Body acne help?

Help!

I’m 19, and after a brief illness, I ended up losing quite a bit of weight. It left me with stretch marks all over—even on my arms.

What has your experience been with this? Does anyone have a specific cream they’d recommend?

Thanks!

Sadly, there isn't some magic cream for that... I guess you just gotta learn to live with it.

They usually fade after a while once your weight stabilizes. You’ve got delicate, thin skin, which is why this happened to you. Just hang in there, try not to fluctuate too much, and everything should settle down in a few months.

The scars aren't going anywhere, but they honestly aren't that bad.

Unfortunately, there just isn't any magic cream out there that can actually get rid of stretch marks.

Stretch marks aren't ever going to completely vanish, but if you actually stick to a solid moisturizing routine or use stuff specifically for skin elasticity, they’ll definitely fade over time.

Moving forward, just try to avoid those crazy, rapid weight fluctuations. And seriously, take care of your skin—especially during the winter months when everything gets way drier because of the indoor heating and all that...

Nothing seems like it’ll actually help here.
.. anyway, I wanted to tell you that it’s really not that big of a deal visually... a long, long time ago, some kid told me it actually looks kind of cute and edgy, like some kind of wild animal markings or something... 😉 😉

Honestly, stressing over stretch marks is just a total waste of energy... I finally realized that 😁

I have friends of all different ages, body types, and sizes, and I swear, I haven't met a single one who doesn't have them!

What’s actually wild is that I was probably the last person left without them, and even then, I couldn't escape it.

And yeah, I know plenty of guys who deal with them too.

So what? It’s really not even the end of the world... 🙂

I mean, pretty much every woman deals with this stuff, right? It’s just how things are. Honestly, guys deal with it too, so there's really no point in making a huge deal out of it.

I know plenty of women who don't have stretch marks—some didn't even get them during pregnancy.

Then you’ve got others who dealt with them back in middle school just from hitting a growth spurt.

When they're fresh, they show up as these deep purple lines, but eventually, they fade out and become way less noticeable.

At the end of the day, stretch marks are just skin tearing—literal cracks—so no miracle cream is going to fix that. Honestly, maybe some microdermabrasion at a high-end spa helps, though even then, nobody's making any big promises about total disappearance.

I still think staying hydrated is key for prevention—even if we already touched on this and some people here argued that it's all purely genetic and nothing you do matters.

Please don't come for me if I sound a bit clueless here—but could someone actually explain what these arrows are supposed to be?

Drew Mitchell55 said:Don't roast me if I sound clueless, but what exactly are stretch marks?

You’ll spot them as lines on the skin—usually on the thighs, hips, or stomach. If they're fresh, they tend to look light purple, but as they age, they fade into this silvery-white color.

They're basically deep cracks in the skin. You can actually feel them too—if you run your finger over them, there's a slight texture to the touch.

It seems like practically every second bodybuilder has these stretch marks running down their arms—most pregnant women have them too, and honestly, anyone carrying a little extra weight. And yet, there’s still no actual "cure" for it.

I’ve always had incredibly elastic skin—back during my teenage years, even when my weight was swinging wildly all over the place, I never dealt with a single stretch mark.
But then life hit me hard. A few years ago, due to some health issues, I put on weight at an absolutely terrifying rate—we're talking a 45-pound jump in less than two months.
My skin just couldn't handle the shock. It was devastating.
I ended up with these deep, purple streaks—basically canyons carved into my skin—it felt like it had been completely torn apart.
I leaned heavily on various creams and gels, which helped "knit" everything back together and fade the marks somewhat.
They’re still visible if you look closely, but it took more than two full years of treatment to see any real improvement.
Some people swear that Vitamin C is the absolute holy grail for restoring that natural elasticity to your skin.
The idea is to get it from natural sources—so, lots of lemon, fresh lemonade... drinking it constantly, or even using lemon juice directly to massage the affected areas.

Honestly, you should just go grab some Arnica cream.
I’d also suggest looking into that gel from the Burt's Bees pregnancy line—you know, the one from that boutique collection... I can't quite recall if they spell it Kiko or something else, but it works wonders.

Make sure you’re getting some exercise in—nothing crazy, just light gymnastics or movement, but you have to be consistent about it.

Also, you might want to try using a topical gel designed to boost microcirculation—it really helps with skin detoxification.
For instance, something like an Aphrodite Cinnamon Gel could work wonders.

Honestly, thanks everyone!

I am well aware that this topic has been revisited countless times and thoroughly picked over by others before me...
There has already been endless discussion regarding skin elasticity, preventative measures, creams, oils, and the like.
However, what advice can be offered to those of us who are already dealing with them?

As far as I can gather, the only viable solution is a laser procedure.....
Therefore, I would be immensely grateful if anyone who has undergone such a treatment and possesses actual insight could share their experience!

Does it truly yield results? Is it worth the investment? How long does the removal process take, and what is the recovery period like? Where did you have it done, and what was the cost? ...and any other pertinent details.

Many thanks in advance!

I didn't go through it alone—I know someone who did. If they’re actually ethical, they should be upfront with you that laser won't wipe out stretch marks 100%.

TJ. They’ll definitely fade, but those marks aren't going anywhere entirely.

How do you already have stretch marks at your age? 😲 😲

I’ve seen younger girls dealing with them, but usually, it was because they’d gone through some crazy, sudden weight loss...

Can someone please explain how a freaking laser actually gets rid of stretch marks?!?!
I’d really appreciate it, but please... spare me the lecture...