Stretch Marks
Silver Lines That Catch the Light
They started red or purple and settled into silver, and they catch the light at a certain angle. Stretch marks are scars in the dermis, which is why creams do so little. What we can do is real and partial, and we say which before you book.
Stretch Marks
Silver Lines That Catch the Light
They started red or purple and settled into silver, and they catch the light at a certain angle. Stretch marks are scars in the dermis, which is why creams do so little. What we can do is real and partial, and we say which before you book.
Why It Happens
How a Stretch Mark Forms
A stretch mark is a tear in the middle layer of skin that healed as a scar. Knowing its age matters more than knowing its cause, because red marks and silver marks respond differently. Age tells us what is possible, and cause tells us what to expect next time.
01
The Dermis Tears
Skin stretches faster than the collagen underneath can follow. The dermis splits, heals as scar tissue, and the surface loses its normal pattern. The layer above it stays intact.
02
The Red Stage
New marks are red or purple because the vessels underneath still show through. This is the stage where treatment has the most to work with. Waiting costs you options.
03
The Silver Stage
Older marks turn pale and slightly sunken as the vessels retreat. There is less blood supply to recruit, so change comes slower and smaller. They still respond, within limits.
04
Why They Appear
Pregnancy, growth spurts, weight change and heavy training all stretch skin quickly. Genetics decides how much stretch your skin tolerates before it tears. Nothing you did caused them.
How We Treat It
What Treatment Can and Cannot Do
Both routes work the same way: controlled injury that prompts the dermis to lay down collagen inside the scar. Expect a change in texture and color rather than removal. We would rather say that here than at your appointment. Every plan is built on the age and the depth of your own marks.
Consultation and Skin Assessment
A look at the marks in fixed lighting, with their age, depth and color recorded before anything is planned.
Everyone starts here. It is the only way to say what is realistic for your marks rather than for stretch marks in general.
Tasha Wright Ford, RN reads the color and the texture together. Red marks and silver marks sit at different points and behave differently.
You leave with a plan, a session estimate and a price. Where treatment is not worth your money, we say that instead.
LaseMD Ultra
Our non-ablative laser, branded UltraGlo. It works under the surface, so the top layer of skin stays intact.
Patients with marks across a broad area, and those whose skin does not tolerate more aggressive resurfacing.
Fractional columns of energy reach the scar and prompt collagen inside it, so the texture and color both even out.
Tasha Wright Ford, RN sets the depth after she reads your skin. It is done as a series, photographed before we start.
RF Microneedling
Radiofrequency energy delivered through fine needles, which puts controlled heat directly into the scar.
Patients with deeper or indented marks, where the texture matters more than the color.
Heat at a set depth prompts the dermis to rebuild, which lifts an indented mark closer to the surface around it.
Needle depth is set to the area and to the age of the marks. Sessions are spaced and reviewed against the first photographs.
What We Tell You Before You Book
This is a page where honesty costs us appointments and keeps our patients. We look at the age, depth and color of your marks, then say what is realistic. Some people leave with a plan and some leave knowing treatment is not worth their money. Nothing is booked on the day unless you want it booked.
The Age of the Marks
Red and purple marks still have blood supply to work with, so they respond best. Silver marks respond less, and we say so before you commit to a series.
Area and Skin Type
A small area on the hip is a different proposition from a full abdomen. Skin type also changes which settings are safe, and both are assessed first.
Always a Series
Collagen inside a scar is built slowly and in layers. One session shows you the direction and not the destination, which is why we plan a course.
Measured by Photograph
We photograph the area in fixed lighting before the first session. Stretch marks change too gradually for memory, and this keeps everyone honest.
Where We Draw the Line
Some marks are not worth treating, and you hear that before you spend anything. That conversation happens at the assessment rather than after the third session.
Who provides your care
Registered Nurse-led care you can trust
Your plan is guided by Tasha Wright Ford, RN, our owner and lead injector, with 22 years as a Registered Nurse and 16 years of injecting experience. Dr. Anna Mkrtchyan, NMD, a Naturopathic Medical Doctor, serves as our Medical Director, and Kelly, our aesthetician, brings 17 years in skin and facial care. We assess your skin and full health history first, talk through whether a treatment is right for you, including anyone who should wait such as during pregnancy or with an active skin infection, and only recommend what genuinely suits you.
Start With A Consultation
We assess first. You leave with a plan and a price.
FAQ
Common Questions About
Stretch Marks
Skin stretches faster than the collagen underneath can follow, so the dermis tears and heals as a scar. Pregnancy, growth spurts, weight change and heavy training are the usual causes. Genetics decides how much stretch your skin tolerates first.
They fade and they do not disappear. Red and purple marks calm to silver on their own as the vessels retreat. The scar in the dermis stays, which is why treatment aims at texture and color rather than removal.
No, and we would rather tell you here than at your appointment. Laser and RF microneedling rebuild collagen inside the scar, which softens texture and evens color. Complete removal is not something any device can deliver.
Silver marks do respond, and they respond less than red ones. Older scars have less blood supply to recruit, so change comes slower and smaller. Tasha looks at the age and depth of yours before telling you what is realistic.
They improve how the skin feels and they do not reach the scar. The damage sits in the dermis, well below where a topical works. Creams are worth using during pregnancy or weight change, and they will not treat marks you already have.
LaseMD Ultra works under the surface to prompt collagen inside the scar without breaking the top layer. RF microneedling reaches the same depth with heat. Both improve texture and color across a series rather than in one visit.
More than one, and the number depends on the area, the age of the marks and your skin type. Tasha gives you a session estimate in your written plan. We photograph before we start so progress is measured rather than argued about.
Treated marks do not return, and new ones can form if the skin stretches quickly again. Pregnancy or rapid weight change will produce new marks regardless of what was treated before. Call 602-469-8693 to book an assessment in Phoenix.