Stretch marks are narrow bands of scarred skin that form when skin is stretched faster than it can adapt and the fibers underneath tear. They start red or purple, fade to pale over several years, and can be made less noticeable - but no treatment removes them. Depressed scars caused by loss or altered organisation of supporting tissue.
The same eight facts on every condition comparison.
Striae rubrae New, red to purple marks.
Striae albae Older, white to silver marks.
Striae gravidarum From pregnancy.
Atrophic Scars Shallow depressions create an uneven surface across the cheek.
Rapid tissue changes and hormonal factors can alter collagen and elastic fibers in the dermis. The affected skin forms narrow streaks that often become paler as they mature.
Inflammation or injury damages tissue in the dermis. Healing leaves too little structural support, allowing the skin surface to form a depression.
Stretch Marks. Often develop during adolescent growth, pregnancy or other rapid body changes.
Atrophic Scars. Develops after relevant injury, inflammation or tissue change; age depends on the cause.
Stretch marks form when skin stretches faster than it can adapt, tearing the collagen and elastic fibers in the dermis.
Healing leaves insufficient dermal support after inflammation or injury.
They run in families.
Evidence labels come from each condition’s own treatment list.
Treatment is optional and depends on scar depth and shape. A dermatologist may combine resurfacing or focal procedures; the goal is improvement rather than complete removal.
Cocoa butter has been tested in randomized trials against a plain placebo cream and did not show a clear benefit for preventing stretch marks. Olive oil and the bio oils sold alongside it are in the same position. They are pleasant to use and they soften itchy skin, and that is the honest reason to buy one.
Neither collagen supplements nor drinking more water has been shown to prevent stretch marks. The tearing happens in the supportive layer during a rapid stretch under hormonal influence, and nothing taken by mouth has been shown to change that. Family history is doing most of the work here, and no supplement changes it.
Applied over the marks themselves rather than around them, self-tanner brings pale marks closer to the surrounding color and substantially reduces how visible they are on a given day. Camouflage makeup does the same for a single occasion. Neither changes the scar, and both need repeating, but for mature marks they do more for appearance than most of the creams sold for the purpose.
The over-the-counter version of tretinoin, and weaker. It is a reasonable thing to try on red marks if a prescription is not an option, used nightly over months, but the evidence sits behind tretinoin and the results are smaller. It has nothing to offer white marks, and it is not used in pregnancy.
Of the massaged preparations sold for prevention in pregnancy, the ones containing centella asiatica or hyaluronic acid have the only supportive evidence, and it is limited and low quality. That is a long way from the claims on the packaging. Low risk, uncertain benefit, reasonable to try and not to rely on.
The one cream with real evidence behind it, and only on marks that are still red or purple. Used nightly over months it can make new marks narrower and less obvious by prompting collagen while the skin is still remodeling. It irritates, so it is built up slowly. It must not be used in pregnancy or while breastfeeding, which rules out the most common cause of stretch marks.
Fraxel. The best-evidenced device for mature white marks, and useful on red ones too. It puts columns of controlled heat into the supportive layer to force a fresh round of collagen remodeling, over three to six sessions spaced weeks apart. Expect partial improvement in texture and how noticeable they are, not removal. On deeper skin tones it is used at conservative settings after a test patch, because of the pigment risk.
Fine needles make controlled micro-injuries that prompt new collagen in the scarred layer. Improvement is modest and needs a course of sessions, but it carries a lower risk of leaving dark marks than lasers do, which makes it the more sensible first device on deeper skin tones. It works on both red and white marks.
An ablative laser that removes columns of skin rather than only heating them, so downtime is longer and the response can be larger. It is the highest-risk option on this page for post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation and for thickened scars on the chest, shoulders and upper back, which is why it is not a first choice on deeper skin tones.
Targets the widened blood vessels that make new marks red or purple, so it is for the early stage only and does nothing for white ones. It can take the color down over a few sessions. On deeper skin tones it carries a real risk of leaving dark marks behind, so it is used cautiously and after a test patch, if at all.
Morpheus8. Microneedling with radiofrequency heat delivered at the needle tips, which reaches deeper into the scarred layer. Reported results are modest improvements in texture and firmness over a course of sessions. Because the energy is not aimed at pigment, it is another option worth discussing on deeper skin tones.
Targeted ultraviolet light used to bring color back into white marks so they blend with the skin around them. It changes the color difference, not the scar, and the effect fades over months unless it is repeated. Narrowband ultraviolet B is used the same way. It is a cosmetic option rather than a repair.
Medium-depth peels have some evidence for modest improvement in mature marks, mostly when used alongside another treatment rather than on their own. Because they work by controlled injury, the same pigment cautions apply on deeper skin tones, and a test patch is worth insisting on.
It polishes the surface layer, and the tear that made the stretch mark is well below that. It is commonly sold as a stretch mark treatment and the published results are minimal. If a clinic is offering this as their answer, it is worth asking what else they do.
New stretch marks often become paler and less noticeable over time, but mature marks usually remain. Treatment may improve their appearance, especially while marks are newer, but results vary and complete removal is unlikely.
Depressed scars generally persist, although their appearance may soften over time. Procedures can improve selected scars, but complete removal is unlikely and results depend on scar type.
The scar itself is fixed
Little further change. They keep becoming less noticeable as contrast drops, but the scar is fixed. Stretch marks do not become dangerous and do not need treatment.
Scars can affect confidence; symptoms and treatment options depend on scar type.
Seek assessment for sudden extensive marks without an obvious growth or weight change, especially with steroid exposure or other hormonal symptoms.
Have a new growing, bleeding or ulcerated scar-like lesion examined before cosmetic treatment.
No. They are scars, and the change in the dermis is permanent. What does happen reliably is fading - the red or purple drains out over one to three years and the marks go pale. Most people stop seeing them long before they would call them gone.
Not dependably. Family history is the strongest predictor and you cannot change it. Steady weight gain rather than bursts may help. The creams and oils sold for prevention have weak evidence, and cocoa butter was tested without clear benefit. A plain moisturizer is comfort, not prevention.
Some things give modest improvement. Fractional non-ablative laser has the most evidence; microneedling has reasonable evidence with lower pigment risk on deeper skin tones; light-based treatment temporarily brings color back so marks blend. All need several sessions and all give partial results.
Body size is only one factor. Growth spurts, rapid muscle gain, pregnancy and hormone changes cause marks at any size, and genetics decides how susceptible your skin is. Marks across the shoulders and upper back in a fit young man are common.
For comfort and itching, a plain moisturizer is worth it and need not be expensive. For removing or preventing marks, the evidence does not support the prices. Prescription tretinoin is the one topical with real evidence; it only works while marks are red, and not in pregnancy.
Reasonable if they bother you, with realistic numbers. Published results describe partial improvement in color and texture over several sessions, not clearance. Ask the provider what percentage improvement they expect for your marks, how many sessions that assumes, and to see their before-and-after photographs on skin like yours.
Depressed scars caused by loss or altered organisation of supporting tissue.
Protect from sun, avoid picking and control active inflammation before elective scar procedures.
Have a new growing, bleeding or ulcerated scar-like lesion examined before cosmetic treatment.
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