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Welcome to Mumsnet's shopping board. Whether you are after a new family car or a great new coffee machine this is the board for you. Share product recommendations and reviews here. Related: Discuss clothes and fashion on our Style and beauty forum. Check out Swears By to find the products Mumsnetters love and our reviews section to see the best baby and child products put through their paces.
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Anyone know any good products to get rid of Stretch Marks?
smileyragdoll · 01/09/2004 10:12
help am feeling blue re stretchmarks anyone help?
PotPourri · 01/09/2004 10:31
Cocoa butter. Try palmers in the pot. It;s cheap and supposed to be really good. Can't use it myself personally as I started using during early pregnancy and now the smell makes me gag (mroning sickness). Also, Lush does a massage bar called Therapy that they specifically say is for stretch marks...
ebbie22 · 01/09/2004 10:36
Avon do one supposed to help fade and reduce the look of worms as my niece calls them...
smileyragdoll · 01/09/2004 10:46
worms boo hoo, am feeling sorry for myself, dont get me wrong love my ds v much but missing my pre preg body not that i had a 6 pack before
ebbie22 · 01/09/2004 10:50
I too know that feeling but my dd is 20 months and still not happy...
fuzzywuzzy · 01/09/2004 10:53
Try sympathy for skin from lush, it's so far worked for me... I think, at any rate it's stopped an old scar from itching as the rest of me stretches.
AussieSim · 01/09/2004 10:57
Sadly - if you asked a dermatologist about this they would laugh there heads off. They fade over time that's it and whether you get them badly or not too badly is all dependant on your skin type not any magic creams or how big a baby you had. The ones on my lower tummy don't worry me that much, but the ones on my boobs do, but I am resigned to having them as a memento of my DS for the rest of my saggy bodied life.
Lowryn · 01/09/2004 10:57
Has anyone tried this ?
I saw it on Boots.com and wondered if it was as good as they say. I have a yucky post preg pouch to get rid of and the lardiness is only a small factor!
BooMama · 01/09/2004 11:27
Another vote for Palmers cocoa butter - the one I have isn't specifically for stretch marks but it is supposed to slowly get rid of marks on the skin.
A friend used some vitamin to reduce a scar on her hand. She bought those capsules and cut them open (a bit fiddly) and squeezed the contents out (you would probably need rather a lot for stretch marks though!!). However, I can't remember if it was vit c or e!
Maybe someone else may know!
aloha · 01/09/2004 11:33
A dermatologist wouldn't laugh. There are several treatments including the use of retinol creams and laser/light treatments which show some promising results, but primarily with 'new' stretch marks that are still red. The laser/light treatments are quite expensive though and obviously not for pregnant women.
aloha · 01/09/2004 11:34
I am rahter dubious, personally, about the efficacy of ordinary creams. The damage in stretch marks is quite a way down in the skin, beyond the reach of superficial creams.
woodpops · 01/09/2004 11:41
THere was a thread a week or so ago about bio oil. It's available at Spuredrug, £8:95
Branster · 01/09/2004 13:34
Had done a bit a research on this and have used a number of products. Nothing works in my case. The only product I can recommend does not get rid of them as such (nothing does in fact) but it does improve the appearance of them substantially if used continuosly. It's Rosehip oil, it lasts for ages and you can find it here
I'll came back tonight on this thread, there was a bit more I wanted to add but haven't got time now.
almost40 · 01/09/2004 14:18
I loved the Mustela 9 mois. It was really expensive though! I'm not sure how well it worked, but it smelled really nice.
cuppy · 01/09/2004 20:02
Ive tried the bio - oil and the new product from avon and seen no improvement.
highlander · 01/09/2004 20:41
stretch marks are caused by the collagen splitting deep in your skin, beyond the epidermal layer.
Any cream/ointment that is absorbed beyond the epidermal layer is classed as a prescription only drug.
Thus, any claims made by creams that can be bought over the counter are false.
Stretch marks do fade in time, but the 'pitting' of skin doesn't. I've got faded silvery ones on the tops of my thighs and pitted ones just under my bum. But strangely, no pregnancy ones yet! (thank god - I'd be suicidal)
sportyspice · 01/09/2004 20:44
I don't think there is anything that you can do although they do fade in time and although very bad for you a tan does make them less visible. Just try and be comforted by the fact that you are in the majority and not the minority
Branster · 01/09/2004 20:56
Meant to say, I've heard of something called StriVectin S-D, from US, apparently a miracle product, should improve wrinkles as well. Expensive, and no idea if it works or not, but someone here might know more about it.
I've also read that Emu Oil is supposed to be a magic potion, but not knowing where exactly it comes from (I thought emu is a bird, am I right???) I'm not quite sure it's a good one to use. Again, maybe someone here will know more on this topic.
Also, there is an estee lauder product called Re-Nutriv
Intensive Lifting Body Creme £100 for 250ml (or maybe one of their other Re-nutriv products, they're all expensive anyway, this particular one is actually the cheapest per 100ml in the series)
... apparently this is some magical cream that would help with all sorts of skin problems including strech marks. it is expensive so I never found out if this is true or not.
Now, wasn't that interesting?...
spacemonkey · 01/09/2004 22:07
mine are the same froot, horrible isn't it :(
if i had the money i would have mine chopped out (as you so nicely put it!)
Turtle35 · 02/09/2004 08:57
my Mother sent me some amazing oil from Canada called Escents aromatherapy stretch mark prevention oil, I don't know and highly doubt there is a miracle blend in this oil but I am huge and haven't got any stretch marks, I have some previous ones on my boob from years ago and the tops of my thighs so I am obviously prone to stretch marks. The website is www.escentsaromatherpay.com
I think anything is worth a try, also Space NK do a blended oil to prevent stretch marks.
smileyragdoll · 02/09/2004 09:53
thanks everyone, lots of products to try, deep down i suppose i know i will be left with them but feeling more positive about it this morning and am going to order some stuff to try, think i'll start with vit e capsules and the cocoa butter while i wait for the rosehip oil and look for the bio oil,
karen99 · 02/09/2004 12:54
agree completely froot... I didn't have any stretch marks for my whole pregnancy until the last three weeks.. SOOOOO DEPRESSING... thought I'd escaped.. from my belly button down it's like wrinkly jelly.. and I also find losing weight shows them up even more.. nothing to fill all that skin out with.. I really get depressed as I've had to buy more tops to fit my changed shape upstairs and now I have to make sure they're extra long so there's no chance of my belly button showing round the belt area..
I did try bio-oil for a few months after ds was born and it quickly reduced the redness to silver when applied religiously day and night. However, it hasn't helped the saggyness which is my main depressing bug-bare...
[also can't belive I've just admitted this to everyone!]
Branster · 02/09/2004 20:59
smileyragdoll
Health Aid do a pure vit E oil in a little bottle. Their products are usually found in independent chemists, but have a look at their site here for your nearest stockist. Having tried it myself (made no difference whatsoever, but useful to have around the house for rapid healing of skin wounds and prevention of scarring)I found this bottle to be cheaper than the Vit E gel type capsules. Vit A, however I could never find in a bottle like this (only capsules and when I use it I prick the capsule with a pin and squeeze out the oil. BTW I use it to treat my nails with it now and then). Also Almond Oil is (to my knowledge) a natural type of Vit E (not the best wording but can't find the right expression at the moment), very rich and could be combined with a few drops of levender oil for skin massage as an alternative. Tried this one as well and did not work one bit, I'm sorry to say.
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