A stretch mark is a type of scar the develops as our skin stretches or shrinks rapidly over a short period of time. They present as narrow, streak-like lines on the skins surface and around 90% of pregnant women will experience them in some capacity.
There are many factors that contribute to whether or not you will experience stretch marks, many believe it to be completely genetic, this however, is not the case. Yes, genetics can play a part here but ultimately it falls down to how your skin performs under pressure.
Everyone’s skin has a natural elasticity tolerance – once this is exceeded your skin will begin to develop small stretchmarks that start out as depressions in the skin and can be characterised by linear bands of red, sometimes purple and will fade overtime to become silver lines that can vary in width and depth.
They occur when the middle layer of the skin (dermis) is stretched past it’s limit and broken in places. When this process occurs the skins normal production of collagen can be disrupted.