How to prevent stretch marks, and treat them once they're permanent

CapeTalk's Sara-Jayne Makwala King is joined by Dr Judey Pretorius, a biomedical scientist and founder of Biomedical Emporium.

Some people really hate their stretch marks, but they are completely natural and can occur as we go through the different phases of our lives.

Whether they show up during puberty, pregnancy, or after sudden weight changes for instance, stretch marks affect people of all ages and skin tones.

Biomedical scientist Dr Judey Pretorius describes them as a network of little tears in the skin.

"Think of a raisin compared to a normal grape - the raisin is dehydrated with a pronounced wrinkled effect while the grape is plump and elastic... One of the components is when the skin is severely dry AND it requires to be stretched. The first stretching we have to go through is of course when we grow... Pregnancy is also a well-known case where our skin requires elasticity, and then typically men who want to body build and the skin has to stretch around the affected muscle area."

Dr Judey Pretorius, Founder - Biomedical Emporium

"It's not a disease, it's not life-threatening... and those 'streaks' we find can usually be traced back to the fact that the skin requires moisture and if it doesn't have sufficient hydration it starts to stretch..."

Dr Judey Pretorius, Founder - Biomedical Emporium

Genetics do come into play - women, for instance, are up to 40% more prone to stretch marks than men, Dr Pretorius says.

The good news is that if your stretch marks have some colour to them and you start to treat them right away, they can virtually be eliminated.

"They can be pink or purple or a bit browner than your natural skin tone... and this is when you should start bringing in your topical ointments and oils. If you leave them, the stretch marks are going to start losing that colour and fade in with your natural skin tone."

Dr Judey Pretorius, Founder - Biomedical Emporium

"I like to tell people to be proactive and preventative - apply as much as you can while you see the stretch mark still has colour because then you still have a very good chance to get rid of it."

Dr Judey Pretorius, Founder - Biomedical Emporium

The key ingredients you should be looking for when you shop for these topical treatments are hyaluronic acid and retinol, if you are not pregnant, she advises.

Hyaluronic acid has the ability to capture more moisture back into the skin up to a thousand fold than what your skin is used to.

And while we tend to associate retinol with anti-ageing treatments, it will also be effectivein the case of stretch marks as it boosts cell turnover rates.

"If the cell turnover rates improve along with higher moisture retention through the hyaluronic acid, then immediately the texture of the skin would look good. But remember that pregnant women are not allowed to use retinol because it can cause foetal defects."

Dr Judey Pretorius, Founder - Biomedical Emporium

Products that contain caffeine can also be helpful, she says, as this stimulates faster circulation and in so doing boosts healing.

What about the popular products like shea and cocoa butters or oils?

Dr Pretorius categorises these as carriers for active ingredients, and the products that pregnant women can use.

"These are actually only delivery systems that don't contain remarkable active ingredients.... and when you are pregnant it's actually all you can use because it calms the skin down. There's not too much of a high activity in there and nothing that can really cause harm to an unborn baby."

Dr Judey Pretorius, Founder - Biomedical Emporium

Dr Pretorius also discusses the professional treatments available that can help to minimise the appearance of stretch marks - take a listen in the interview audio at the top of the article