After a recent weight gain i have developed strech marks on my abdomen they are relly not nice and i never expectedto get them untill i decided to have childern.

They make me feel so down sometimes i never understood how they could but at least most woman who have them have a child to show forthem. Mine basically remind me that im overweight and out ov control.

Will they ever look better? and fade? My boyfriend reasures me they will fade but im not so confident they just seem to be growing and giving me image issues that ive never experienced before these marks.

theyr right in the middle of my abs so cant be hidden by underwear. Ive tried creams and fake tan but the redness still shows it proves time really is the only healer when it comes to streach marks?

Yes, they will fade. They're always there, but will fade to a silvery color.

I hate stretch marks. I don't think there is anything about gaining weight that makes me sadder than stretch marks. Its like cold hard evidence that you aren't as small as you used to be. UGH. My problem is having them on the inside of my thigh. I pray that they go away once I lose the weight. I think they do, they become almost invisible. It just depends on how elastic your skin is and such. I have had stretch marks that have gone away completely once I lost weight. There is hope!

I have TERRIBLE skin pigment and unfortunately about 50 % of my body is covered in stretch marks.

I assure you that they will fade.. I have ones that aren't noticeable and ones that are.. but they do get better.

I have stretch marks on my inner thighs, they lighten when I'm not as fat one day. They're so ugly! Will a tan cover it up?

Fraxel laser (expensive) fades them a bit.
Time fades them a bit.
Tan does fade it a bit.

I just pray they find a cosmetic cure asap. They are my nemesis!

~CGH~

FYI, this video from Dr. Oz's show has a great visual explanation of what stretch marks are...

I've heard a lot of good things about something called Bio Oil - maybe that'll help?

You gotta hate those stretch marks - I have them too, and hate them! It's the worst part about my body! Grr...

I have them from *losing* weight. I consider them evidence that I'm doing a better job now at living more healthily.

i found out that collagen face cream helps. i use it on my belly (it also has the dubious recognition of keeping skin over a growing belly pliable

I also have the stretch mark issue on my tummy. I have noticed that the more I have lost they have turned from red to white and I am hoping further down the road they will be even lighter. I absolutely hate them, but Id rather have stretch marks than the 50 lbs back =)

I too have stretch marks. On my belly from having kids (5 of them, all 9 pounders) and on my thighs, from weight gain. Tiny ones on my thighs, but they're still there. I don't mind them anymore...DH jokes that they're just racing stripes.

Lucky8, I just had to stop and tell you how much I sympathize. I'm going through the exact same thing, honestly, the first real body image issue of my life from these stupid bright red scars? I feel crazy for feeling so down about them. There are just six in total (3 on other side of my belly button) and they are just skin imperfections. I feel vain for caring as much as I do. I'm honestly jealous of the before pictures in internet weight loss ads that show a huge flawless stomach. At least those people have the opportunity to work toward a flat stomach they can one day be proud of. Sometimes I think it's unfair when I see shirtless men at the gym with huge beer bellies 5x my size and there's not a mark! This is not at all my normal mentality, at all, I'm more worked up about this than I have been about being overweight, and although I've been working on getting into a healthy mind set about it for a few months now (since they showed up) I have yet to get there, so I can't offer you much more than understanding.

I guess maybe it's because I'm 23 and I thought I could battle my way back from this recent weight gain, and get the body I had two years ago back - with enough hard work. It feels like there are so few things in life that are absolutely undoable, and I hate having to come up against something I can't work on or change at all. I feel guilty about letting myself go.

All we need to do is put things in perspective. They are marks, they will fade in time (please dont waste money on bio oil, I used it for months and it doesnt work at all), we could be so much worse off (my boyfriend tries to help me put things in perspective by pointing out that it's not a disability - it always shocks things into perspective, obviously), we look lovely now and losing weight will improve that and bring us greater health. These are things I try to tell myself. I wish you all the best, and please know that you aren't alone in feeling this way -don't add guilt about how you're reacting to the pile!

My stretch marks were from gaining 70lbs while i was pregnant. And when I used to go tanning it would make them darker