Can you really use laser to treat cellulite and stretch marks?

May 8, 2015

Image: Keeping Up With The Kardashians/E!

Stretch marks. Cellulite. Many women possess them – some love them, some don’t.

But would you be game to show your bum stretch marks on TV? Khloe Kardashian did. (Surprise!)

In a clip for an upcoming episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians – where the truth about Kylie Jenner’s lips is also revealed – Khloe takes her sisters Kim and Kendall on a fun, sisterly bonding outing – to get the stretch marks and cellulite on her bum lasered.

The real question on our minds? Is laser a valid treatment for reducing the appearance of stretch marks, and does it actually work? (Post continues after video.)

According to cosmetic surgeon at Cosmos Clinic, Dr Joseph Ajaka, two treatment options – evasive and non-evasive.

“The non-evasive treatment involves the insertion of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) which is what Kim Kardashian did when she had the ‘vampire facial‘. It involves taking blood, processing it and injecting your own plasma back into the skin to help grow collagen and improve the quality of the skin,” he explains.

“The evasive treatment uses lasers. It works by numbing the area and using the laser to heat underneath the skin to encourage new collagen fibres to form and thicken the skin,” he says.

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“Laser is also effective at removing cellulite in a similar way, melting the fat pockets under the skin.”

If you're opting for the evasive treatment, it's not going to produce quick fix miracle results.

"Laser treatment can't completely remove stretch marks, but it can reduce them. So if reduction isn't what you're after, then I would not advise having the treatment," Dr Ajaka says.

"You can't promise complete removal but I'd say you can expect a 50-70 percent reduction," he says. "Red stretch marks are the hardest to treat."

The evasive procedure is a one-off treatment, that could set you back up to $3,300. The PRP treatment costs around $1000 and requires three treatments one month apart.

"You're probably looking at taking one to two days off, and may feel general soreness, swelling and a little bit of bruising," Dr Ajaka says. (Post continues after gallery.)

Celebs who love their weird beauty treatments

Jessica Simpson

Kim Kardashian

Lauren Conrad

Nicole Kidman

Scarlett Johansson

Demi Moore

Harry Stles

Gwenyth Paltrow

Oprah Winfrey

David and Victoria Beckham

Lady GaGa

Shailene Woodley

Lada Gaga

However, like any treatment or procedure, it's not something to jump into blindly, you should consult your doctor before booking an appointment.

"Obviously laser can burn the skin, so it's really important to go to a qualified and specialist surgeon who monitors the equipment," he says.

Just as it's completely up to you if you want to do something about your stretch marks, there's also nothing wrong with doing, well, nothing at all about them. We're actually quite fond of ours.

Supermodel Chrissy Teigen was showered with love by her fans recently after posting a picture of her legs with faint stretch marks, with the caption "Stretchies say hi!".

Image via Instagram (@chrissyteigen)

Her move is a refreshing and important reminder that in a world of filters, everyone has their insecurities. And those stretch marks? They're reminders of all the things you're body has been through. Love them, leave them or laser them - it's entirely up to you.

Check out some of The Glow team's favourite body image quotes from celebs we love.

Rebel WilsonThe actress said on Twitter; "I'm not trying to be hot. I'm just trying to be a good actress and entertain people."

Image via @rebelwilson

Adele"The first thing to do is be happy with yourself and appreciate your body - only then should you try to change things about yourself."

Image via Getty

Lady GagaAfter the media focused on her alleged weight gain in September 2012, Gaga hit back at critics by baring her body in photographs, sharing her struggles with an eating disorder, and inviting her fans to join her in a "body revolution"/ Image via @ladygaga

Ashley JuddAfter the March 2012 frenzy around Judd's "puffy face" the actress fought back in 'The Daily Beast', calling the media out for making women's bodies "a source of speculation, ridicule, and invalidation, as if they belong to others". Image via @ashley_judd

Christina Aguilera"I am always in support of someone who is willing and comfortable in their own skin enough to embrace it," the singer said in a recent interview. Image via @xtina

Lena DunhamAt the 2012 New Yorker Festival, the magazine's TV critic, Emily Nussbaum, asked Lena Dunham, producer, creator and star of the hit HBO show 'Girls' why Dunham is naked in so many scenes.

Dunham responded; "I realised that what was missing in movies for me was the presence of bodies I understood." She said she plans to live until she is 105 and show her thighs every day. Image via @lenadunham

Alexa ChungChung responded to critics who suggested that her slight frame made her a bad role model for young women, saying:

"Just because I exist in this shape doesn't mean that I'm, like, advocating it." Image via Twitter @alexa_chung

Stella BoonshoftThe NYU student started the amazing Body Love Blog, where she posted this picture of herself and wrote an open letter to those who feel entitled to shame others for the size or look of their bodies. Image via http://thebodyloveblog.tumblr.com"> Body Love Blog

Beth DittoThis five-foot-tall, 200-pound singer spoke openly about her weight to 'The Advocate' saying, "I feel sorry ... for people who've had skinny privilege and then have it taken away from them. I have had a lifetime to adjust to seeing how people treat women who aren't their idea of beautiful and therefore aren't their idea of useful, and I had to find ways to become useful to myself." Image via @marybethditto

Would you ever get cosmetic treatment for your stretch marks?

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