Stretch Marks

Striae (as we call them) are common in adolescents and pregnant ladies. Why is that? Well it's actually NOT due to skin stretching (directly), but rather due to elastic fiber rupture under the skin.

Dr. Eads believes this is due to subclinical zinc deficiency brought on by puberty and pregnancy. The growing unborn child takes zinc from the mom,  leaving her with not enough for her skin. Likewise the adolescent loses zinc from his/her's skin as puberty hormones require zinc for synthesis.

Dr. Eads' recommendations:

1) Zinc 30-60 mg a day,  WITH FOOD. Zinc can make you queasy if taken on an empty stomach. 

We recommend Zinc 30 mg EZ melts once to twice a day with food. 

2) Vitamin C 500 mg twice a day.  This also helps with elastic fiber synthesis.

Unfortunately,  once you have a stretch mark,  it's hard to make it go away quickly. They are like "dermal scars." So we want to prevent any more from developing with the zinc and vitamin C. There are many lasers and topical products touted for striae. None of them are perfect.  So let's stop 'em before they start!