In the words of Skye Townsend: “We forget that stretch marks, cellulite and some stomach fat is natural. We forget that we are born human and physically can’t be perfect. We forget that God doesn’t make us out of plastic and silicone. We forget to be flawed.”
Ladies, I know that some of you may view these scars as a self-sabotaging monster, while others may think of stretch marks as “battle wounds.” Some women even compare their bodily changes as seeing themselves as a fearsome tigress who has earned her stripes. Either way, stretch marks are normal, and most of us have them.
The most annoying questions that I have been asked: “Did you have a baby?”, and “Were you overweight?” The answer is NO. Stretch marks have a bad rep, and along with that bad reputation comes many bad misconceptions of how they came about in the first place. I was constantly being teased in middle school about my stretch marks. At the time, my best friend’s mother told me that Cocoa Butter would make those pesky scars go away. During that summer, I basically swam in Cocoa Butter. Did I have any progress? NO. Instead of being insecure and trying to go broke buying expensive products, knowing that they weren’t going to work, I had to work on falling in love with my body. I had to work on falling in love with being confident in who I am. I had to realize that stretchmarks can occur on any part of the body and their not exclusive to being pregnant or being a lil’ fluffy.
We as women can be our own worst critics. With having stretch marks, it should not inherently make you feel ugly or embarrassed. Embrace them. Wear your shorts, wear your low V-neck tops, and show that stomach in that cute crop top, or bikini. It’s a normal part of womanhood. Do not let society’s beauty standards determine how you feel about yourself.