Stretch marks - what would you recommend in an attempt to prevent them?

[BettyButterknife]

I got terrible stretch marks during my first pregnancy despite using expensive Mamma Mio oil and almond oil throughout.

This time, I still want to use something but can't afford 22 quid a pop. Can anyone recommend something good and cheap?

I just don't want any more!

Hmmm... you do know that there isn't a cream to prevent stretch marks? You either get them or you don't. If you are going to get them, then you could apply the freshly shed tears of angels, to no avail. I'm afraid stretch marks are beyond our control!

And yes, I have them. And yes, I hate them. But yes, I'm stuck with them!

Palmers Cocoa butter is what I put on and I got a few very small ones near my tummy button. I don't know if it helped with stretch marks but it made my skin feel and smell nice, so I'm using it again this time.... Plus it isn't v expensive

I know there's nothign that actually works, but I would like something that makes me feel a bit less itchy and tight IYSWIM.

Might try the Palmers, thanks

condoms

I think the only thing that really helps is not putting on weight. If you are really prone to stretch marks and you tend to retain a lot of water during pregnancy, there are massage-type treatments to help you get rid of the water that work well, according to friends of mine. But you will have to do your own research in the UK, as my info is about France.

don't get pregnant

Too late for those suggestions, alas Madre and skidoodle.

Oh well, I'm never going to show my tummy in public again so I guess it doesn't matter.

Jergens naturals ultra hydrating cream has helped keep my belly itch free. Was also told to make sure to have plenty of zinc rich food and drink a lot of water.

have you tried bio-oil?

seems expensive but you only use a teensy bit each time

Buy vitamin e capsules pierce them with needle and rub vit E oil onto bump - healthspan capsules work out reasonably priced - probably would want to do this alongside palmers etc.

other tips drink lots of water and try not to put on too much weight. Also eat lots of vit e rich food.

I used wheatgerm oil on my bump recommended by the lady I see for regular massages.
I escaped any stretch marks really from my firsr 2 pregnancies, but my 3rd was huge so have been left with a few, but I think they would have been much worse if not for the wheatgerm oil.
Its very rich and can stain your sheets so lie on a towel and wear crap pants to bed
Its £7.20 for 100mls from Neals Yard but mine was mixed with sweet almond oil throughout and builds up then to almost pure wheatgerm

The bio oil and vitamin e I've heard are somewhat helpful. I've recently done my own research and purchased emu oil. It's supposed to penetrate deeper into your skin...We'll see. It's a bit pricey though.

Change your genes. Adopting a stretch-mark free mother works well.

In the interim, Palmers smells like chocolate, is cheap & won't do any harm

Everyone I know who used Palmer's Cocoa Butter ended up covered in stretch marks. I used Biotherm's stretc mark cream/gel in both pregnancies and have no stretch marks. My mother used almond oil in her two pregnancies and has loads of stretch marks on her sides.

Whatever you use, try not to put on too much weight too quickly.

Oh dear, well I really am doomed then!

I have a whopping great big fibroid that's about 12cm which makes my bump look enormous and grows very fast. By the end of my first pregnancy I looked like this

Try eating foods rich in zinc I am sure I have read in diet doctor book and elsewhere that that stretch marks are linked with a lack of zinc looking in pregnancy diet book - peanut butter very rich source app and I crave it when pg, beef, chicken nuts seeds, turkey, yogurt, wholewheat bread just checked diet doctor book which also suggests lack of vitamin c. Even if not helping with stretch marks pregnancy book says you need 50% more zinc when pregnant so it cant hurt to try eating more of those foods? obv I know this but will struggle beyond eating the odd peanutbutter sandwich .

My stretch marks from previous pregnancies faded with time and weightloss.

oops that wasn't meant to be a link soz

i'm feeling your pain, like i said on one of these "my stretch marks have stretch marks" people told me body shop Shea butter, palmers tummy butter... they only make you feel better but as for the look only time might tell. well wishes on your quest.

Quite honestly, I recommend going back in time and returning with a different genetic makeup. Some people get them, some people don't.

I only gained 20 pounds, which is pretty good considering my baby weighed 9 pounds, 8 ounces... I reckon the rest was placenta and water (I had loads). I got tons of stretch marks. I ate really well, used an expensive cream to apply to my abdomen, and my mum had 7 children and no stretch marks! So I don't know if it's genetic, what you eat, how much weight you gain or what, but I did "everything right" and ended up looking like a road atlas.

I'm slathering myself in ridiculous amounts of bio oil; apparently putting it in your bath halps your skin absorb oils and stuff like that better. But my mum got loads of stretchmarks and I mean loads and I was the only one and quite a small baby; so mostly I'm praying quite a lot

I suspect it'll happen or it won't - I'm 35w and I was doing so well - not a single one. But then my bump changed shape about two weeks ago and suddenly four or five just appeared out of nowhere, despite me oiling and moisturising every day and sometimes oftener. I feel so cheated.

I used Clarins Oil for stretch marks during both of my pregnancies every morning from about 8 weeks pg until the end - along with various lovely creams most evenings and haven't got a single stretch mark - although like many I'm not sure how much of it was down to genetics - neither my mum nor sister got stretch marks either. However I will be buying it should I get pg again! It is £30 a pop however one bottle lasted me my whole pg so actually it's pretty good value!

There's no cream that will prevent them. It's down to luck if you do or don't get 'em!
By 3rd pregnancy I had them right up to my chest and yet my sister is pregnant at the moment,near due date and she has the smoothest, mark free bump I have ever seen and she hasn't been putting anything on it.

Grr.