The answer may very well emerge from understanding that the skin matrix is responsible for the skin’s mechanical properties, like firmness, strength, suppleness, and elasticity. Stretch marks are tears in a skin matrix affected by atrophy, a condition characterized by exactly the opposite of those just described. Yes, skin affected by pregnancy stretch marks is characterized by weakness, thinning, 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 side, skin matrix is regularly synthesized by fibroblasts. On the other hand, whenever it is damaged, malformed or worn out, skin matrix - especially the structural proteins collagen and elastin- is broken down into particles by collagenase and gelatinase enzymes, also named matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) and then reprocessed. 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 degradation and biological synthesis of the matrix are in order: damaged or redundant matrix is degraded while the deficit is replenished by the progressing synthesis. Unfortunately, this intricate balance gets disrupted because of hormonal imbalances, malnutrition, or as we age, too little of the matrix is synthesized and too much is degraded. As with any supply-demand imbalance, it can be bettered by either augmenting supply (boosting biosynthesis of the matrix) or reducing demand (inhibiting the breakdown).
In particular, the synthesis of elastin is physiologically important, although elastin is only 2% of the total protein in the dermis. These skin fibers provide the flexibility of skin. Elastin synthesis and the regulation of the quantity of cross-linked insoluble elastin and collagen fibers depend on the interdependence between 3 factors. The first is the presence of active fibroblasts, which secrete the soluble precursor of elastin, tropoelastin. The second is the relative amount of several skin matrix components within the skin also secreted by fibroblasts. The third are enzymes that are responsible for both cell degradation processes that allows the breakdown of dead cells into their component amino acids and their re-use for the synthesis of new proteins (amino-acid chains).
So be careful of pregnancy stretch mark creams that contain soluble collagen and/or elastin, they will NOT do the trick.
What is necessary is the biosynthesis and proper self-assembly of complex skin structures from inside out your body. The first step in elastic fiber formation is the appearance of small cell surface-associated elastin globules (soluble tropoelastin) that enlarge in size with time (microassembly). The elastin globules are afterwards transferred to pre-existing elastic fibers in the skin matrix where, through an intricate and orchestrated biological process, they coalesce into larger structures (macroassembly) and become crosslinked funtional fiber-like polymers with reversible deformation and high resilience.
Collagen and Elastin Synthesis Boosters May Fail or Fall Short in People Affected by Atrophic Skin.
The latest pregnancy stretch mark treatments and prevention products are focused on replenishing skin matrix by stimulating the biosynthesis 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 mode fails or falls short in most people bearing atrophic skin, apparently due to the specific chemistry of skin affected by such condition and an inability to respond to matrix synthesis boosters.
Their failure to treat existing pregnancy stretch marks is most probably due to something important ingredient absent in those products; an element that can help your body to get rid of scar tissues and stretch marks. 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 surrounding functional tissues in the skin matrix. Second, it must be able to degrade the proteins that those scars are made off and divide their component amino-acids to then afterward use them to create new skin matrix elements.
This can only be completed by the action of two types of ingredients that act together. One is messenger molecules able to connect communication between cells and allow them to differentiate scar tissues from functional and/ or healthy tissues and trigger fibroblast proliferation. The other main ingredient is enzymes that dissolve the non functional, worn out, or damaged tissues that were recognized by the messenger molecules.
Combined methods that introduce some form of abrading to physically break down some of the more superficial scarring, and a topical stretch mark product that contains not just moist enhancers or collagen biosynthesis boosters, but also cell communicating ingredients, enzymes that ‘dissolve’ damaged cells and scar proteins and skin regenerating activators can yield substantial improvements.
Such stretch mark cream can also effectively prevent stretch marks.