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 contrary of those just described. Yes, skin affected by stretch marks is characterized by weakness, thinning, roughness, sagging, stiffness and decrease in the size of tissues, diminished cellular proliferation, and decreased function, also called atrophia.

The skin matrix is a valued resource which is both produced and consumed quite frequently during our lives. On one hand, 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 recycled. By digesting 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 disfunctional matrix is degraded while the deficit is restored by the progressing synthesis. Unfortunately, this difficult balance gets disrupted because of hormonal imbalances, malnutrition, or and as we age, too much of the matrix is degraded and too little is synthesized. As with any supply-demand imbalance, it can be bettered by either augmenting 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 supply the resiliency of skin. Elastin synthesis and the regulation of the quantity of cross-linked insoluble collagen and elastin fibers depend on the interaction between 3 factors. The first is the existence of active fibroblasts, which exude the soluble precursor of elastin, tropoelastin. The second is the relative quantity of several skin matrix components within the dermis also exuded by fibroblasts. The third are enzymes that are in charge of both cell degradation progressions that allows the breakdown of dead cells into their component amino-acids and their renewal for the synthesis 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 necessary is the biosynthesis and appropriate self-assembly of complex skin structures from within your body. The first step in elastic fiber formation is the manifestation of small cell surface-associated elastin globules (soluble tropoelastin) that enlarge 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 organized biological process, they coalesce into larger 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 latest stretch mark treatment and prevention products are aimed at replenishing 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 method fails or falls short in most people bearing atrophic skin, presumably due to the particular chemistry of skin affected by such condition and an inability to answer to matrix synthesis boosters.

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

One, your body needs to be able to differentiate or identify scar tissue from the surrounding functional and healthy 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 generate new skin matrix components.

This can only be accomplished by the action of two types of ingredients that act together. One is messenger molecules that are able to link communication between cells and allow them to differentiate scars from functional and/ or healthy tissues and trigger fibroblast development. 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 introduce some form of abrading to physically break down some of the more superficial scarring, and a topical lotion that has not just moist enhancers or collagen synthesis boosters, but also cell communicating ingredients, enzymes that 'dissolve' injured cells and scar proteins and skin regenerating activators can produce significant improvements.

Such product can also effectively prevent stretch marks.