Recent Articles of Interest

The answer may very well appear from understanding that the skin matrix is in charge of the skin's mechanical properties, including firmness, strength, suppleness, and elasticity. Stretch marks are tears in a skin matrix altered by atrophy, a condition characterized by exactly the opposite of those just mentioned. Yes, skin injured by stretch marks is identified by thinning, weakness, sagging, stiffness, roughness and decrease in the size of tissues, impaired cellular proliferation, and loss of functions, also called atrophia.

The skin matrix is a precious resource which is both produced and consumed quite often during our lives. On one hand, skin matrix is continuously synthesized by fibroblasts. On the other hand, whenever it is damaged, malformed or worn out, skin matrix -particularly the structural proteins collagen and elastin- is broken down into fragments by gelattinase and collagenase enzymes, also called matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) and then recycled. By digesting or chopping up key matrix proteins, such as collagen and elastin, MMP enzymes play an underappreciated yet critical function in skin physiology.

In healthy or youthful skin, the synthesis and degradation of the matrix are in order: damaged or redundant matrix is degraded while the deficit is replenished by the progressing synthesis. Unfortunately, this difficult balance gets interfered with because of hormonal imbalances, malnutrition, or and as we age, too little of the matrix is synthesized and too much is degraded. As with any supply-demand imbalance, it can be improved by either increasing supply (boosting synthesis of the matrix) or reducing demand (inhibiting the breakdown).

In particular, the synthesis of elastin is physiologically crucial, although elastin is only 2% of the total protein in the epidermis. These skin fibers provide the flexibility of skin. Elastin synthesis and the regulation of the quantity of cross-linked insoluble elastin and collagen fibers depends on the interdependence between three factors. The first is the existence of active fibroblasts, which secrete the soluble precursor of elastin, tropoelastin. The second is the relative quantity of several skin matrix components within the skin also exuded by fibroblasts. The third are enzymes that are in charge of both the cell degradation progressions that allows the breakdown of dead cells into their component amino-acids and their re-use for the creation of new proteins (amino-acid chains).

So beware of products that contain soluble collagen and/or elastin, they will NOT do the trick.

What is needed is the biosynthesis and appropriate self-assembly of complex skin structures from within your body. The first step in elastic fiber formation is the appearance of small cell surface-associated elastin globules (soluble tropoelastin) that augment in size with time (microassembly). The elastin globules are eventually transferred to pre-existing elastic fibers in the skin matrix where, through an intricate and coordinated biological process, they coalesce into bigger structures (macroassembly) and become crosslinked funtional fiber-like polymers with changeable deformation and high resilience.

Collagen and Elastin Synthesis Boosters May Fail or Fall Short in People Affected by Atrophic Skin.

The most recent stretch mark treatments and prevention products are aimed at restoring skin matrix by stimulating the synthesis of collagen or elastin (e.g. ascorbic acid, copper peptides, palmitoyl pentapeptide, oligopeptides and other|synthetic copper peptides, ascorbic acid, oligopeptides, palmitoyl pentapeptide, and other). Unfortunately, this approach fails or falls short in most people bearing atrophic skin, probably due to the specific chemistry of skin affected by such condition and an incapacity to answer to matrix synthesis boosters.

Their failure to affect existing stretch marks is most possibly due to something crucial ingredient missing in those products; an element that can help your body to get rid of scar tissues . In fact, your body needs two things to perform this.

One, your body needs to be able to distinguish or identify scar tissue from the adjacent functional tissues in the skin matrix. Second, it must be able to degrade the proteins that those scars are made off and separate their component amino-acids to then eventually use them to create new skin matrix elements.

This can only be accomplished by the action of two types of ingredients that act together. One is carrier molecules able to bridge communication between cells and allow them to distinguish scars from functional and/ or healthy tissues and trigger fibroblast proliferation. The other main ingredient is enzymes that decompose the non functional, worn out, or damaged tissues that were recognized by the messenger molecules.

Combined methods that include some form of abrading to physically break down some of the more superficial scarring, and a topical cream that contains not just moisturizing enhancers or collagen synthesis boosters, but also cell communicating ingredients, enzymes that 'dissolve' injured cells and scar proteins and skin regenerating activators can provide significant improvements.

Such product can also effectively prevent stretch marks.