For the majority of women, stretch marks are an undesired consequence of pregnancy. There are a few lucky ones that won't ever develop them; however, the vast majority will develop them around their abdomen, upper arms, and breasts.

Stretch marks develop when the skin is stretched beyond its elastic limit, or when the skin is stretched so rapidly that it does not have time to adapt. This over-stretching is caused by hormonal changes or weight fluctuations - as is the case with pregnancy. Experts claim that stretch marks have a strong genetic component, which means, if your mother had stretch marks, you too will probably have them.

The best way of maintaining a control over stretch mark formation is through prevention. During pregnancy, you should use stretch mark creams to keep your skin moisturized and supple while maintaining a steady weight gain to give your skin time to "catch up".

If prevention did not work for you, the next step is removing your stretch marks.

Stretch Mark Removal - What are your options

There are two roads that you can follow when you have decided to treat your stretch marks: surgery and non invasive treatments. The first is the only surefire method for removing stretch marks completely. The second type of treatment includes topical creams and exfoliation treatments. This type of solution helps reduce their appearance of stretch marks but does not remove them.

One of the most common treatments is microdermabrasion for stretch marks. This procedure gradually removes the upper layers of dead and abnormal skin cells and replaces them with new, healthy ones. It is a very slow procedure, but most women claim that it is effective in treating stretch marks.

Stretch mark balms are another non-invasive treatment. It's not easy to choose just one product when there are so many to choose from; however, if you read the labels carefully, you'll be more apt to choosing a product that is right for your skin.

Look for products that claim to repair collagen and elastin. Both of these components are essential to healthy, unblemished skin. The idea is to find a product that will remove the damaged scar tissue and help replace it with a healthy skin structure.

Certain ingredients, such as retinol, neuropeptides and Vitamin C are essential ingredients in stretch mark creams because they help boost collagen production. Nano-lipobelle and cynergy TK are also known to help promote the production of both collagen and elastin.

You should use products that stimulate collagen production, but not those that have collagen. Collagen molecules are too large to penetrate the skin pores, so if you do purchase this type of product, you will be wasting your money and doing nothing to help treat your skin.