Bodybuilding Stretch Marks – Lines and Wrinkles Don't Have to Mar Your Bodyscape After Massive Muscle Growth

Typically bodybuilders don't complain about rapid muscle growth, but there can be a noticeable cosmetic side effect: stretch marks. If you have had enough to success in your workout program that stretch marks are a problem, first of all, congratulations, you are clearly in the elite of muscle builders. But if you want to get rid of stretch marks, or even keep them from occurring in the first place, here are five things you need to know.

1. Stretch marks are a sign of growing fast. They usually occur during pregnancy, during rapid weight gain due to fat, and during rapid muscle growth. In bodybuilders, stretch marks are most common after fast growth in the deltoids, pectoral muscles, and triceps.

2. Taking creatine after a workout increases stretch marks, due to the way creatine works. Creatine combines with water to bulk up muscle. Theoretically, doing your workouts "dry" would offset the tendency of creatine to accelerate stretch mark formation all over your body—but it would also lead you more vulnerable to heat stress and heat stroke as well as cancel out the effects of the supplement. If you don't get adequate hydration, creatine won't do you any good.

3. If you don't want to deal with stretch marks, don't bulk up during your off season. Bulking up during you off season usually involves adding fat, not muscle, anyway.

4. Use skin treatments that contain natural moisturizing factors, such as ceramide, cholesterol (in a skin cream or skin oil, not in your food), fatty acids (again, on you, not necessarily in you), glycerin, glycosaminoglycans, glycosphingolipids, hyalouronic acid, mucopolysaccharides, and pyrollidone carboxylic acid, which is also known as sodium PCA. Natural skin care agents that help smooth out stretch marks include apricot oil, canola oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, jojoba wax, lanolin, lecithin, sweet almond oil, shea butter, squalene, and even corn oil.

All of these products help maintain the lipid content of the skin. Fats and ceramides make up about 75 per cent of the bulk of the skin, and they give skin its "stretch." All of these products help keep the skin intact so it does not form fine cracks and tears that lead to scar formation. When they are formulated with vitamin E, recent stretch marks begin to heal and are less likely to get infected.

5. While you are getting rid of stretch marks, consider covering them up with a bronzing agent—not by getting a sun tan or by visiting a tanning booth! Adding depth to your natural skin pigment makes stretch marks less visible.

Getting Rid of Bodybuilding Stretch Marks

If you are very serious about getting rid of stretch marks, you might consider alternating your use of a product that provides natural moisturizing factors (listed in #4 above) with a product that provides beta-hydroxy acids. Natural moisturizing factors help live skin cells "glue" together to keep lines from forming and to smooth out existing stretch marks. Beta-hydroxy acids get into pores and remove the glue that keeps dead skin cells stuck to the skin, accentuating lines and scars.

Every beta-hydroxy acid product stings just a little while it's working, but if it stings a lot, you're using too much. The best beta-hydroxy acid for bodybuilders is salicylic acid, which removes dead skin but stops inflammation with the power of aspirin.

Take a look at some of the Stretch Mark Products that we have reviewed:

– Barmon Stretchmark Cream
– Mustela Stretch Mark Cream
– Bio Oil for Stretch Marks