Stretch marks? What works??

[Beckah1994xx]

I'm 26 weeks pregnant & already getting stretch marks, I have palmer's tummy butter and sanctuary stuff, but whats best to get rid of stretchmarks, does anyone have any other things they can suggest? Thanks :)

[divingoffthebalcony]

Nothing works unfortunately. You are either lucky or you're not. I carried low throughout, and am quite short so the stretch marks were truly something to behold. By the time I was full term the bump was more stretch mark than normal skin. Some were over a centimetre thick

Although they've faded hugely, my abdomen stills looks like a scrunched up paper bag. I'll never wear a bikini again, but I was never one for swimwear so it's no great loss!

[BumpNGrind]

Sorry to be the lone voice but I think that you can influence whether you get stretch marks in some way.

I'm very prone to stretch marks, the back of me looks like a zebra and i have them over my boobs and inside of my thighs, despite never yoyo-ing in weight and only being a stone heavier in my late 20's than I was at 15. My skin can be awful and I've been very self conscious, especially when they are purple and angry. However, when I got pregnant, my religious approach to stretch mark prevention has seemingly paid off because I don't have any on my stomach yet (39 + 3) so it is worth giving prevention your best shot, even if it doesn't work out, you'll have beautifully soft skin.

[Beckah1994xx]

Thanks everyone for the help! :) they seem to be fading slightly, which is all I can ask for really :)

[natasha1986]

Hey - bio oil in the morning and moisturiser at night worked for me and did not get any although was convinced i would. In retrospect, after discussion with other mums think it was gym going before and during pregnancy and strong abdo muscles that helped avoid them as those who did not get them had very compact bumps so skin was stretched less.

[rockpink]

Nothing.
Once your tummy starts itching (IMHO) you are going to get them, sorry !

[Prosopopeia]

Pregnant Age 38 used Palmers Cocoa Butter daily, didn't get any stretchmarks.

Pregnant Age 40 used nothing, didn't get any stretchmarks.

My sister has had 3 children first age 17 and has many angry stretchmarks.

My Mum has had 4 children and has no stretchmarks.

Her Mum had 16 and had no stretchmarks...

My other sister has no children and is covered in them.

It's not genetic


Creams don't work. The people who say they do, it's because their skin wasn't predisposed to stretchmarks in the first place.
I could sell Palmers by saying, 'I used it daily and it kept the stretchmarks away! It's a miracle product!' But it's not true.
My theory is I did some yoga and swimming and never sunbathed. My skin still had good elastin and I wasn't over or underweight. And I was a relatively older mother.

Don't just dismiss the suggestions to 'read the science bit' if you really want a concrete answer. You know deep down that the beauty industry is conning you. You know it.

Eat healthy, exercise and stay out of the sun.

[rootypig]

I've read somewhere that it's correlated with age, and that's borne out in my family. Pregnancies before about 25 = stretch marks. After, none. I got stretch marks on my hips as a teen, actually from losing weight I think. Anyway, got none in pregnancy.

That said, taking a pregnancy approved fish oil supplement will improve the elasticity of your skin (and possibly benefit the baby). If you do, research which you can safely use - some are too high in vitamin A to be recommended.

DermaMum stretch mark oil is excellent too. I don't think it would prevent them but it will stop the itching and make your skin feel comfortable, and help them to fade. It's rich but light and absorbs better than anything else. Plus it's fragrance free. The cream is great too. I use them as regular body products now, they're such good quality for the price.

[echt]

This

www.webmd.com/baby/features/stretch-marks

All the rest is just one person's experience and luck. If there was a solution as simple as Bio-Oil then everyone would use it and no -one would have stretch marks. But they do. It doesn't work, nor does anything else.

[GaryShitpeas]

Coconut oil

The pure extra Virgin stuff

I wish I'd known about it when I had my first and 2nd dc. I used bio oil with them and still got loads. but used coconut oil while pregnant with my 3rd, (had her 6 months ago) and didn't get any new ones at all. It's also faded my old ones to nothing. I swear by it.

[Stupidhead]

Echt, I agree. I also think that it's possible they can appear in the last few days so even if you're in the last week you're still likely to get one.

[Darksideofthemoon88]

I used a much cheaper version of Bio Oil (Re-gen Oil I think?) from Aldi several times a week from the moment I found out I was pregnant, and then daily from about 16 weeks. It's only about £2 bottle and I only used two bottles throughout my pregnancy, so it didn't cost much, but it smelled lovely and it kept my skin soft and hydrated. I've got no stretchmarks despite having a big baby for the size of me, but my mam hasn't got stretchmarks either and she had two big (for the size of her) babies 20 years apart, and there is supposed to be a genetic link. I'd definitely use it again though - just in case!

[Gruntbaby]

First baby I used Neal's Yard oil and butter and no stretch marks at all despite large baby - I did have quite a small bump though.

Second baby I got a few below my navel, despite using the oils. This time I had polyhydramnios so absolutely massive bump which grew overnight. However the marks were never too bad and faded to pretty much unnoticeable 6 months later. Used the MammaMio stuff after birth twice a day. Can't say for sure it it helped as my brain wasn't up to devising scientific trials at that point.

I think a lot of it is genetic. I did get stretch marks in puberty which are silvery or white now and don't show up much on my very pale skin.

[Gruntbaby]

Prosopopeia - sorry but you can't say it's not genetics just using your family history like that. It would depend on what type of inheritability the gene, or genes, involved have. I've studied evolutionary biology to post-grad level.

As an example - I have something called HMS, so does my daughter and my sister. My son and brother don't have it. My mother doesn't have it and nor did my grandmothers. It does however have a clear (as in scientifically proven) genetic basis. Or look at Cystic Fibrosis where, IIRC, you need two carriers, so 1/4 children will have CF, 1/4 won't have at all, 2/4 will be carriers. Then there are a number of different mutations on the particular involved which cause variations in the severity from almost unnoticeable to severe. I could continue...

Stretch marks may/may not have a genetic basis, but you can't tell from your family history as recounted.

[ImGoingForATwix]

Like others have said, nothing works but moisturising does improve the skin's appearance so therefore can make them look a bit better. In time they fade.

[sleepdodger]

I had none to 40 weeks using bio oil
Then I went overdue and pop pop pop they appeared on my tunny and hips
Faded now... Until we start again

[MrsWedgeAntilles]

I though Bio Oil was doing a really amazing job as my stretch marks and Caesarian scar healed up to almost invisibility but then I noticed that other untreated scars had done the same so like other have said, I think its just your luck.

[specialsubject]

nothing clinically proven to work.

remember - ask for evidence.

[mrstowers]

I'm always curious as to why celebs don't seem to get them or is that just airbrushing?

[WhyOWhyWouldYou]

Mrstowers I think a lot is airbrushing and concealing. Also a lot of celebs have personal dieticians in pregnancy to make sure they don't put on too much weight, with the pregnancy, to try to minimise the chances.

[ElleDubloo]

I'm 37 weeks and haven't got had stretch marks yet. (Having said that, they might still come, as my belly's growing quite a bit these days and the skin's feeling pretty tight.) My mother had stretch marks in pregnancy. I've been using Bio Oil after every time I shower, since about 20 weeks.

[BumpNGrind]

I've used bio oil but I find that using baby oil in the shower when washing and then using either sanctuary body oil in the day or Johnson's baby oil gel means a far longer lasting effect. I find that bio oil rubs off really quickly.

[Icedfinger]

Genetics!

[Kundry]

There are no ingredients in Bio-Oil that could possibly work. Stretch marks naturally fade over time.

[GaryShitpeas]

Mrstowers I wonder that as well!

Grrr at the Celebs with their perfect bellies after several dc