Stretch Marks During Growth & Puberty:A Guide for Teens and Parents
A teen can be healthy, active, and growing normally—and still develop sudden red, purple, pink, brown, or dark lines. Stretch marks are one of the most common ways rapid growth shows up on the skin. They do not prove that someone gained too much weight, exercised incorrectly, or failed to moisturize. This guide explains what is typical, what the lines may look like in different body areas, what optional care can do, and when a clinician should take a closer look.
Explore this guide
Are stretch marks normal during puberty?
Yes. Stretch marks are common during normal puberty and can appear in healthy teens during a rapid growth spurt—even without major weight gain.
They often begin as red, pink, purple, reddish-brown, or dark-brown streaks and gradually become paler. Many become less noticeable with time. Care is optional: some teens want information or a gentle routine, while others do not want to treat them at all.
Why they develop
A growth spurt can create stretch marks without anything being wrong.
Puberty can change height, shoulders, hips, thighs, chest, muscle distribution, and body proportions quickly. Genetics, hormones, skin structure, and the direction of growth help explain why one teen develops marks and another does not.
Rapid linear growth
Height, shoulder width, hips, thighs, chest, and muscle distribution can change quickly during puberty. Skin in a specific area may change faster than its support structure adapts.
Hormonal influence
Pubertal hormone changes may affect how skin responds to mechanical stress. Hormones are part of the explanation, but they do not make stretch marks a sign that puberty is abnormal.
Genetics and skin structure
Family history and individual differences in collagen, elastin, and other connective-tissue components may influence susceptibility.
The lines do not reveal how well a teen eats, exercises, or cares for their skin.
Start with a calm explanation, not a correction. The first message should be that the change is common and usually harmless—not that the body now needs to be fixed.
Common locations
The direction of growth often explains the direction of the lines.
Marks across the back can appear horizontal, while marks on the hips, thighs, arms, or chest may angle, curve, or run vertically. The pattern guide above helps families recognize common presentations without requiring an examination of the whole body.
Back and shoulders
Horizontal marks may appear across the lower or middle back during rapid height or shoulder growth. Upper arms and shoulders may also develop marks as body proportions change.
Hips, buttocks, and thighs
These are common areas of pubertal body-shape change. Marks may appear in clusters and can occur even when overall weight remains within a healthy range.
Knees and calves
Rapid leg growth can produce marks around the knees, calves, or upper legs. Location alone does not determine whether a mark is normal or concerning.
Abdomen and chest
The abdomen, chest, or breast area may develop stretch marks as body size and shape change. Respect privacy and allow the teen to decide who sees the area.
Why the color changes
New marks can look dramatic before they become calmer and paler.
The early color can be red, purple, pink, reddish-brown, or dark brown depending on skin tone. As the mark matures, texture and shallow indentation may become more noticeable than color.
May appear red, pink, purple, reddish-brown, or dark brown. They may be slightly raised, smooth, itchy, or more noticeable than expected.
Often become pale, silver, white, or lighter than the surrounding skin. They may flatten, become slightly indented, or develop a fine wrinkled texture.
Puberty-associated marks often become less conspicuous with time, although some color or texture difference may remain.
Measure the feature that matches the stage.
Earlier marks are judged more by color, comfort, and evolving texture. Mature marks are judged more by softness, texture, firmness, elasticity, contrast, and depth. The full Red vs. White Stretch Marks guide explains the difference.
For parents and trusted adults
Start by answering what the teen is actually asking.
The teen may be asking whether the lines are normal, whether anyone else gets them, or whether other people can see them. A clear answer and respect for privacy matter more than immediately starting a treatment plan.
Age-appropriate care
Keep the routine gentle, optional, and easy to understand.
When a teen wants care, the goal can be softer, more comfortable, better-conditioned skin and a gradual improvement in visible color, texture, contrast, and overall uniformity. Aggressive treatment is not a shortcut.
Confirm that the lines look like stretch marks.
A pediatrician or dermatologist can help when the appearance is unusual, the area is painful, or the family is uncertain.
Use gentle care on intact skin.
Avoid harsh exfoliation, scraping, at-home needling, bleaching products, or internet treatments that burn or deliberately injure the skin.
Patch test any new cosmetic.
Test a small area first. Stop if persistent burning, swelling, rash, or worsening irritation develops.
Use a product built for more than basic moisture.
A purpose-built cream may support hydration, softness, comfort, texture, tone, firmness, elasticity, contrast, and overall appearance. The teen should still be free to decide that no treatment is needed.
Involve a parent, guardian, or clinician.
This is especially important for younger teens, extensive application, sensitive skin, allergies, prescription acne treatment, eczema, or other skin conditions.
Do not rush into procedures.
Lasers, microneedling, radiofrequency, and prescription treatments require qualified professional guidance, careful skin-tone consideration, and age-appropriate decision-making.
improvement in stretch-mark appearance after 28 days
The supplier reported this result for a Haematococcus Pluvialis-derived active tested at 1% twice daily in a small randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Stretch Mark Repair Cream contains the supplier blend at 2%.
For families choosing optional topical care
A clear formula is better than a vague promise.
Stretch Mark Repair Cream combines 5% rosehip oil, 2% bakuchiol, a 2% Haematococcus Pluvialis supplier blend, 1% Centella asiatica, 2% squalane, and 2% jojoba in a retinoid-free, percentage-transparent formula made without added fragrance or essential oils.
It is designed to visibly improve stretch-marked skin across texture, tone, softness, firmness, elasticity, contrast, and overall uniformity. For a teen, use should remain optional, limited to intact skin, and parent-, guardian-, or clinician-supported when age, sensitivity, allergies, or medical questions make that appropriate.
When the pattern does not fit a typical growth spurt
Most puberty stretch marks are harmless. A few clues deserve a medical check.
A pediatrician, family physician, or dermatologist can evaluate marks when the history or appearance does not fit a typical growth spurt.
- Very wide or rapidly developing purple marks appeared without a clear growth or body-size change.
- The teen uses strong topical, inhaled, injected, or oral corticosteroids.
- There is easy bruising, unusual muscle weakness, facial rounding, high blood pressure, or other new symptoms.
- The skin is painful, open, blistered, draining, infected, or severely inflamed.
- The lines do not look like typical stretch marks or could be confused with injury, rash, or another condition.
- There are signs of a connective-tissue disorder or a relevant family medical history.
- The marks are causing substantial distress, avoidance, bullying, or disruption of daily life.
Teen and parent questions
What families commonly ask about puberty stretch marks
Can a thin or athletic teenager get stretch marks?
Why does my teenager have horizontal stretch marks on the back?
Do puberty stretch marks go away?
Are purple stretch marks normal in teenagers?
Can boys get stretch marks during puberty?
Should a teenager use stretch mark cream?
What does the up-to-60% result mean for a teenager?
Can teens use retinol or tretinoin on stretch marks?
How can parents talk about stretch marks without causing embarrassment?
How this guide was created
This page was developed from pediatric and dermatology reviews of adolescent striae, American Academy of Dermatology guidance, current clinical reference material, treatment reviews, and the Stretch Mark Repair ingredient substantiation record. Normal pubertal growth was separated from medically concerning patterns, and treatment information was written to avoid appearance pressure or direct marketing to minors. Last reviewed July 2026.
Sources
Research used to build this guide
- Striae distensae in adolescents: a mini review
- American Academy of Dermatology: Stretch marks—why they appear and treatment expectations
- NCBI Bookshelf: Striae Distensae
- Clinical features and risk factors for striae distensae in adolescents
- A teenager with lumbar striae distensae: when a bruise is not a bruise
- Striae distensae treatment review and update
- Comprehensive review and evidence-based evaluation of prevention and treatment