stretch mark lotion

[briannas auntie]

My gyno told me that I could use stretch mark cream to firm up my belly for the next year while I am in college.  This way, my stomach won't have as many stretch marks when I finally become pregnant.  She has used this technique with many of her patients, and she says that it works.

I recently got some Palmers Coco Butter lotion, but have found that I need something that is thicker.  The Palmers lotion is too runny.

What do all of you use for stretch marks? 

Jessie

[anne1140]

I use Aquaphor, which is about as thick as you can get, and I still got stetchmarks all over my belly. I think that if they are going to happen, they will, and if they aren't, they won't. Not much you can do. It has more to do with genetics, how much weight you gain, and how you carry. Most of those you can't do anything about. I'm thin and was in very good shape before becoming pregnant, but genetically, I'm predisposed to stretchmarks, and everyone tells me I'm all baby (ie--my belly is huge), so I don't think anything was going to prevent it for me. 

[Dot-to-Dot]

I, too, have always heard that it's just genetic and hard to prevent if it's destined to happen.  However, I use a mixture of pure coconut oil and emu oil, if anything to soothe the itchiness I get as my stomach grows.  I did not get stretch marks last time and haven't this time so far at 30 weeks.  Hard to know if it's the oil I use or my genetics.  My mom did not use anything and didn't get stretch marks.

[Smokering]

I think if you want to prevent stretchmarks and have time on your side (I take it you're not currently pregnant?), your best bet would be to alter your diet, increasing foods/nutrients that contribute to collagen production, skin elasticity and so on. Vitamin E, zinc, biotin, maybe silica... stuff like that. Lots of good fats. What goes in your body is (I suspect) a lot more important than what you slather on the outside, especially as a lot of creams just sit on top of the skin.

That said, I can't get my head around not using a stretchmark cream. :p I used Bio-Oil faithfully last time - very expensive, sadly - and I did get stretch marks, but mostly in the places I hadn't rubbed it on as much. I stupidly concentrated on the front of my tummy, not realising that my hips and bottom could also get stretch marks. So I don't know if it worked or not... but we can't afford it this time round. I'm using coconut oil, just because I have it on hand; and I bought some Vitamin E capsules, and might start using them once I do some research and make sure it's safe for pregnancy. I was going to mix emu oil in with the coconut/vitamin E, as it's meant to help other ingredients penetrate the skin; but I ran out. :p I have increased my good fats since last pregnancy, and I'm taking zinc... so, we'll see.

Unfortunately if you're a white woman you have a, what, 90% chance of getting them? It sucks, but there it is. The good news is that they DO fade - most of mine are barely visible now. I thought I'd escaped them entirely last time, but got them at about 38 weeks... and then got pre-eclampsia, which caused massive swelling, and now I have them on my calves. Grrr.

I recently read Ina May Gaskin saying that you're less likely to get stretch marks if you're not "uptight", but it didn't seem like one of her more rigorously scientific statements. :p Anyway, I'd have to undergo a drastic personality redesign in order to not be uptight, so if it's true I'm screwn anyway!

[kalamos23]

I have stretchmarks on my breasts, hips and butt from growing as a teen but oddly enough didn't get any during pregnancy with DD. So far at almost 34 weeks, I have none this time around and am really crossing my fingers that I don't get any on my stomach (please, oh please! it's my one vanity!). 

[briannas auntie]

Would anything like this work on softening a huge vertical scar from above my belly button to right above my public hairs?  This is where my incision was from my colectomy a couple years ago.  I have heard that if you become pregnant and have had abdominal surgery, the incision scars can become extremely itchy due to the skin having to stretch harder where the scar is.

Would vitamin E oil work for this?  The scar has faded quite a bit in the past couple of years, but still feels rubbery when you rub your finger up and down it, compared to the rest of my abdominal skin.  I have had stretch marks from being overweight and from puberty that haven't gone away hardly at all, so I guess all of you are right in genetics causing stretch marks, since my mom and sister have stretch makrs.

Jessie

[DevaMajka]

Originally Posted by Smokering 

I think if you want to prevent stretchmarks and have time on your side (I take it you're not currently pregnant?), your best bet would be to alter your diet, increasing foods/nutrients that contribute to collagen production, skin elasticity and so on. Vitamin E, zinc, biotin, maybe silica... stuff like that. Lots of good fats. What goes in your body is (I suspect) a lot more important than what you slather on the outside, especially as a lot of creams just sit on top of the skin.

Good info! Thanks :) I need to start all this *now*!

I didn't get any stretch marks until the very end of both pregnancies. My poor stomach skin looks like crepe paper, because it never bounced back (my stomach got HUGE). It hangs down, (not to mention that my stomach muscles split, so I looked pg even before I got pg). My stretch marks are really light though- I don't notice them unless I specifically look for them. I REALLY don't want things to get worse this time around, so I've decided I'll get two stretch mark products, and use one in the morning and one at night, and hope that one of them works. lol. I was also thinking that good dietary fats would probably help, but hadn't considered the other stuff you mentioned.

[Smokering]

Jessie: It might do? I know people often use vitamin E oil io scars, but I'm not sure how "fresh" the scars have to be for it to have an effect. Worth a shot, though - vitamin E is fairly cheap, although it usually comes in capsules, which you have to prick with a pin and squeeze.

[briannas auntie]

Originally Posted by Smokering 

Jessie: It might do? I know people often use vitamin E oil io scars, but I'm not sure how "fresh" the scars have to be for it to have an effect. Worth a shot, though - vitamin E is fairly cheap, although it usually comes in capsules, which you have to prick with a pin and squeeze.

I think I'll try that and see if it helps.  Thanks!!

Jessie

[Smokering]

Just for the record: I looked up vitamin E supplementation during pregnancy. It seems to be controversial. One study showed that it lowered the risk of developing pre-eclampsia when taken in conjunction with vitamin C, which got me all excited because I had it last time; but another showed it actually increased the risk, and it has also been associated with congenital heart defects, stillbirths and so on (admittedly at a fairly high dosage - 400IU, which my bottle of vitamins calls a "big hit" of vitamin E). So it's probably not a good idea to supp with it during pregnancy, although I can't see why it would be an issue before pregnancy. (It's supposed to be naturally-occurring in seeds, nuts, vegetable oils and veggies, so there's also the option to seeking out foods rich in the naturally-occurring form, either before or during pregnancy.)

I couldn't find much info on topical usage - one site said "generally regarded as safe", while another, more cautiously, said there hadn't been studies on it. Certainly it appears in a whole bunch of stretch mark-type products. I'm comfortable using it, but thought I should pass the info along!

[Mistymum]

I have been a regular user of Bio-oil for body massage long before I got pregnant. But it didn't seem to help prevent stretch marks for me as my tummy started stretching once I got pregnant. So I have shifted to olive oil massages and it has been doing good for me so far.

Anyone else used/using olive oil to prevent stretch marks??