Med Spa
July 20, 2026·5 min read
Most people who ask me about stretch mark treatment have already tried the creams. They've done the cocoa butter, the vitamin E oil, the stuff that promised to fade them. It didn't work the way they hoped — and now they want to know what actually can. That's a fair question, and it deserves a straight answer. Here in Yuma, where sleeveless seasons last most of the year, stretch mark treatment is something I get asked about often.
Stretch marks — striae in clinical terms — are a type of dermal scar. They form when the skin is stretched faster than the underlying collagen can adapt. Pregnancy, rapid growth, significant weight change, and muscle gain can all trigger them. The skin tears at the deeper structural level, and the body lays down collagen quickly to repair the break — but the repair tissue doesn't match the surrounding skin in texture or pigment. That's the scar.
New stretch marks (striae rubrae) are typically pink, red, or purple because the stretched vessels underneath are still visible. Older ones (striae albae) fade to silver or white as the vascularity decreases. Both are the same type of structural change — what's different is how much remodeling potential the tissue still has.
The American Academy of Dermatology notes that no treatment completely removes stretch marks. What treatment can do is meaningfully improve how they look — and the earlier in their development you address them, the more responsive they tend to be.
Creams, oils, and serums work at the surface. The structural change in a stretch mark happens in the dermis — the deeper layer of the skin — not at the top. So while a good moisturizer can improve the texture of the skin overlying a stretch mark, it can't reach the fibrotic scar tissue underneath. That's not a product failure so much as a physics problem. The molecules simply don't penetrate far enough to address what's actually changed.
This is also why hydration matters as prevention more than treatment. Keeping skin supple during a period of rapid stretching may reduce how severely stretch marks form — but once the scar is established, the repair has to happen at a deeper level.
At Enhance, we use the Opus Plasma® system for stretch mark improvement. I want to be clear about what that means mechanically, because I hear "laser" thrown around in this context and Opus Plasma® is not a laser — it combines plasma energy with radiofrequency, which gives it a different mechanism than a standard light-based device.
The treatment delivers tiny columns of plasma and radiofrequency energy into the skin. Those columns create a controlled, precise micro-injury — similar in concept to fractional treatments studied in peer-reviewed literature on striae — that triggers your body's natural wound-healing response. New collagen forms in and around those treated columns. Over a series of sessions, that collagen remodeling softens the texture of the stretch mark, improves its color, and brings it closer in appearance to the surrounding skin.
It works at the dermal level — where the scar actually is. That's the distinction from topical approaches.
A few things worth knowing about the Opus Plasma® process:
Complete removal of stretch marks is not typical. Treatment can significantly improve their appearance for many clients. Outcomes vary.
For scarring-type stretch marks — particularly those with significant textural depth — SkinPen® microneedling is sometimes considered as part of a layered plan. SkinPen® is FDA-cleared for facial acne scars in adults 22 and older; use for stretch marks specifically is off-label.
This treatment is administered off-label. Marina Roloff, DNP, FNP-C, will discuss the off-label nature, the available evidence, and individualized risk/benefit at your consultation.
Microneedling creates controlled microscopic channels in the skin that prompt the body's collagen-building response — the same fundamental mechanism as Opus Plasma®, but delivered differently. Whether either or both make sense for a specific stretch mark pattern is something we work through at consultation based on location, age of the marks, skin tone, and your goals.
Our skin services page has more detail on the treatment options we work with at Enhance for texture and scarring concerns.
The first conversation about stretch marks at Enhance isn't a treatment plan — it's an assessment. I want to understand the stretch marks: where they are, how old they are, what your skin tone is, what you've already tried, and what a realistic goal looks like for you. That shapes everything that follows.
For most clients interested in Opus Plasma® stretch marks treatment, we'll talk through what a series of sessions looks like, what the skin response typically involves in the days after treatment, and what timeline is reasonable to expect before evaluating results. I also want to know about your lifestyle — sun exposure is relevant here, particularly in Yuma where UV is relentless most of the year — because protecting treated skin from the sun supports the collagen-remodeling process.
You can read more about our specific stretch mark treatment approach and our broader laser and energy-based treatments at Enhance.
If you'd like to talk through what's realistic for your specific situation, schedule a consultation at Enhance Aesthetics & Wellness — or call us at 928.370.4480.
Information on this page is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Individual results vary; outcomes shown or described are not guaranteed. Consult an Enhance clinician for guidance specific to your situation. Images may contain models. © 2026 Enhance Aesthetics & Wellness.
Medically reviewed by Marina Roloff, DNP, FNP-C — 2026-07-20
Schedule a Consultation
Marina Roloff, DNP, FNP-C — Enhance Aesthetics & Wellness, Yuma, AZ
CONTACT US