help. Fish oil, virgin olive oil, jojoba oil, borage oil, lavender oil, almond oil, apricot kernel oil, emu oil, sesame oil, wheat germ oil, rosehip oil, coconut oil, sandalwood oil, carrier oil and sunflower oil have all been used. Feel free to experiment a little and mix a few of them together to find out what works best for you.
Of course there are a couple of negatives with homemade creams. They tend to be a bit messier than proprietary lotions, but more importantly, they have no delivery system. What we mean by this, is there is nothing in the cream which enables the active ingredients to penetrate the dermis, and so effect repair and regrowth of the collagen and elastin fibers, which after all are the cause of the stretch marks in the first place.
But all is not lost, homemade creams still have their merits. They make your skin soft and smooth and pliable and better placed to cope with future stretching. Also if you spend 5 minutes massaging the cream into the affected areas each time you apply, it is believed that this benefits the dermis. So you can see that homemade creams for stretch marks, while perhaps not as effective as proprietary creams, are still useful.
What if you just cannot eliminate all those stretch marks? I realize it can be very hard to shift those little critters, but if your are focused on eliminating them and reclaiming your body and self-confidence then you really should take a look at our report fade stretch marks.
You should not give up hope, it certainly is not impossible. Discover the best stretch mark cream by clicking on the link.
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