Vitamin A is Not As Bad For Stretch Marks As What People Think

There are two stands regarding the use of vitamin A for stretch marks. Some believe that it can only worsen the marks. While some believe that it helps in mark removal. This article focuses on the latter, specifically on how vitamin A can help in reducing the appearance of stretch marks.

What is Vitamin A?

Vitamin A, or retinol, is popularly known as the vitamin that contributes to a healthy vision. It is also anti-xerophthlamic, meaning it prevents the coverings of the eyeball and linings of the eyelids from drying up.

However, only a few people know that it also contributes to the overall health of our skin. What vitamin A really does is that it stimulates the rhodopsin's regeneration. Rhodopsion is a pigment found inside our retina. This thus implies that vitamin A has a hand in the regeneration of new cells. What this tells us is that vitamin A can help our skin cells regenerate and is thus capable of making our marks go away or fade.

In most women, their stretch marks appear during their pregnancy. This is because the skin on their abdomen expands in order to accommodate the growing baby inside. Because of overstretching, stretch marks start to form as the dermis and epidermis breaks and develops little tears and wounds. These wounds then turn into scars after the skin has healed. These long and thin scars are what we normally call stretch marks.

It has been found that the appearance of stretch marks may improve when our skin regenerates cells. However, this regeneration is typically insufficient and happens at a slow rate. The result is that the marks become a permanent fixture on our problem areas.

How Does Vitamin A Function?

Vitamins are antioxidants that fight free radicals, which can contribute to skin aging and sagging. They also enhance our overall health. Vitamin A can reduce the severity of marks, and it can accomplish this in three different ways.

- First, vitamin A blocks ultraviolet radiation from penetrating the outer layer of our skin. There are two forms of ultraviolet radiation that are known to cause damage. The first is UVA, which is related to skin cancer. The other is UVB, which causes sunburn. When our skin absorbs UVA and UVB, its ability to heal decreases. Vitamin A stops UVA and UVB from doing further damage to skin with existing marks.

- Second, vitamin A can bring about the regeneration of epidermal cells, or skin cells. When our skin cells are encouraged to regenerate, new and healthier skin will take the place of our unsightly stretch marks. This way, the severity of the marks will be decreased. It may even lead to a total elimination of the unwanted scars.

- Finally, vitamin A regulates the growth of our cells. When this happens, our skin would continue to produce smoother and healthier surface.

Where to Get Vitamin A?

Vitamin A comes from fruits and vegetables, such as squash, carrots, and green leafy vegetables. You may also use mark removal creams and other products out in the market today that has vitamin A as one of its ingredients.

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Stretch Mark Cream - A Plethora of Options to Choose From

When the skin becomes thin owing to damage, it gets prone to tearing. A tear happens usually when the skin is overstretched. Before the actual tear happens, stretch marks appear wherever the overlying epidermis has thinned out. Use of a stretch mark cream regenerates the skin and strengthens it.

Constituents Of Stretch Mark Cream

A variety of topical creams that can help in preventing stretch marks are available. Some creams that help in removing stretch marks contain exfoliating agents. Stretch mark creams also contain retinoic acid commonly known as vitamin A and moisturizers like derivatives of olive oil, cocoa butter for stretch marks, emu oil, rose hip oil etc.

Yet others have organic helichrysum which is a certified skin restoration extract found in Corsica. The combination of this extract with rose hip seed oil is a formula that not only heals existing stretch marks but also prevents them from forming.

The skin which has stretch marks also becomes discolored. To help get rid of this, willow bark is used in stretch mark creams. People who have sensitive skin can go in for creams with only collagen and elastin which acts on the stretch marks by lubricating the skin.

Emu oil which is a basic part in stretch mark creams is found in almost all the creams across the board. This oil is derived from a bird called the Emu and doctors have testified its therapeutic properties. Emu oil improves collagen production and also acts as a natural moisturizer. Hyaluronic Acid or Matrixyl is another constituent commonly used in all kinds of creams like vitamin E stretch marks creams or barmon stretch mark creams. It acts on sagging loose skin and helps to tighten and tone it.

Unique ingredients of creams that help preventing stretch marks are copper peptides. These help in the replacement of the surface skin which has got scarred by deposits of new skin.

You might wonder why just stretch marks cream and not any other alternative treatment? Well, there are many other alternative treatments available like surgery, laser therapy and light abrasives etc. However, clinically it has been proven that stretch mark creams have a longer lasting effect than any other treatment. Not just that they also are gentle on the skin as they contain moisturizers to revitalize and rejuvenate it. Natural extracts like Aloe Vera soothes the skin and cocoa butter and shea butter help improve and retain elasticity.

A good option for anybody going in for a cream to prevent or treat stretch marks would be to consider constituents of various creams in detail and then choose a product which matches their skin type. You should be careful about checking for possible allergens in the ingredients and money back guarantees are always welcome in the purchase of such products.

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