user: New IPL treatment uses a 'tattoo gun' to fix stretch marks. DermaEraze reduce their appearance by up to 90 per cent. Gun punctures skin to cause cells to make more collagen.

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assistant: By. Kay Goddard. Problem erased: Ashley Cole, 23, underwent DermaEraze to get rid of stretch marks caused by weight loss. A tattoo gun-style treatment without the ink, combined with blasts of intensely bright light,  is offering a solution to people with stretch marks and sagging skin. The DermaEraze regime ‘sounds like torture’, according to Lorena Oberg, the cosmetic practitioner who launched it in the UK. But while she says it leaves the skin ‘red raw’, she adds: ‘It looks  far worse than it feels.’ Stretch marks appear when the skin’s collagen and elastin fibres are rapidly stretched beyond their limit, causing tiny tears and scarring. Rapid weight gain during pregnancy is a primary cause, but they can also be influenced by hormonal changes associated with puberty, muscle-building and general weight gain. Among sufferers is actress and mother-of-three Kate Winslet, 38, who has admitted that pregnancy left her with stretch marks. Until now a range of options – from lasers to gels and lotions – have been available to help reduce the appearance of stretch marks, but many have minimal or no effect. DermaEraze, however, is delivering consistent results in reducing their appearance by up to 90 per cent in some cases, as well as shrinking the width of scars in one single 60-minute session. First the patient has a rub-on anaesthetic cream applied to numb the skin. Then intense pulsed light (IPL) may be used to prepare the area – heat generated  by bright light is delivered directly on to the skin via a handpiece. The energy breaks down uneven pigmentation. The needling part of DermaEraze is carried out using a specially made device similar to a tattoo gun. The sharp end can have just one or up to eight very fine needles, bunched in a circle. These oscillate back and forth, like a sewing machine, hundreds of times  a second and can be accurately targeted at individual stretch marks. Lorena says this puncturing causes. cells called fibroblasts to make more collagen to repair the skin, which. in turn has a rejuvenating and tightening effect. The. entire session takes up to two hours, including about 30 minutes of. needling. And, according to Lorena, while there may be discomfort, ‘this. only lasts as long as the treatment’. Common cause: Pregnancy and weight fluctuations are the most common reasons why stretch marks to appear on the skin. She adds: ‘The treated areas look horrendous for  48 hours afterwards: bright red and sore looking – but it looks worse than it actually is.’ Fitness trainer Ashley Cole, 23, from Croydon, Surrey, developed stretch marks after losing five stone. Having tried other treatments, he underwent a session  of DermaEraze three months ago, followed by IPL a month later, and is delighted with his results. He says: ‘Some of the marks have totally disappeared while others have faded.’ Bryan Mayou, of the Cadogan Clinic in London, says it could be effective. ‘If your stretch marks concern you this might be worth trying,’ he says. From £500, harleystreetskin clinic.com.