Stretch marks and cellulite are caused by different things and they also appear differently. Stretch marks are usually purple/red (when fresh and new), or white (when slightly older) crinkles in the skin, it’s often described as ‘orange peel’. Cellulite makes skin appear ‘dimply’, it’s usually found on your bottom or on the back of your thighs! (Yep, even celebrities get dimply bums, they’re not immune… read any trashy celeb mag and I’m sure you’ll find evidence… in fact, above is some evidence that might make you feel a ton better. Sorry Mischa.
Stretch marks are exactly what they’re called, marks that are caused when your skin stretches. The most common times stretch marks occur for a woman, is during puberty and during a pregnancy.
Why do we get Stretch Marks?
Puberty - When we go through puberty our bodies need to stretch and change, we grow boobs and get bigger butts, our hips look larger, maybe we develop love handles, or 'back fat', as my friends and I call it. This means stretch marks are most commonly found around the breasts, butt, thighs and lower back.
Pregnancy - Another obvious time when you’re at risk of acquiring the ‘orange peel’ effect is during pregnancy. As you can imagine, whilst incubating a little person inside of you, your tummy will need to stretch to accommodate your little person which often leads to the unsightly purple marks we call stretch marks.
Muscle gain/Weight gain - Men are in no way immune to stretch marks, in fact, I had a boyfriend who had quite a lot due to rapid muscle gain. Rapid weight gain is another common cause of stretch marks as both cause the skin to stretch rapidly.
Why do we get cellulite?
Cellulite is a build-up of fatty deposits under your skin, and most commonly appear in the ‘fatty’ areas of your body, e.g. your bum and your thighs. When we’re young our connective tissue is supple and stretchy, but when puberty hits, and with age, this tissue loses elasticity whilst our fat stores increase and ‘pop-out’ resulting in the bumpy, dimply appearance you might see if you look at yourself from behind in a full length mirror. A common mistake is to assume that only overweight people with cellulite, but skinny girls get it too, (which I can personally attest to). Cellulite is caused by many factors; diet, genetics, your hormones (which is another reason cellulite tends to show up around puberty too.
Yuck, how do I get rid of them?
Unfortunately there are no ‘quick-fixes’ for stretch marks or cellulite. Stretch marks are actually permanent and can only be diminished, covered up or embraced. The good news is though, that stretch marks eventually do fade and become much less unsightly over time. Cellulite doesn’t have to be a permanent thing, with some hard work and lifestyle changes it can be largely diminished or even completely eliminated. The best cure for stretch marks and cellulite is always prevention.
