While stretch marks are most commonly associated with pregnancy, the fact is stretch marks are something men and women can both get. Pregnancy, weight gain, and your skin changing shape are the most common causes of stretch marks. Today we are looking at how to prevent stretch marks. Many ladies who are pregnant will wonder how to avoid stretch marks during pregnancy, but no matter if it is pregnancy or your body going through weight loss, weight gain, or muscle building, you will find some good information here.

Tips for Preventing Stretch Marks

Here we have some of the more common ways that you can keep stretch marks at bay. If you have any major concerns please speak with your doctor.

• Stay Hydrated: Many guides on how to prevent stretch marks during pregnancy will suggest staying hydrated. This is because your skin stays much more supple if you are properly hydrated which is the first line of defense when it comes to stopping stretch marks. Men want to make sure they are drinking at least 13 cups of water a day, women 9, but if she is pregnant this should be increased to 11.

• Vitamin C & Vitamin D: Both Vitamin C and Vitamin D work wonders in taking care of your skin. Making sure you have plenty of fruit will give your body plenty of Vitamin C. Vitamin D can be obtained by exposing yourself to sunlight or Vitamin D supplements.

• Moisturize Your Skin: One of the most common ways people are told how to prevent stretch marks is to moisturize their skin. If you are pregnant it is your stomach that you will want to target. However, arms, legs and other parts of the body that are going to be changing due to weight changes should also be targeted. You can get all kinds of moisturizer these days, some of which are made with preventing stretch marks as their main selling point.

• Ease into Your Weight Gain: Managing your weight gain is a great way that you can prevent your body from changing too rapidly. Managing the number of calories you are eating each day, not just eating what you want because you are eating for two, will certainly help. Pregnant women on average are only supposed to eat an extra 200 calories per day. Doing this will result in a more controlled weight gain during pregnancy and lessen the chance of stretch marks.

• Exercise: What exercising does is help with your skin's elasticity. This is because your circulation is improved and the end result of this is that your body is far better equipped to deal with any changes that it is going through. Exercise is an ideal way to prevent stretch marks if you are pregnant as well as if you are losing weight.

Treatment Methods for Stretch Marks

We just talked about preventing stretch marks, but now we are going to look at some of the most common treatment methods for treating stretch marks when you get them. Please be sure to ask a doctor if you have any questions about using any of these methods.

1. Popular Home Remedies

• Sugar: A mixture of a tablespoon of sugar, a couple of drops of lemon, and a pinch of almond oil create a great mixture that you can use as a scrub. Use it every day, just before you go into the shower.

• Aloe Vera: Aloe Vera is something you want to gently rub into your skin after a shower like you would a moisturizer. Its natural healing properties and skin-softening qualities mean that it is a top choice as a skin treatment. Using Aloe Vera each day is a popular way to treat stretch marks.

• Egg White: When you start the quest to find out how to avoid stretch marks during pregnancy, pasting egg whites on your body may not be what comes to mind. However, applying a thick covering of egg white to stretch marks on a daily basis has proven to have good stretch mark treating properties.

• Lemon Juice: Thanks to its acidic properties, rubbing fresh lemon juice into your stretch marks for around ten minutes each day can really help your skin. Just remember to wash it off with warm water afterward.

• Natural Oil: Coconut, almond, olive and many other natural oils have all proven to be fantastic at treating stretch marks. You need to gently massage your chosen oil onto the affected area. Be sure to research the different kinds of oils so you can find one that suits you best.

2. Medical Treatment

If you find that natural home remedies are not working for you there are medical treatments available. You will need to discuss this with your doctor, but needling, microdermabrasion, and laser therapy are the main ways that stretch marks are medically treated. Before you consider this be sure to try the different home remedies.

We hope that you now have a better understanding of how to prevent stretch marks and how you can treat them in a natural way. If you do have any serious concerns about stretch marks and have tried many of the different home remedies, please have a talk with your doctor. One other thing to remember is that stretch marks are harmless and not a hazard to your health so do not worry about them.