Stretch marks materialize when your skin grows faster than normal. Common occurrences of stretch marks arise during sudden growth spurts. Puberty is one such growth spurt that usually happens during teenage years, however there is a “second coming” of puberty, so to speak, that occurs during the mid to late twenties. This is more of a “horizontal” than “vertical” growth spurt and corresponds to a thickening of the body. For men, it can manifest in the shoulders, torso and stomach. For women, this is shown mostly in the breasts, buttocks and hips, as they begin to widen with maturity. The most commonplace emergence of stretch marks is during pregnancy when a woman’s breasts and stomach are prone to accelerated growth: the pregnant belly grows on average one centimeter per week!

Whatever the cause of stretch marks, its unquestionable that they are not the most attractive accessory to the body. In this how to, we will discuss how to prevent and minimize stretch marks - the cheap and easy way. Making homemade stretch mark cream can be a fun enterprise for expectant mothers to undertake. Pregnancy is a time when women often begin to pay more attention to the ingredients in the foods they eat and the products they purchase, and taking control by researching and creating homemade products can be empowering as well as beneficial to the health and well being of the mama and the little one!

The rapid growth that accompanies the emergence of stretch marks requires a different therapy than eliminating stretch marks after they have already materialized. Preventative techniques can work by preparing the body and the skin for the growth spurt before it happens. If you are lucky enough to know beforehand (for instance, during the onset of a pregnancy) that you will be growing at astronomical rates, then you will want to use ingredients that help increase and encourage the elasticity of the skin - not ingredients that aid in the tightening of the skin. The “elasticity encouraging” ingredients should be used throughout the pregnancy or growth spurt, while the “tightening” ingredients should be used directly after the growth spurt has ceased.

Elasticity-encouraging ingredients include: ose water, coconut butter or coconut oil, parsley oil, vitamin e oil, aloe vera, calendula, gotu kola and olive oil. These ingredients aid the skin’s natural elasticity so that “over-reaching” or loss of skin elasticity, which manifests in the form of stretch marks is minimized or does not occur at all.

Skin tightening ingredients include: grapeseed oil, turmeric, rosemary, anise, vitamin c crystals, grapefruit, seaweed peptides, aloe vera, honey and beeswax.

In addition to creams, diet is also an important factor in maintaining healthy skin. Make sure you ingest plenty of antioxidants, get regular exercise (even daily long walks are good), and never forget to drink at least 8 cups of water per day.

There are many, many stretch mark products available; each claims to be “groundbreaking” and the best on the market. Whether you’re a teenager or a maturing woman, it’s a good idea to empower yourself by making decisions based on actual facts rather than marketing hype. In other words, do your own due diligence and know your ingredients. If you can’t read your ingredients (or repeat them out loud once you have read them), then you probably don’t know what they are, and if you don’t know what they are, they could be anything!

Once you inspect the ingredients in several stretch mark cream products, you will probably discover that most creams use similar active ingredients - and then they will use “filler ingredients” to make their product unique. The filler ingredients will affect the consistency, smell and texture of the cream. You will also notice that products vary in price by pretty wide margins. Trilastin is a product whose claim to fame is being featured on The Tyra Banks Show, “All About The Booty.” http://www.stretchmarks.com/ A one month supply is almost $80.00, and the list of ingredients is nowhere to be found on the website. However, if you do a bit more research, you will find the ingredients listed here: http://72.3.161.113/InstantKB13/article.aspx?id=10001. Take a quick look. There are over fifty ingredients listed, which serves to make the brand proprietary (and difficult to copy), but which of the ingredients are actually active? And why are the ingredients that aren’t active even included? What we don’t know can hurt us, so let’s simplify. We'll begin with the basic facts and work our way forward.

Depending on what stage you're in - prevention or elimination (ie: elasticity-encouraging or tightening), you should gather the ingredients that you want to experiment with. It's okay to use some or all of the ingredients listed above for each type of stretch cream. You want to make sure that you have at least one type of oil in your mix and you will probably want to include an emulsifying wax. This is not necessary, but without it, you will have to shake your cream each time you use it or else the ingredients will separate based upon their particular densities. If you use the emulsifying wax, then your cream will remain homogenous and the individual parts will not separate. The emulsifying wax has no side effects and no health benefits. Using it is simply a matter of aesthetic preference. The same can be said for essential oils. You can include lavender oil, vanilla oil or your favorite essential oil if you want your cream to smell nice.

A nice, simple and cheap recipe for stretch mark cream to encourage elasticity and prevent stretch marks: Heat 1/2 cup of emulsifying wax to 125 degrees. Stir until smooth. In a blender combine 1/2 cup coconut oil, 1/2 cup aloe vera gel, 8 vitamin 3 capsules (opened), and 1/2 cooled emulsifying wax until fluffy. Use twice per day.

To eliminate stretch marks after the growth spurt, heat 1/2 cup of emulsifying wax to 125 degrees. Stir until smooth. In a blender combine 1/2 cup grapeseed oil, 1/2 cup aloe vera gel, 2 tablespoons grapefruit juice, two tablespoons turmeric, 3 tablespoon vitamin c crystals, and one tablespoon honey until fluffy. Use twice per day.

Aloe vera juice is good for the skin no matter what stage in the treatment process you are in, since it increases circulation. Another tip is to make sure that when you are applying the cream, use the opportunity to give yourself a massage. Self massages also help to activate circulation in the skin and to promote rapid cell growth.