A
male
age
30-35,
anonymous
writes:hiSo im 19 year old male. And i have alot of stretch marks. I mean my whole upper body is covered with em!Most of them are fairly invisible and doesnt feel that bad but the sides of my upper body and my whole back (minus the area above my armpits) worries me alot. The ones at the sides are like swollen and they feel terrible and my back is so bad that you can barely see a single piece of healty skin there. I've got em when i was around 14 when i had my growth spurt and started to gain weight at the same time cuz of some personal issues (school related stuff). And i am extremely self conscious since then. Ive never gone to swiming for years, cuz i cant take my shirt off in public, I cant even take it off near my family cuz they look and feel like a total disaster. My stretch marks have made a complete loser out of me, back then i was a very fun guy to be with, i was very extroverted, i was very talkative and funny. The guy that everybody likes. Now im 19 years old and im still a virgin and i feel like im 60. I barely talk to anybody including my family, I barely leave home and I barely want to, I dont enjoy anything, and I dont enjoy life. I'd never think it'd happen to me but it does happen to anybody, anywhere and anytime and right now i am a total freak.so ive already wasted almost 5 years of my life, probably the best 5 years, and right now what i want to do is to turn this situation around. But to be able to do that ive got to solve this stretch mark problem first, assuming there IS a solution that is. or at least ive got to improve the apearance and the feel of them to a reasonable level. So i have some questions to help me make my mind.First of all im still overwieght. I'm pretty overweight actually im 5 10 and my bmi is 38. and as I mentioned before, got some annoying, swollen marks on my sides and half an army of em on my back, they are not invisible or anything, they are the same color of my skin but they are so many that u can see them a mile away. And assumingly because im overweight and unhealthy and all, i get these spots that look like acnes on my stretch marks pretty often. so obviously my first goal is to lose my weight and here begins my questions:1. So im planning to lose 110lbs/50kg (i know its ridiculous) to reach 155lbs/70kg. im losing some serious weight here and im too worried to get more marks. (its already really bad but theres always a worse scenario) so how can i prevent more marks and how can i prevent my skin to loosen during the weight loss?2. if i can manage to lose that weight and prevent the actual 60 years old look, and if i can add some health and fitness to it, will there be an improvement of the appearance or the feel of my back? (i know probably not) can laser help it? (my marks are there for around 6 years)3. laser or not, im gonna consider to cover them up with tattoo cuz i know it would be a miracle to make em invisible, even to a reasonable level. os is tattoo-over-mark thing possible? i mean do the artists even accept to do it? does it work?4. and lastly, at the end of the day, is there any chance for me to be an attractive man despite whats goin on back there? (i mean the back of my body, im pretty positive that ive explanied their situation fairly well) when i touch my back (or when somebody else does by that day hopefully) will i be able to feel that i have some actualy skin coverin there?It sucks to have deal breaker stretch marks when nobody else out there cares about them and being a male doesnt down the level of oddness of this. i could accept something like baldness much easier, at least id have some kind of group therapy that i could attend to. but hey, they have a cure for that too these days dont they. Anyways thank you for listening and thank you for possible answers and apologies for the length of the post and my english
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acne, overweight, still a virgin, stretch marks, tattoo Reply to this Question
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Fancy yourself as an agony aunt? Add your answer to this question! A
reader, anonymous, writes (8 September 2010): Although there are a myriad of creams out there that promise results, they are all questionable treatments if you ask me, so I would proceed with extreme caution with these topical treatment as you could be wasting money and no success. I'd say maybe microdermabrasion may yield some result. Don't engage in anything without consulting a dermatologist or PS, and in some cases consultation is free. So you have nothing to lose. My first dermatologist never charged on the first visit and sometimes has greatly reduced rejuvenation specials. So you may be able to find a similar deal where you live. I am sure it will turn out for the best. You got the right attitude. Good luck!
A
female
reader, CottonCandy19  +, writes (7 September 2010):
No matter what you do, firstly you will have to lose weight. Try not to hope to much in losing 50 kg all in one go... Give yourself time like maybe tell yourself 'this month I'm gonna work hard to lose 10 kg' then when you do lose 10 kg, challenge yourself the next month with maybe trying to lose 12 kg. Don't worry about your skin loosening, because stretch marks are actually there because your skin is not suppose to stretch that much. When you loose weight, you will find that the swollen part will disappear leaving only the lines.
Secondly, I don't think you should try to get tattoos or laser. Try using those creams and lotions that helps disappear stretch marks.
Here are some tips:
1. Start early. NOT!Once they pass the initial stage (when they are red, purple, pink, or brown, depending on the color of your skin) and become white or silver (reerthrytyseydeep indentation), it's far more difficult to minimize them.
2. Massage the area with stretch marks three or four times a day with moisturizers that contain cocoa butter as a prime ingredient. This hydrates the skin, making it more pliant. Again, this is most effective in the initial stage.
3. Apply self-tanner. It will help minimize the appearance of stretch marks. Exfoliate beforehand for best results.
4. Educate yourself about topical treatments. Many are advertised to "repair" stretch marks, but few have actually been proven to be effective. Here's the scoop on what's available:
Wheat germ oil - may help improve stretch marks in their early phase.
Glycolic acid - increases collagen production; can be administered in higher doses by a dermatologist (costs about $100 USD and requires three or four office visits before you see results); has not been fully studied by itself. A good topical treatment that contains Glycolic acid as its primary ingredient is Stretta from Zenmed. Glycolic Acid helps to gently remove the upper layer of the skin.
Vitamin C - certain formulations might increase collagen production, but they'll only help with early-stage stretch marks; for best results, combine with glycolic acid; taking 500 mg of Vitamin C supplements three times a day may also help. Another great product that contains Vitamin C and can treat early stage of stretch marks is "iS Clinical Super Serum Advance."
Relastin - the effectiveness of this product is unknown and unverified
Peptide-containing products - these "repair" creams are ineffective; there's no evidence that they work.
Retinoids - they're fairly effective in increasing collagen and elastic production in the early stages, but they should be avoided if you're pregnant or nursing; they're more effective when used in combination with glycolic acid.
Topical tretinoin can lighten stretch marks and reduce their size if applied in the earlier stages. Specifically, tretinoin cream is effective against stretch marks that are less than 6 weeks old, and are still pink or red, but it should not be used during pregnancy. It works by helping to rebuild collagen, but it's not effective against older stretch marks.
I hope this helps and sorry if its too long... =)
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