For a long time, many people have been told that conventional stretch mark treatments only work on newer red and purple colored marks. Those of us with the silvery white stretch marks that were formed years ago have been out of luck for treatment options. We could either have cosmetic surgery to remove our marks or we could learn to live with them. Now we have more options since new forms of light therapy have been shown to drastically reduce the appearance of older stretch marks that have turned white and silvery.



The Food and Drug Administration or FDA has recently approved the ReLume Intense Pulsed Light device to treat marks and scars that have lost their natural skin color. Keep in mind that this procedure does not remove stretch marks. It simply causes them to return to your natural skin color so they will be much less noticeable. ReLume stretch mark treatments work best on scars that have lost all natural skin color and that are shallow. This type of phototherapy is great for all skin types.

Normally, between 6 and 12 visits are needed to observe a 75% to 99% return to normal skin color. You can expect each ReLume treatment visit to be about 30 minutes long. During your visit, the 290 to 320 nanometer pulsed light is targeted onto the marks being treated. The light is a therapeutic UVB light which jump starts melanin production in the areas where pigmentation has been lost.

After treatment, you will be advised to avoid exposure to sunlight for a couple of days. You will also be expected to use a sunscreen as protection throughout your treatment time. Maintenance treatments are usually recommended to keep melanin production stimulated in your marks. Some people choose to have maintenance ReLume treatments approximately every 4 weeks. There are a few people who may not need maintenance treatments.

Treating your stretch marks with ReLume light therapy is a painless procedure. Very mild side effects include redness or irritation around the treated area. These symptoms could occur 4 to 24 hours after treatment and usually go away with no additional remedies being required. ReLume combines the benefits of safe and effective UV phototherapy with the latest advances in targeted light technology to achieve selective re-pigmentation of hypo-pigmented skin. The procedure is painless and safe for all skin types.

Treatments using ReLume are fast and non-invasive. Many people schedule appointments during their lunch hours. Patients usually require brief sessions once or twice a week; improvement in the appearance of mature marks is routinely achieved within six to fifteen treatments. Talk with your doctor to see if your stretch mark could benefit from ReLume light therapy treatments. ReLume treatments could offer you a way to noticeably reduce the appearance of your older mature marks without having to resort to cosmetic surgery. It is safe and non-invasive unlike cosmetic surgery that may carry with it side effects.

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