Can Laser Therapy Get Rid of My Stretch Marks?

You may associate stretch marks only with pregnancy, but that’s not the case. Rippled, indented scars that look like long grooves can develop anytime your skin stretches significantly and then shrinks in a short time.

Skin that stretches and shrinks too much or too often damages the collagen and elastin, the proteins that give your skin its structure, elasticity, and smoothness. As your skin repairs the damaged proteins, stretch marks appear. 

Pregnancy is certainly a common trigger for stretch marks. Other risk factors include gaining and losing weight quickly, bodybuilding, and having a family history of stretch marks. 

Stretch marks can fade over time, but there’s no guarantee. They can be emotionally distressing and make you feel self-conscious.

Thankfully, at Enrich Health and Wellness in Boerne, Texas, our team led by Maria Cole, APRN, FNP-C, offers laser therapy to eliminate stretch marks and provide you with beautiful skin. 

Here, we discuss how laser therapy works and can transform your skin. 

What’s laser therapy?

Laser therapy is a cosmetic treatment that uses light energy to address skin concerns, including:

• Fine lines and wrinkles
• Acne scars
• Sun spots
• Stretch marks 

There are various laser therapy techniques, but at Enrich Health and Wellness, we use Icon™ intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy. 

Benefits of IPL therapy over traditional laser treatments

Traditional laser therapy targets problem skin cells effectively and quickly but may damage healthy tissue. There’s also a longer recovery period. 

IPL therapy uses different wavelengths of light that are more scattered, similar to a photo flash. Because this approach is less intense than traditional laser treatments, you can eliminate unwanted skin issues without damaging healthy skin. 

Also, traditional laser therapy usually doesn’t work as well for those with darker skin. Icon laser technology, however, has a built-in melanin reader to make necessary adjustments, so it’s suitable for all skin types. 

IPL therapy for stretch marks

Before your laser treatment, our team sits down with you for a consultation to ensure this procedure is a good fit for you. IPL therapy can address several concerns, including stretch marks. But you may need to wait if you’re taking acne medication or you have a sunburn. 

If we give you the green light for IPL therapy, you can schedule your first session. During IPL therapy, we target your stretch marks to destroy the damaged skin cells and encourage new and healthy ones to form.

The light the device emits can be uncomfortably warm, so the Icon has a cooling mechanism to keep you comfortable. 

You don’t require any downtime after your laser therapy; you may need additional sessions to achieve optimal results. 

To get started with IPL therapy at Enrich Health and Wellness, call our office to schedule a consultation, or use our online booking feature today.