Have you ever noticed the leather bag that you carry with all the stuff under the sun? It gets so stretched that it reaches the limit of its elasticity. It is then, when you see those wrinkle type marks on your old overused leather bag. You discard it and buy a new one. But you cannot do this with your own skin! Yes, your skin is composed of elastin which can be thought of as a soft elastic tissue. It is soft, supple and stretchable but it too has its own limits. Some situations exert extra pressure on your skin such as sudden weight gain or loss, pregnancy and even rapid growth of your body during teenage. Sometimes while exercising too, you stretch your body out of its limits. In such situations you get those thick red or purple lines on your skin which is popularly known as stretch marks. Gradually these lines do fade away and become white or silvery white in color but they don’t go away on their own. You have to put efforts to remove these stretch marks. Here are some home remedies to help you with your task.
Natural Remedies to Remove Stretch Marks
1. Apricot Mask to Remove Stretch Marks
Many people use apricot scrub for rapid removal of stretch marks from their skin. However, I am giving you the recipe of a mask made from apricot that you have to apply on your stretch marks daily for at least a month or more.
Get these things:
• Apricots- 2-3
• Lukewarm water- enough to wash off your skin having marks.
Do this:
• Cut open the apricots and remove their seeds.
• Crush the fruits to get their paste.
• Apply this apricot paste on your stretch marks.
• Leave for about 15-20 minutes.
• Now wash off with warm water.
• Repeat everyday (you may initially do it twice a day) for a month.
2. Aloe Vera to Remove Stretch Marks
Benefits of aloe vera are now very popular among the fans of home remedies. This herb has in it the plant collagen which excellently repairs human skin too. Use, as far as possible, the fresh aloe gel taken from the leaves instead of using store bought gel.
Get this:
• Aloe vera leaf
Do this:
• De-thorn the aloe vera leaf and remove its outer skin.
• Take out the sticky gel from the inside of the leaf.
• Apply this fresh aloe gel on your stretch marks.
• Now forget it for two hours.
• Wash off with water after this couple of hours.
3. Oils to Remove Stretch Marks
Natural oils are excellent emollients and they have these capacity to treat all scalp and hair problems as also skin issues including stretch marks. You just need to identify the right type of oil for the very purpose. You should ideally gently massage your skin having stretch marks with oil for about half an hour daily. However, just applying oils to the marks (something near to soaking them in oil) can also do wonders. If doing so, you need to apply oil for about three to four times a day. Olive oil, with all its antioxidant properties and loads of nutrients, is considered one of the best oils for removing stretch marks but there are many other oils that you can use. They too are good when it comes to curing stretch marks. Here is the list.
• Olive oil
• Lavender oil
• Rose oil
• Frankincense oil
• Myrrh oil
• Geranium oil
• Helichrysum oil
• Chamomile oil
The best thing will be to mix certain oils and then apply to the marks. Here’s the recipe.
Get this:
• lavender oil- ½ tsp
• Chamomile oil- ½ tsp
• Almond oil- 2 tsp ( you can use any other carrier oil like avocado oil, jojoba oil etc. in place of almond oil)
Do this:
• Mix lavender, chamomile oils with almond or the other carrier oil that you are using.
• Mix them well.
• Apply this oil mix to your stretch marks daily.
• Do this preferably thrice or four times a day.
4. Potato Juice to Remove Stretch Marks
This is the cheapest and one of the rapid home remedies for stretch marks. Potato is a super food due to its many components like essential fatty acids and a variety of phytochemicals, like carotenoids and polyphenols. It also has loads of vitamins and minerals including Vitamin-C, B-complex, potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and zinc. Because a potato is capable of stimulating collagen and elastin synthesis, it can effectively restore skin cells fading away your stretch marks.
Get this:
• Potato- 1 (medium sized)
• Knife- to cut potato
• Lukewarm water- to wash off
Do this:
• Cut the potato into thick sized slices.
• Take a slice and rub it gently over your stretch marks. Ensure to apply its juice all over your marks.
• Leave it for 5-10 minutes.
• Wash off with lukewarm water.
5. Lemon Juice to Remove Stretch Marks
Lemons have been recognized as fine natural bleaching agents beyond doubt. The alpha hydroxy acids (AHA) and vitamin C in lemons can efficient;y remove the dead skin and make your stretch marks disappear fast.
Get this:
• Lemon- 1
• Warm water- to wash off
Do this:
• Cut the lemon into 2 halves.
• Take a half piece of lemon and gently rub it on your stretch marks.
• Feel it’s juice soaking into your skin.
• Do this for at least 10 minutes.
• Then wash off with warm water.
To make it a superfast remedy for stretch marks, you can mix lemon juice with other ingredients in equal quantities (for example 1tbsp lemon juice with 1 tbsp other juice):
• Lemon juice with cucumber juice
• Lemon juice with potato juice
• Lemon juice with tomato juice.
6. Cocoa- Shea Butter Homemade Cream to Remove Stretch Marks
If you are fed up with all the stretch removal creams available in the market, make your own at home. You’ll be using some very commonly available ingredients for this home made cream- those that have been recognized as most skin friendly ingredients by all – cocoa butter, Shea butter and vitamin E oil. The natural antioxidants and emollient properties of cocoa butter lends it excellent moisturizing ability which penetrates deep and fast into the skin repairing it and removing stretch marks. The fatty acids of Shea butter, which has been used by Africans since ages, aids cocoa butter in repairing the skin further. As Shea butter melts at body temperature, it can be absorbed by skin very fast. Vitamin E in your cream is a powerful antioxidant which will penetrate through the layers of your skin and assist its natural wound healing process while removing the scars on it.
Get this:
• Cocoa butter- 2 tsp
• Shea butter- 2tsp
• Vitamin E oil- 1 tsp
Do this:
• Melt the Shea butter and cocoa butter.
• Add vitamin E oil to the melted butters.
• Mix well.
• Store in a container.
• The cream will get into solid state once it cools down.
Each time when you apply this cream on your stretch marks, it will melt as soon as it comes in contact with your skin. Apply this cream at least twice a day after having bath.
7. Egg Whites to Remove Stretch Marks
Egg white contains 40 different proteins. You can understand why it is so beneficial for skin health. Egg whites are also rich in collagen and vitamin A and thus can treat scars or burns too effectively. So go ahead with this remedy and apply egg white on your stretch marks. It’s as simple as this-
• Take out the egg white by separating the yolk from the egg.
• Beat the egg white a little with a fork
• Apply on your marks.
• Leave for 15 minutes
• Wash off with water.
Apply some moisturizer or oil (like olive oil) after you pat dry the area.
8. Alfalfa to remove Stretch Marks
Rich in amino acids, vitamins E and K, this herb,Alfalfa is used by many to fade the marks away. You may also give it a try as they are said to be great skin toners.
Get this:
• Alfalfa Powder- 1 tsp
• Chamomile oil- few drops to make paste
Do this:
• Mix alfalfa powder with chamomile oil and mix well.
• Apply the paste to your stretch marks.
• Leave for 15 minutes.
• Wash off with water.
• Do this thrice a day.
9. Drink Water for Hydrated Skin to Aid Removal of Stretch Marks
No remedy will work effectively if your skin is not always hydrated and full of suppleness. Drink enough water (if enough means 8-10 glasses for you, have at least this much!) Not only hydrated skin detoxifies your body but also restores the lost elasticity of the skin.
10. Eat Well to Remove Stretch Marks
Apart from keeping your skin well hydrated, you also need to keep it well nourished. Lack of nutrients inside your body can never give you full benefits of creams, lotions, oils, masks or any other thing that you apply externally on your skin.
- Have a good amount of proteins daily. Beans, fish, egg whites, yogurt, nuts and seeds like those of pumpkin, squash, and watermelon seeds, peanuts, almonds etc.
- have foods high in Vitamin C and E to encourage growth of skin tissues. Peppers, guavas, dark leafy greens, broccoli, gooseberries, papaya, oranges, strawberries are high in vitamin C. Spinach, nuts, kale, olive oil, tropical fruits like papaya and kiwi, wheat all are rich in Vitamin E.
- Have seeds and nuts rich in mineral content (especially zinc) during your pregnancy. This tones up your skin well.
- Avoid saturated fats in your diet as they make you gain weigh and obesity can cause stretching of the skin giving you those ugly stretch marks.
