Stretch Marks!

[Lego80]

Hi. Can anybody recommend any products that lessen/prevent/alleviate stretch marks. I've heard bio oil is good but sooooo expensive. (Also what does ds1 ds2 ex mean??? I see these abbreviations in posts and it's like reading a dating ad that I don't understand!)

[PenguinsandtheTantrumofDoom]

Nothing works.It is damage at a far deeper level of the skin than a cream or oil can penetrate.

Sorry.

There is an acronyms guide.

[TywysogesGymraeg]

DS means Dear Son. 1is first son etc.

I used moisturiser religiously every day. I can't remember what it was, but I had 2 pregnancies with absolutely no stretch marks.

[BatteryPoweredHen]

Topical creams don't work, but this does seem to have some preventative effect...

secretsaviours.com

[PenguinsandtheTantrumofDoom]

Did you use it Battery. Looks sweaty

[carbolicsoaprocked]

I've used a variety of different things every night and haven't got stretchmarks yet (32 weeks) but who knows if I would've had them anyway. I've used Bio Oil, Asda's stretch mark butter and oil (think it's called mum and me?), Bodyshop body butters and coconut oil stuff.
Here's a link to Mumsnet acronyms: www.mumsnet.com/info/acronyms
Good luck with the stretchmarks!

[moomoob]

I got a cheaper version of bio oil from my local savers if you have 1 of them by you it was only a few pounds and I didn't get any stretch marks. I've heard almond oil is very good too.

[Lop12345]

I I have been using body shop body butter & love it, rubs in really well & not greasy. I have sensitive skin & have been fine with it

[Fattycow]

The oils/lotions/creams don't work. The thing that does work a little is massaging the skin. That is why Bio Oil seems to work, as you need to keep rubbing it in until it is all absorbed and this takes a while. But you can use your regular body lotion or even olive oil if you like. You just need to massage the skin!

[Roseybee10]

Tbh I think it's part genetics and partly due to weight gain/bump size.

I gained 4 stone with dd1 and had loads of stretch marks.

Gained 1.5 stone with dd2 and not one single new stretch mark.

If you keep your skin well moisturised and gain a heathy amount of weight then they shouldn't get too bad.

[BatteryPoweredHen]

Penguins, I have purchased the thing, but it looks a bit scary...when I take it off, my bump looks like an alien appendage!

Getting bigger now, so will use it more often. Trouble is, as pp obseve, there's no way of knowing whether I'd have got/avoided stretch marks anyway.

I think best advice is just not to get too huge in the first place tbh...

[iniquity]

I'm going to try the secret saviours band when I next get paid. But I won't buy the cream that goes with it as IMO cream does not work at all.
At least the band might offer a little support to the bump.

[PenguinsandtheTantrumofDoom]

Yes, I can totally see that maybe minimising 'bump bounce' could help prevent the damage to the deep level layers of skin. Not saying it will, but I can see the theory of how it might.

The 'don't get too big' advice is good. Sadly, I am someone who, each time, has gone very overdue. I remember getting to about 37 weeks with DC1 and smugly noting that I had none (despite being prone and having them all up my back from when I was a teenager and grew fast). It is the last 4 weeks or so that have done the damage each time. And, of course, that's time I wouldn't have been getting bigger and bigger had I delivered at 37/38 weeks.

Still, the ship has sailed for me. I'm done making babies.

[wowiesis111]

Pure coconut oil ( that u can also eat ) is wOrking for me ! I have psoriasis so slap it on all the time and worked so far on ds1 and this pregnancy ( so far) although I'm bigger this time !! Fingers crossed.
One I get is online and £8 for huge tub!

[BatteryPoweredHen]

Iniquity the gel doesn't make any stretch mark prevention claims itself, it is actually designed to make your skin a bit 'tacky' so that the plastic pads 'stick' to your skin. It is the action of the pads, rather than the gel that is supposed to prevent stretch marks.

I tried it without and it didn't work in the same way - i.e. the pads didn't stick...

[BatteryPoweredHen]

(and it smells lovely too )

[VikingLady]

Ha! I only get visible stretch marks after the birth - they are invisible before that!

I didn't gain much this time either but I got new ones actually on my mons! Not impressed.

[PenguinsandtheTantrumofDoom]

Ooh VikingLady, is your newest here? We chatted names recently. Congratulations.

[iniquity]

The thing is bph I don't mind paying £29 for a band that won't probably work but to pay £69 for the whole thing I don't know if I could. I would try and find some cheaper cream to do the sticking if it needs to be stuck on!

[Lunastarfish]

I'm using almond oil (buy it and coconut oil for that mater from indian supermarkets, it's so much cheaper than elsewhere! Almond oil costs me £1.99). At 26 weeks I don't yet have any stretchmarks but I have stretchmarks from a growth spurt at 17 so I assume I will get some as my pregnancy progresses. My belly button piercing scar is definitely stretching.

My understanding is that you can't prevent them and its genetic but my bump is lovely and soft

[EeekEeekEeekEeek]

I use Bio-Oil religiously but know that it probably makes no difference at all. It's just a ritual that makes me feel I'm doing something.

It's all to do with genetics and slow, steady weight gain, really. At 35 weeks I've no marks, but then my mum never got any, plus I've been lucky enough to not gain a lot of weight very suddenly.

I've also heard that pregnant women in their late 20s-30s are less likely to get stretch marks than teen or early 20s mums. Sounds the wrong way round, but apparently it's to do with whether your body's still growing.

Ask your mum whether she got any marks, it's probably the best way of guessing what'll happen for you.

[GeekyBabyGifts]

I have been using Bio-Oil and Secret Saviours for over 12 weeks, I am at 21 weeks and don`t have any stretch marks yet but I need to see how it works after 30 weeks