• Our Bodies

 Let’s talk about stretch marks

By Ruth Nderitu on

How often do you take a look at your body? What is it that you love about your body?

Do you have a specific thing that you do not like about your body?  How about your skin? Is there something you wish you can change?

I grew up as a petite girl until my adolescent period where I ballooned and little did I know that fat would come with its fair share of challenges; Mine came with stretch marks.

 At first, it was a struggle to accept the new changes that came with growth but years later, I learned to own them proudly.  I actually thought it was going to be temporary and would disappear if I lost weight. On-campus, I lost weight and the stretch marks became even more.

Alaar!

Today I wear my stripes with pride!

What are Stretch marks?

Stretch marks are long, narrow streaks or stripes that occur when the skin is stretched or shrinks too quickly. They tend to appear on the abdomen, breasts, hips, thighs, buttocks, or other parts of the body. My friends have nicknamed theirs as ‘tiger stripes.

Both men and women can have stretch marks. 

The stretching of the skin can be caused by pregnancy, puberty, and rapid weight gain or loss. This is because the stretching and shrinking causes proteins in your skin to break down and the skin then tries to heal itself but leaves behind the scars we call stretch marks. Stretch marks can happen to anyone with skin — but women are most susceptible.

Stretch marks aren’t painful or harmful, but some people don’t like the way they make their skin look. It is important to note that you can’t prevent stretch marks. However, there are many home remedies flaunted to help prevent or eliminate stretch marks.

Unfortunately, since the marks are really scars, there aren’t any accurately effective ways to stop them other than not gaining and losing significant amounts of weight. Researchers have looked at the various home remedies and they have not found much success with them.

As a result, it is critical to start embracing wholeheartedly your skin with its stretch marks and accept them for all they represent— whether it’s childbirth, weight gain, or some other life transformation that happened to you.

It can be harder to own our struggles all thanks to all the perfect pictures on social media.  However, just like growth, this process of self-love and acceptance is not an overnight choice. It will take some time but it will all depend on you.

Perfection is an illusion and every human being is struggling with something they don’t like about them. Choose confidence and proudly wear it every single day.

Over to you, how do you feel about having stretch marks? Let’s talk in the comments section.