Stretch Marks
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.
Key facts
Stretch Marks at a glance.
Typical signs
Streaks that fade in color
Common locations
Abdomen, thighs, hips, breasts
Expected course
Usually persist but fade
Treatment options
Optional topical or procedural treatment
What is it?
Top things to know about Stretch Marks
- They are changes in the dermis. Stretch marks form when skin stretches or changes rapidly.
- They change color over time. New marks may be red, purple or brown; older marks fade paler.
- Texture may remain. Older marks become less noticeable, though their texture can persist.
- Sudden widespread marks need review. They can signal steroid exposure or hormonal disease.
What it looks like
What Stretch Marks looks like
Stretch marks are lines or streaks where the skin has stretched quickly, damaging collagen and elastic fibers. They are common during growth spurts, pregnancy and weight changes. They appear on the stomach, breasts, hips, thighs, buttocks and upper arms. New stretch marks are often raised and colored, and over months to years they fade into flat, pale lines with a slightly wrinkled surface.
Stretch marks are grouped by age, since newer marks respond better to treatment.
Striae rubrae
New, red to purple marks.
Striae albae
Older, white to silver marks.
Striae gravidarum
From pregnancy.
Where it shows up
Common sites include the abdomen, thighs, buttocks and breasts. The map shows example visible areas; the shorts cover the buttocks.
Trunk
Locations on the front of the trunk.
Thighs
Locations on the upper legs.
On different skin tones
Stretch Marks on different skin tones
On lighter skin, new stretch marks look pink, red or purple, and old ones look silvery white. On brown and Black skin, new marks are often dark brown or purple, and older marks may be lighter or darker than the surrounding skin. They are equally common on all skin tones.
What happens in Stretch Marks?
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.
- A narrow streak remains: Early colored lines often become paler.
- Skin adapts to rapid change: Growth and hormonal factors can contribute.
- Support fibers are altered: Collagen and elastic tissue reorganize.
Causes and triggers
What causes Stretch Marks
Causes
Why it happens
Stretch marks form when skin stretches faster than it can adapt, tearing the collagen and elastic fibers in the dermis.
They run in families.
Risk factors
Raise the odds
- Pregnancy
- Teen growth spurts
- Rapid weight change
- Steroid medicines
Triggers
Bring it on or make it worse
- Rapid weight gain (Well established)
- Pregnancy (Well established)
- Fast muscle growth (Strong link)
When it usually starts
When it usually starts
Stretch Marks
Often develop during adolescent growth, pregnancy or other rapid body changes.
Daily care
Daily care for Stretch Marks
Gradual weight and muscle change
Slower change gives skin time to adapt.
Plain moisturizer on itchy new marks
Settles the itch that drives scratching.
Sunscreen over new and mature marks
Stops new marks darkening and old ones gaining contrast.
Self-tanner or camouflage makeup
Cuts how visible mature marks are on the day.
Treating an underlying cause
Dealing with a steroid medicine or high cortisol stops new marks.
Excimer light or narrowband ultraviolet B
Temporarily brings color back so white marks blend.
Arrange assessment for unexplained wide purple stretch marks or cortisol symptoms
Cushing syndrome causes wide purple marks on the trunk.
Discuss realistic treatment expectations while stretch marks are new
The red stage is when treatment does the most.
Discuss evidence and costs before buying stretch-mark treatments
Those months had the most to offer.
Avoid: Fast weight gain
Skin adapts to gradual change, not sudden.
Avoid: Crash dieting and rapid weight loss
Every large swing is another chance.
Avoid: Rapid muscle gain
Common on the shoulders, chest and upper arms in young men.
Avoid: Scratching itchy new marks
More inflammation in already inflamed skin.
Avoid: Sun exposure on new marks
It drives longer-lasting color change, especially on deeper skin tones.
Avoid: Tanning, in the sun or in a bed
Mature marks do not tan, so the contrast rises.
Treatments
Treatments for Stretch Marks
Cocoa butter and oils
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.
Collagen supplements
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.
Self-tanner and camouflage makeup
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.
Retinol
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.
Cica
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.
Tretinoin
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
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.
Microneedling
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.
Fractional CO2 Laser
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.
V-Beam
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.
RF Microneedling
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.
Excimer Laser
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.
Chemical Peel
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.
Microdermabrasion
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.
Outlook
What to expect with Stretch Marks
Knowing where you are in the sequence tells you what is realistic. Much of the improvement happens with no treatment, and the useful window is the first year, while the skin is still remodeling. Timings are typical, not fixed.
- 1
Appearing · First weeks
Flat or slightly raised lines, pink, red, purple or darker than the skin around them, often itchy. This is the striae rubrae stage, and the itch settles as they mature.
- 2
Extending · Months 1 to 6
Marks lengthen and widen along the stretch and the color deepens. New ones may keep appearing while the stretch continues.
- 3
Draining · Months 6 to 18
Color fades toward pink, brown or gray. The surface becomes finely wrinkled and slightly sunken.
- 4
Settling · Years 1 to 3
Marks turn pale, silvery or lighter than the skin around them, flat or slightly depressed, with a thin crepe-like surface. This is the striae albae stage.
- 5
Permanent · Years 3 and beyond
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.
Complications
Complications to know about
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.
When to get help
When to get help
When to seek care
Seek assessment for sudden extensive marks without an obvious growth or weight change, especially with steroid exposure or other hormonal symptoms.
Lookalikes
What else could it be?
Vitiligo
Stretch marks form parallel, slightly sunken lines. Vitiligo forms smooth patches with a sharper edge and a more complete loss of skin color.
Tinea Versicolor
Stretch marks are straight, parallel bands without scale. Tinea versicolor makes oval patches that can join together and have a fine, dusty scale.
Questions
Questions you might be asking.
Will my stretch marks ever go away completely?
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.
Can I prevent them in pregnancy?
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.
Does anything work on white stretch marks?
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.
Why do I have them when I am not overweight?
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.
Are the creams sold for stretch marks worth buying?
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.
Should I get laser treatment, and how much improvement should I expect?
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.
Sources