Petite and dark-skinned, Tammy Rinson has never liked her stretch marks. But they're on her mind even more than usual because she's planning a trip to Greece. She frets about how she'll look among the beautiful, body-baring Europeans.

"Intellectually, I know all those creams and lotions that I see probably don't work, but another part of me wants to believe," says Rinson, of Pocatello, Idaho. "A couple of times I've been tempted to try them but haven't done so yet."

According to Dr. David E. Bank of the Center for Dermatologic, Cosmetic and Laser Surgery in Mt. Kisco, N.Y., unfortunately, there is no miracle cure for stretch marks, nor can they usually be prevented. Like so much else, your susceptibility to stretch marks is primarily in your genes.

The technical names for stretch marks are stria atrophica and striae distensae, and they occur in the dermis, the elastic, middle layer of the skin. As the skin is stretched over time, particularly if it's a rather short period of time, the connective fibers break, resulting in stretch marks. At first, they're a rather bright pink or red, but gradually they fade over time to a less noticeable white or silvery hue.

While pregnancy and stretch marks are usually linked, that is not the only cause. Any time the body goes through a growth spurt, whether it's due to pregnancy, significant weight gain, puberty or weight training, there is a chance of developing stretch marks. They can appear nearly anywhere but are most common on the abdomen, thighs, breasts and buttocks.

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