Guy questions: Stretch marks

Dear DOLLY, Can guys get stretch marks? I've heard of girls getting them, but I have some marks on my stomach that are long and purplish. I don't think I'm overweight so I'm not sure if they're stretch marks. What else could they be? MARC


Yes, guys can get stretch marks. A stretch mark develops in the layer of tissue just underneath the skin. An area in this layer thins and loses elasticity, becoming visible as a long, purplish streak.

Products that claim to get rid of stretch marks, which you put on the skin, don't work because the "defect" is not in the surface layer. Stretch marks do not necessarily affect overweight people either.

They occur in people of all shapes and sizes when the skin stretches during rapid growth phases - like puberty. There's nothing you can do to get rid of stretch marks but they do fade over time.