Stretch marks on the thighs

Stretch marks on the thighs are scars in the dermis of the inner and outer thighs, often reaching up to the hips and down to the knees. The NHS lists the legs and hips among the common places for them, and pregnancy, puberty and weight change are the usual reasons. Stretch Mark Removal London explains why they form, how they change over time and what treatment can do.

New thigh marks are pink, red, purple or darker than the skin around them, and they fade to pale silver lines over a year or two. They run in whichever direction the skin was stretched, so the pattern differs from person to person. Because the thighs are mostly covered by clothing, recovery after treatment is easy to manage around work. The guide to reducing the appearance of stretch marks compares the options.

• Puberty and a fast growth spurt
• Pregnancy
• Gaining or losing weight quickly
• Fast muscle growth from training the legs
• A family member with stretch marks

The inner thigh is one of the commonest places for stretch marks, because the skin there is thinner and stretches as the thighs grow or gain weight. Marks here are often noticed first in summer, when shorts and swimwear show them, and a tan on the surrounding skin makes pale marks stand out more. The skin is also more sensitive, so a practitioner chooses settings with care, and a patch test before a course is worth asking for.

Hip marks usually appear in puberty or pregnancy, often alongside marks on the thighs and buttocks. They follow the same course: red or dark when new, paler within a year or two. Because hips and thighs are often treated together, a quote should say which areas it covers, since body treatments are priced by area and two areas cost more than one.

Once marks have stopped changing, microneedling or fractional laser can thicken the thinned skin over three to six sessions, and the change is judged three months after the last one. Red marks may need nothing but time. Self-tan, rather than a real tan, can soften the look of pale thigh marks while a course runs, because it colours the mark and the skin around it together.