It’s time to embrace your tiger stripes
From our inner thighs and waists, to our tums and boobs, we all have rainbows of colours (red, purple, silver and white) decorating our bodies. While we’re wearing them with pride (and so we should be, they’re nothing to be ashamed of) there’s still a bit of mystery behind why, how and when we get them – so let’s get schooled up on stretch marks.
What are stretch marks?
Stretch marks, tiger stripes or whatever you want to call them, are visible lines on the skin that pop up when the skin is stretched past its natural level of elasticity. Before fading to silvery white lines, they often look purple or red to start with.
Why do we get stretch marks?
Skin can become stretched for a number of reasons, and our natural growth cycle means we’re likely to get stretch marks at different points during our lives –like puberty and pregnancy. The middle layer of the skin (the dermis, if you’re being fancy) breaks in places, allowing the blood vessels in the deeper layers of skin to show through.
Relax, everyone has them!
Chances are most women you know (and most you don’t know) have stretch marks. Model Chrissy Teigen has them and so too does TV personality Stacey Solomon, and it’s these body positivity babes helping us to feel good about ours. There’s no reason not to celebrate your stretch marks, they’re part of you and part of the journey you’ve been on – whether you got them from growing a new life, or from growing a foot taller one summer.
Embracing yours
The length, width, colour and pattern of your stretch marks are just as individual as you are! Whether you’re unapologetically flaunting them with pride or just taking some time to love your lines (and yourself), it’s time we all started feeling good about our tiger stripes – after all, we’ve earned them.
