# How does one remove stretch marks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 21, 2011, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-remove-stretch-marks/586278 "2011-06-21T10:59:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-remove-stretch-marks/586278/1 "2011-06-21T10:59:38Z")
Without putting too fine a point on it, there is a lady of my acquaintence with 4 children, and when she used to bend over, her shirt would ride up and stretch marks would be apparent. Now they are no longer there, and a man I know, who has lost a large amount of weight, would like to duplicate this. What methods help remove stretch marks? ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-remove-stretch-marks/586278/2 "2011-06-22T02:47:53Z")
Time, mostly. To reduce the appearance of ‘mature’ stretch marks (white scars, or just colorless but ‘empty’ textured areas as in my case) there are prescription creams you can apply, other chemical treatments, laser resurfacing, dermabrasion, and various technologies that work very well. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-remove-stretch-marks/586278/3 "2011-06-22T08:06:09Z")
I always wondered about this simply because I seem to have stretch marks on my knees solely due to that being an actively mobile area of the body. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-remove-stretch-marks/586278/4 "2011-06-22T15:25:41Z")
I have heard that cocoa butter helps, anecdotal only. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-remove-stretch-marks/586278/5 "2011-06-22T15:36:52Z")
Time will fade them, or plastic surgery can remove the skin if weight is lost and the skin has loosened. They likely didn’t actually go away in the woman’s case, unless she had plastic surgery to remove the stretch-marked skin. They start out red or purple, and fade to near-skin-tone over time, becoming noticeable only from very close by. They’re scar tissue, not just blemishes. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-remove-stretch-marks/586278/6 "2011-06-22T15:39:17Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I have heard that cocoa butter helps, anecdotal only. I believe it helps in prevention, not really in removing them after the fact. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-remove-stretch-marks/586278/7 "2011-06-22T16:41:39Z")
Time heals all wounds. About a hundred years ago when I was young, I was pumping iron and my biceps grew so fast I developed stretch marks. I can still see faint signs of them, but no one else would notice, even if they had a bizarre desire to look at the upper arms of an old man. ---
**Author:** ![Tarwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@Tarwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarwater)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-remove-stretch-marks/586278/8 "2011-06-22T23:17:57Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > I believe it helps in prevention, not really in removing them after the fact. There’s [no indication](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/health/15real.html) that it helps fade or prevent stretchmarks. Stretch marks will fade with time. My younger brother had stretchmarks after working out in the gym and putting on some 25 pounds in the space of 3 months. They were most visible around his chest and arm-pits, but they’ve faded over time and now they’re barely visible. He’s a little vain, so he checked with a dermatologist to see if they could be removed or made less visible. His dermatologist recommended a glycolic acid peel, which, I guess, can penetrate below the surface of the skin and promote collagen production. He decided to live with it. In either case, two or three years after they appeared, they faded to a very pale color that’s hard to make out against his natural skin tone. The wiki article on [stretch marks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stretch_marks#Removal) mentions a fractional laser resurfacing treatment treatment that can reduce their appearance by up to 75%, with well over 80% of the participants reporting that they were satisfied with the treatment. ---
**Author:** ![tiffanyreys00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9bd4f/32.png) [@tiffanyreys00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiffanyreys00)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-remove-stretch-marks/586278/9 "2011-06-26T22:21:40Z")
Removing it after the fact is all about consistency. Preferred use is usually twice a day, in the morning and then night. I had success with Excel Skin Care’s all purpose cream. They have a store on Amazon ans that’s where I have found the best deals.