Striae Repair

To date, stretch marks were a serious aesthetic problem which was usually very difficult to correct. Traditional treatments with topical products and dermabrasion offer mild results, with the risk of hyperpigmentation.

Striae Repair, an IML protocol, achieves an improvement of 75% in every type of stretch mark with no damage to the epidermis.

Striae Repair achieves an improvement of 75% in every type of stretch mark

Causes of stretch marks

Stretch marks are atrophic lineal strips in body regions that have been exposed to tension or stretching in circumstances such as pregnancy, rapid growth in puberty, sudden changes in weight, inflammatory illnesses or the intake of corticoids. This distension of the skin alters the connective tissue of the dermis, causing alterations in the elastin-collagen fibres, reducing fibroblast activity responsible for generating new collagen fibres) and causes the characteristic indenting that mature stretch marks present.

Stretch marks, according to their degree of development, can be classified as in two stages:

• Red stage: The stretch marks appear in linear areas of fine skin with a red or violet tone and slightly elevated on occasion. The histological changes consist of an inflammatory infiltration around the blood vessels and a dilation of the venules. This appearance is maintain for 6 to 10 months and can be accompanied by local itching or stinging. This initial stage is the best moment to treat stretch marks, since early diagnosis and treatment can prevent major aesthetic problems.
• White stage: As time passes, the stretch marks turn white or pearly, flat or even slightly indented. The loss of collagen in the dermis and the reduction of elastic fibres causes thinning of the epidermis, and is responsible for the external appearance of fine or slightly indented skin.

IML has designed the Striae Repair protocol

Its main characteristic is the strategic combination of several treatments according to the severity of the stretch marks and other associated aesthetic problems:

• To improve recent stretch marks (red or violet), IML recommends Striae Repair I, which combines the action of Non Ablative Fractional Laser 1540 with pulsed colouring laser, specially devised for the treatment of red colours. Non Ablative Fractional Infrared Laser 1540 has been approved by the FDA as the sole tool for the treatment of stretch marks, with an acknowledged effectiveness of 75%.

  It delivers columns of heat that remodel the atrophic collagen and elastin, decreasing altered microvascularisation of the stretch mark and improving its surface pigmenting. It application does not cause epidermal damage, keeping the skin intact. It is applicable both on new and mature stretch marks, giving way to a new and homogenous structural framework; fine, dense and re-structured.

• Mature stretch marks (white or pearly) are treated with Striae Repair II, a combination of 1540 Laser with bio stimulation action with vitamins and trace elements such as organic silicon, nutritious substances that induce fibroblast activity, the generation of new cells and nutrition of the tissues, constituting a reinforcement to maximise repair of the striated skin.
• For the treatment of stretch marks accompanied by flaccidity, IML has developed Striae Repair III, in which the 1540 Laser and Lux Deep IR interact with bio stimulation with vitamins and trace elements. Deep IR delivers infrared light at a 850-1350 nm wavelength, producing a thermal effect that unchains skin re-tensing and new collagen generation.

Although improvement is noticeable from the first session, results are more and more visible as treatment advances and after completion, given that collagen and elastin regeneration and remodelling take place 6 months after ending treatment and the final assessment should be made at that time.

The number of sessions depends on the characteristics of each patient together with the medical criteria, although IML generally recommends 4 sessions, applied every 3 weeks. After each session, the patient can immediately return to normal daily activity, since the treatment only causes mild reddening that subsides within a few days and simply requires the application of sunscreen.

Would you like more information about stretch marks treatment? Contact Instituto Medico Laser now.