Saturday, 24 December 2011
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A pregnancy is always an exciting and challenging season in any woman’s life. After all, awaiting the arrival of a new bundle of joy will always be matched with enough eagerness and anticipation. Unfortunately, the season also comes with its fair share of physical challenges, some of which only happen during the pregnancy while others stay on well into the baby’s growth. Stretch marks are among the less than pretty occurrences during pregnancy that all women would rather do without. Once they’re there, though, is there really no hope?
Personal care store shelves are filled with many anti-stretch mark creams, and parenting and skin and beauty magazines also pay an increasing attention to the topic, whether in terms of ad space or articles teaching women about stretch marks. There is good news, though: you do not actually have to rely on synthetic products that claim to get rid of your marks while causing you to worry about possible side effects. The following tips are natural ways to deal with stretch marks:
1. Be sure you get proper nutrition.
Do you know that a healthy diet is crucial to preventing stretch marks? Drinking enough water, and then some, makes sure your body is properly hydrated and enables all your systems to work properly. The minimum is 8 glasses of water, but if you can drink more, all the better. Hydration works at keeping your skin elastic, and it also keeps your body’s collagen production at normal levels. In line with getting proper nutrition, be sure to make sure you get enough vitamins A, C, and E, as well as zinc, as these nutrients are great for the skin. You will typically get enough of these with a daily diet high in fruits, green leafy vegetables, fish liver oils, nuts such as almonds, eggs, fish, and beans.
2. Try to avoid hormone therapies.
Oral contraceptives, with their hormone content, typically deplete a body’s stores of essential elements like vitamins A, C, E, and zinc, which is the reason why taking these typically result in a greater incidence of stretch marks. If you feel that you are lacking in these nutrients, talk to your doctor for recommendations about supplements.
3. Try homemade stretch mark creams.
Cocoa butter tops the list as the most popular home remedy stretch mark cream. It helps keep your skin pliable and soft. You can prepare the cream using ½ cup of cocoa butter, 1 tablespoon each of oil of wheat germ and apricot kernel, 1 teaspoon of vitamin E oil, and 2 teaspoons of grated beeswax. Apply heat to this mixture until the beeswax melts, and keep it in an airtight container inside the fridge. Put some of this cream onto the stretch marks just as you would a regular cream.
Shea butter is another good choice for a homemade stretch mark cream, as it contains high levels of vitamins E and A. You can apply the shea butter onto the stretch marks for 2 to 3 times per day to aid the healing process.
Some types of oils are also home remedies for stretch marks. The most common is olive oil, although other oils are also seen to work thanks to their vitamin E content. This includes avocado oil, castor oil, and almond oil.
Lastly, aloe vera gel is also known for its soothing properties for burns, and is also found to be effective on stretch marks, given how stretch marks are actually injuries to the skin. You can mix ½ cup of olive oil with ¼ cup of aloe vera gel, and then add the contents of 4 vitamin E capsules and 2 vitamin A capsules. Blend these ingredients and keep it refrigerated in an airtight container.
Of course, the above home remedies will likely have to face up to personal differences. If you are currently worried about getting stretch marks, it is always a good idea to feed your skin with the necessary nutrients while it is still early, but even if you have already succumbed to the unsightly marks, it is never too late to nurture your skin. With these home remedies, at least you don’t have to worry about shelling out much cash for an expensive cream that may not even work!
Personal care store shelves are filled with many anti-stretch mark creams, and parenting and skin and beauty magazines also pay an increasing attention to the topic, whether in terms of ad space or articles teaching women about stretch marks. There is good news, though: you do not actually have to rely on synthetic products that claim to get rid of your marks while causing you to worry about possible side effects. The following tips are natural ways to deal with stretch marks:
1. Be sure you get proper nutrition.
Do you know that a healthy diet is crucial to preventing stretch marks? Drinking enough water, and then some, makes sure your body is properly hydrated and enables all your systems to work properly. The minimum is 8 glasses of water, but if you can drink more, all the better. Hydration works at keeping your skin elastic, and it also keeps your body’s collagen production at normal levels. In line with getting proper nutrition, be sure to make sure you get enough vitamins A, C, and E, as well as zinc, as these nutrients are great for the skin. You will typically get enough of these with a daily diet high in fruits, green leafy vegetables, fish liver oils, nuts such as almonds, eggs, fish, and beans.
2. Try to avoid hormone therapies.
Oral contraceptives, with their hormone content, typically deplete a body’s stores of essential elements like vitamins A, C, E, and zinc, which is the reason why taking these typically result in a greater incidence of stretch marks. If you feel that you are lacking in these nutrients, talk to your doctor for recommendations about supplements.
3. Try homemade stretch mark creams.
Cocoa butter tops the list as the most popular home remedy stretch mark cream. It helps keep your skin pliable and soft. You can prepare the cream using ½ cup of cocoa butter, 1 tablespoon each of oil of wheat germ and apricot kernel, 1 teaspoon of vitamin E oil, and 2 teaspoons of grated beeswax. Apply heat to this mixture until the beeswax melts, and keep it in an airtight container inside the fridge. Put some of this cream onto the stretch marks just as you would a regular cream.
Shea butter is another good choice for a homemade stretch mark cream, as it contains high levels of vitamins E and A. You can apply the shea butter onto the stretch marks for 2 to 3 times per day to aid the healing process.
Some types of oils are also home remedies for stretch marks. The most common is olive oil, although other oils are also seen to work thanks to their vitamin E content. This includes avocado oil, castor oil, and almond oil.
Lastly, aloe vera gel is also known for its soothing properties for burns, and is also found to be effective on stretch marks, given how stretch marks are actually injuries to the skin. You can mix ½ cup of olive oil with ¼ cup of aloe vera gel, and then add the contents of 4 vitamin E capsules and 2 vitamin A capsules. Blend these ingredients and keep it refrigerated in an airtight container.
Of course, the above home remedies will likely have to face up to personal differences. If you are currently worried about getting stretch marks, it is always a good idea to feed your skin with the necessary nutrients while it is still early, but even if you have already succumbed to the unsightly marks, it is never too late to nurture your skin. With these home remedies, at least you don’t have to worry about shelling out much cash for an expensive cream that may not even work!
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