Stretch Marks Repigmentation - A new possibility?

[A11]

When reading this article https://http://vitiligocover.com/bimatoprost-repigments-vitiligo-patient-skin/ I wondered if the bimatoprost could also pigment stretch marks.

Any thoughts? Does it worth a try?

[SarahVaughter]

I wrote a forum posting about Bimatoprost but not concerning its potential re-pigmentation ability: https://http://forums.owndoc.com/dermarolling-microneedling/Latisse-for-eyelashes-enhancement
/a>

This study concerns Vitiligo and Bimatorprost:

  https://http://www.skinandallergynews.com/news/medical-dermatology/single-article/bimatoprost-repigments-vitiligo-patient-skin/67821edc35.html

Bimatoprost and hypopigmented scars:

https://http://bmctoday.net/practicaldermatology/2010/05/article.asp?f=dermatology-qa-new-directions-in-the-treatment-of-hypopigmented-scars

It sounds promising, nevertheless it is much easier to use it on vitiligo than on stretch marks. Vitiligo has no scar tissue.

Vitiligo is normal skin that just lacks pigment producing cells – melanocytes.  Bimatorprost may not work at all on scar tissue or the re-pigmentation will be uneven.

Before you try Bimatoprost, you should smoothe out the texture of stretch marks as much as you can by  repeated dermarolling or needling.

Crush the hardened collagen bundles of stretch marks. This will greatly improve its texture. Needling or dermarolling also triggers new blood vessels (stretch marks have no or almost no blood vessels) which is very important for normal skin appearance and functioning.

 

You can enhance Bimatoprost absorption by applying it right after very shallow needling. Do not needle deeply. Melanocytes are at the bottom of the epidermis, which is very shallow (about 0-2- 0.3 mm in the skin).

What will be really difficult is to apply the Bimatoprost precisely to the stretch mark and not around it..

If you do not manage, you will end up with darkening of the skin around the stretch marks which will make them more visible.

Maybe you can use a toothpick for precise application. Vitiligo is usually a wide patch of de-pigmented skin so it is much easier to target it precisely.

In the mentioned study, they applied bimatoprost 0.03% ophthalmic solution at a dose of 1 drop per 2 cm2 of affected skin twice daily for 4 months. It did not say whether the re-pigmentation was permanent or they had to keep applying Bimatoprost to maintain it.

There is another study regarding Bimatoprost and Vitiligo but unfortunately it was withdrawn prior to enrollment:

https://http://clinicaltrialsfeeds.org/clinical-trials/show/NCT01202513