What Happens to Stretch Marks As You Age?
Aging is a normal part of life, however all too often we don’t consider what that actually means before it may be too late. It’s something which happens to everyone and will have an impact on almost every aspect of your life, so really, you need to know more.
Why do we age? Well the body is naturally designed to decline as we get older. This is a combination of our cells no longer being replicated and our immune system beginning to stop working. Essentially, it’s all part of our preprogramming and when we are born it is mapped out that our bodies will eventually start to slow down and stop.
What happens when we age? Well our bodies don’t continue to work at the same rate so there are some noticeable changes. The most prominent are normally with our skin as wrinkles become more apparent, though actually our skin does wrinkle throughout our lives. Skin can also become looser and less resilient leading to marking or scarring.
When we age it’s not just our skin that will change. Greater strain will be placed on muscles and joints while doing daily tasks. This can lead to long term or chronic problems with legs or back. In turn, this can mean mobility is badly impaired and independence can be lost.
Furthermore, in some cases, we can see the deterioration of people’s cognitive ability to make coherent decisions. Diseases which we are yet to fully understand may stop an older individual from being able to take care of themselves without help and support.
Aging can have some big impacts on our lives and to counter them we have to understand the extent of them. Thankfully for those who need some extra support there are people to help.
Support and care for the elderly
As we get older we have to be ready for the possibility that we will need care and support from specialists. In some cases, this decision it might be that a member of the family will need to make this decision as they are unable to provide the care needed.
Care homes, with specialist support staff, exist throughout the country and offer a range of services. Many of these don’t just have the standard facilities but have also built a lifestyle support service, creating communities between older people.
Stretch Marks
Stretch marks occur when your skin has been stretched past a certain point and therefore it cannot fully heal. This can happen for a few reasons but the majority of the time it is related to extreme weight gain, growth spurts, or pregnancy.
Elastin and collagen are both essential for keeping your skin elasticated. This elastic quality allows your skin to stretch and adapt without altering the shape or making marks. Middle layers of skin, and the epidermis, will then tear and cause red marks to appear. This will eventually form scar tissue and turn to a silver color but there will often be visible signs for your whole life.
A lot of the time stretch marks will occur when skin is not as healthy as it can be. Lack of hydration in skin and failure to be properly moisturized can all contribute to stretch marks. Similarly, a lack of vitamins and minerals in the skin can mean that we are more prone to stretch marks.
As we get older it is common for stretch marks to become more prominent. This is mainly due to skin becoming less toned and looser in key areas. Thinner and weaker layers of skin make these silver marks much more visible than when we are younger.
Treating Stretch Marks
So how can we treat stretch marks? It’s difficult to treat stretch marks when they appear and actually the most positive impacts are generally through preventative measures. The best way to do this is often just to keep your skin healthy generally.
Staying hydrated is hugely important to your overall health and the health of your skin. Moisturizer is also key to keeping your skin resilient and flexible. Regular moisturizing will allow your skin to stretch as much as possible therefore limiting the overstretching that causes stretch marks.
However, once you have stretch marks there are still a number of ways to treat them. There are number of lotions, ointments and pills available from a variety of well-known brands. You’ll also find some home remedies which are known to be effective.
There isn’t a right or wrong answer necessarily, but our tip is to look for vitamin A in the ingredients list. Vitamin A is vital to healthy skin and when combined with a moisturizer it can be very effective.
If you’re looking for something more drastic you can consider laser surgery. Powerful lasers can be used to target the scar tissue and destroy it. This effectively means you can remove the stretch marks entirely, though the results are generally better the earlier you start the treatment.
Unfortunately, stretch marks will only continue to be more visible with age. The key to preventing them is to keep your skin healthy and well hydrated while also ensuring you have enough vitamins and minerals.
We’ve recommended our favorite stretch mark creams on this site. Healthy skin is important not just for your looks but for your health, so make sure you’re taking care of it every day.
