Peelings for stretch marks
Objectives: Stretch marks are a real esthetic problem especially on the abdomen in young women after pregnancies. Medium peels can bring a real improvement. 20% TCA or Phen TCA are the best peels to use, with Phen TCA being the best option to decrease pain levels during treatment.. These peels are easy to perform but a thorough training is necessary to feel comfortable and avoid complications.
Introduction: One of the most common benign cutaneous lesions encountered in esthetics. Those are a real esthetic problem especially on the abdomen often associated with skin sagging and this is where peels are going to work best. Stretch marks emerge as striae rubrae. They shift to striae albae which can be thin and hardly visible or wide, white, shiny or purple, like depressed atrophic scars being a real esthetic problem. Medium peels leading to a skin regeneration can bring a real improvement. However the treatment can be very painfull and Phen TCA is the best option to decrease the pain
Materials / method: Application on very thin skin: 20% TCA concentration will be used or preferentially Phen TCA to decrease pain. Treatment can be applied with the help of paint brushes or cotton tips. Progressive whitening of the skin depending of the amount of rubbing will indicate the deepness of penetration. Cortisone cream applied at the end of the peel treatment will decrease burning sensations. The treatment will lead to exfoliation and skin regeneration that will last 2 to 3 weeks. Treated areas must be covered during the healing process with colloid dressings.
Results: The best indication is the abdomen in young women after pregnancies associating wide, white, shiny, and sometime purple, like depressed atrophic scars with skin sagging. Results can be sometimes amazing in those young patients with a good regeneration ability. A good training is mandatory to avoid to go too deep which can lead to complications such as hypopigmentations or sometimes scars. Propenetration with fractinnal CO2 laser can be an option on wide stretch marks. Light phenol peels can bring good results as well but only to be used by experts.
Conclusion: Stretch marks can be treated with TCA or Phen TCA peels with good results, especially on the abdomen when associated with skin sagging. This treatment can be associated with fractional CO2 laser. At this location, where the skin is very thin, a maximum concentration of 20% TCA should be used to avoid hypopigmentation. The Phen TCA combination is recommended to decrease pain during the treatment. Healing time is quite long which must be clearly explained to the patient. A second later treatment can be performed to increase the results.
