Laser Treatments For Pregnancy Stretch Marks

Let's face it. If you have had a kid you probably have stretch marks. These stretch marks occur when the skin is pulled to the extent that it loses its elasticity. This of course in inevitable after you have a baby.  

The white marks are simply evidence of your skin cells trying to heal themselves. The striped looking marks mostly occur on the breasts, thighs, abdomen, buttocks and groin. When you first get them they look like red stripes. You know your skin has begun the healing process if they start to look like white stripes or bands.  

Stretch marks are also common in people who have lost a lot of weight. The marks are the result of your skin’s collagen and elastin breaking down under stress. Sometimes weight lifters get them too.  Stretch marks are usually treated with surgery, steroids or topical creams and ointments. These are meant to bleach, thicken or shrink the skin's tissues.  Whether or not these treatments will work for your stretch marks depends on a lot of factors.

Not everybody gets a positive result using these creams. Also some only get temporary relief using cream. Lasers are the newest technology for removing stretch ward. Lasers work well on scars and stretch marks because they stimulate the skin under the scar or stretch mark. This stimulates cells to start healing. This can also stimulate the production of collagen in the area, which causes the skin beneath the scar to thicken so that it is a closer match to the surrounding skin. 

The really great thing about laser treatments for scars and stretch marks is that they are in-office procedures that don't require painkillers or anesthesia. You can get treated in less than hour Some people note that they feel a slight tingling or a feeling similar to the 'snapping of a rubber band' against their skin when they get the procedure done.  Taking a couple of Advil afterwards easily relieves the discomfort. 

Will laser treatment for your scars and stretch marks work for you? The good news is that about 70% of both males and females do see a real improvement in the appearance of stretch mark after laser treatment so your odds of getting rid of them are actually pretty good.  However you have to get the stretch mark sooner rather than later.  The laser will not work if it has been on your body along while. The older the scar or stretchmark is the harder it will be for the laser to diminish it.

To help speed up the results you might be asked to use a trentinoin cream or a glycolic acid cream before and after your treatments to help reduce redness and thicken the skin.  Keep in mind that not everybody's scars and stretch marks can be removed with laser treatments. Laser treatment works best on shallow scars and stretch marks and also on people with fair ski. The darker your skin, the less likely this treatment is to work. It is not recommended for people with a history of vitilago, pigmentation disorders or dark tans. 

Sponsor: Stretch Mark Cream

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Getting Your Kids To Compost

Given the state of global warming and everything else it is probably a good idea to get your kids compositing.

It is actually quite easy to get them to understand how the whole process work.  It is also a way of gently explaining the natural process of life, death and decay to them. 

The best thing is to describe it as Nature's own recycling system. Just say it is magic and you are turning garbage into dirt if your kids are really. It gets complicated when you want to explain to a kid that that you can't put all kinds of garbage in the compost. Show them that weeds, leaves, grass clipping and vegetable peels are the most suitable by keeping a compost container right on the kitchen counter. Get them in the habit early of throwing their banana peels, orange rinds and bread crusts in there. 

If your child has trouble understanding this use the example of how when leaves drop from a tree, they decay into dirt over time, without any help from anyone Explain that everything that has once lived will eventually turn back into your dirt. Part of your kid's guide to composting should be to explain this natural process and how decomposition begins with thousands of microorganisms.  Try not to scare him or her if she I really little. 

If you know anything about composting you know that these microorganisms feast on anything and generate heat in the process. As the temperature inside the decaying pile of matter rises, fungi, bacteria and insects also help with the decomposition process. Kids can directly assist with this process by helping to turn or stir the compost pile with a stick or a garden fork. This helps add oxygen to the pile in the form of air, which heats the pile up even more.  This heat is absolutely necessary to help kill bacteria.  The more thoroughly and evenly your child distributes air through the pile the sooner you will great fertilizer for your garden. This is really good exercise for a fat kid. 

The sign that the pile has cooled down and that it is clean of bacteria is when you start seeing earthworms in the humus.  This is the cue to start feeding the humus  (the fertilizer) to new plants. Most compost piles rest on bare ground, but you can build the pile on a raised platform of loosely spaced boards. This allows air to be drawn up from the bottom so that it circulates through the compost and allows it to develop the essential soil bacteria more quickly.  If you have a child that is old enough it can help you build this type of open-air composter. 

One of the main reasons to guide your child through the process of composting is to teach them how to be an ethically minded responsible citizen. This is especially important in the decades to come when gardening locally might be a matter of survival thanks to the effects of global warming. 

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