Hi, I know that stretch marks don't all completely disappear post-weightloss. But as you lose weight, your skin shrinks (to some degree) meaning that at least some stretch marks must go away. I gained 30 pounds in the last two years and with that came unsightly stretch marks on my upper arms among others places.

I've always had the silver-y faded row of stretch marks on my inner arms but these new ones cover half my arms. Looking at them makes me unbelievably depressed and throws me off losing weight.

So if people who have reached their goal or have lost significant amount of weight could share with me what happened to their stretch marks post-weight?

Mine never went away at all. In fact, I've actually had boyfriends point them out. For a reference point, I lost 60-70 pounds. :-)

Stretch marks don't really go away. They're a type of scar. The redness will fade away and they'll turn silvery, but they won't shrink or disappear.

No, the stretch marks don't go away. I've lost 100 pounds & took my time doing it (don't believe people who tell you slow weight loss will minimize them) and I've been maintaining for a while. They're still there, pale & silvery, as a reminder of my battle. Which I won.

I would rather have the stretch marks ... and be able to run a 5K, and do a really good downward-facing dog, and walk all day in the city without being tired, and wear cute clothes in stores that I never set foot in, and have the doctor beam at me every time he sees me & tell me how great my blood test, my EKG & my blood pressure are ... than not have stretch marks, and be fat, and getting fatter every year.

Life's hard. There are always tradeoffs. This is one of them. Compared with being healthy, active, and feeling good when I pass a mirror, it seems relatively minor.

I'm not at goal, but I do have an answer on this and it matches everyone else's - they will never go away, even lasering them doesn't get rid of them all. They will wrinkle with your loosened skin and the color will fade to pale/whitish/silver, but they'll always be there, like any other scar.

Again, though, it's no big deal considering the tradeoff - you can have loose, faded stretchmarks or a new set every year as you gain more weight. Your best bet for stretchmarks is to prevent them in the first place by avoiding high weights and big fluctuations, and genetics plays a big role as well, but if you are prone to them or already have them you'll just have to give them time to fade and focus on your rockin' new body instead of your skin issues

I am not at my goal, but a friend of mine who recently had a baby used bio-oil to fade her stretch marks and c-section scar. They didn't go completely away, but you really don't notice them at all unless you look for them. I was impressed. She has very fair pale skin, she's a redhead.

mines never went away. I also got them on my upper arms (from when my weight rapidly shot up to around 240-250lbs). I tell ya,..it's the worst place to get them, I know it makes it so hard to wear short sleeves in the summer. Atleast on your belly you can hide them more easily. What helps mines a little bit is when I use a exfoliator and a scrubber brush and use a good skin moisturizer with cocoa or shea butter, they do look better and more faded. when I stop they start to become more noticeable again.

I've had a boyfriend comment on them, and him being a guy he just didn't understand what they were... he thought it was a skin disease and I should have a doctor look at them or thought I actually cut myself! lol I'm not sure if he was being mean or just really didn't know, but I still felt bad.

I bet if you looked, you would've found some stretch marks on him somewhere too! Even my super skinny boyfriend has them in places and he's never been overweight a day in his life.

In my experience with stretch marks, as I've gotten smaller the area they're in has gotten smaller as well. I still have just as many, they're just not as spread out as they used to be.

i've heard that the younger you are when you lose the weight the less likely you will leave stretch marks as your skin is still young and highly elastic.

Wonder how true that is though.

I think it's mostly a lottery based on genetics. My sister has VERY inelastic skin, and when she had a baby at 16, you could lose a finger in her stretch marks. I've seen people get pregnant in their 30s and not have huge problems with them.