I've been taking coconut oil topically for a common skin fungus I've had for YEARS called Tinea Versicolor. After just a few days there is a marked difference in the rash. YIPPEEE!
In doing more research, I'm finding a lot of talk about the use of coconut oil topically for helping to minimize or even eliminate stretch marks- both new and old!!
Who knows more? Personal experiences? It's not going to hurt me to try, as it's been making my skin feel great, so I've got my own little long term experiment going on, but I'd love to know if the results really might be fruitful!
During my first pregnancy, I did cocoa butter. I got stretch marks at 40 weeks. DD1 was in until 41, that little bugger couldn't have come 1 week and 1 day earlier, just for me? lol.
Honestly, though. I love my stretch marks now. The pouch? I could do without, though.
Interested to see how your experiment turns out, @happyday8598! I use coconut oil for my skin care often. Coconut oil is a natural anti-viral! It's part of the reason I love it! Glad it helped with your rash! That's awesome!
^^^Wow... That paragraph had a lot of exclamation points.
I know a lot of us crunchy folk are always saying coconut oil for every single skin problem, but I haven't had success with it. Antibacterial? Probably. I did try it for some cradle cap on an infant and kept trying it, but eventually he had lost some of his fuzzy hair, so I used tar shampoo (from petrol!) and just that one use that one day completely cleared up whatever that was. So I was done and back to using natural methods.
I have also had issues with coconut being too drying too fast. I once read some ranting of a dermatologist who said coconut itself is amazing on the intestines and inside the body, but for skin, stick to things like shea or jojoba for dryness.
And as for stretchmarks, you either get them or you don't. I have them terribly and my grandmother who had 8 children never got them (and she's shorter than me). So must be something that is just predestined based on your own body type or genetics.
Genetics is part of the reason. Hydration and good diet also contribute. I only got stretch marks during my first pregnancy. They were on the underside of my belly, so I didn't know that they were there until after I had the baby. Now they are hidden by the over hang of my stomach from large weight gain. It is kind of an out of sight out of mind thing. They would probably bother me more if I could see them.
I have never liked using plain coconut oil on my skin. It just seems to sit there, doesn't absorb well, and my skin ends up still feeling dry. I didn't get stretch marks with DS, and I was expecting to since I got plenty during puberty and I'm short so my belly went WAY out there. I love coconut oil for rashes, thrush, ringworm, stuff like that, just not for plain moisturizing.
If there's anything to be done to prevent stretch marks - and I'm not sure there is - I'm inclined to think it's more about internal prevention than external, having the nutrient stores (zinc, fatty acids, etc) to support rapid skin expansion.
I agree with everyone here. Coconut oil is touted as a cure-all, and I love me some coconut oil, but it can't do EVERYTHING. I actually use coconut oil as a soap because my skin gets crazy-senstive during pregnancy. I can't use saponified coconut oil (like Dr. Bronner's) because that is an itchy nightmare. Like everyone has mentioned, CO is drying so I need to mositurize afterwards. I use it because I want some anti-bacterial anti-fungal skin care without using anything harsh. Though I rubbed my whole body down with the stuff, I still have stretch marks. I can't control the rate at which my baby develops, and the common burst-pause pattern of growth can impact the stretching of the skin because it is not always a gradual change. I think my oddball weight gain pattern has something to do with it (I didn't gain with my first until I hit 20 weeks, 15 with my second) where I gain the full amount over 6 months or so.
I do take gelatin for multiple reasons. This is another oft-touted cure-all, but I'm willing to invest hope here. It may or may not prevent more tiger stipes across my abdomen, but it is going to help my body digest well and it actually does help with amniotic fluid levels, and skin/hair/nails as a whole.
My hope for you is you find something that works for YOUR body. And if you do get them like most of us, that you can embrace them as part of your "patina."
I think stretch marks are primarily genetic. But by all means, we should all be giving our self loving rub downs regularly using whatever emollient we feel drawn to (though I would suggest skipping Vaseline and instead erring on the side of edible oils).
Yep, mostly genetic. My mom's belly is covered in them and I have them on my bum, thighs and breasts from my teenage growth spurts. I thought I was going to be very stretch-marked from pregnancy, but 2 full-term pregnancies later and I still don't have any new ones (don't hate me!). I also do no extra skin care during pregnancy unless I feel itching, so can't attribute anything to coconut oil LOL!
I have them on my butt from puberty but none from either full term pregnancy (38 lb gain and 28 lb gain). I think my mom has them, but she also has boobs, a small waist and big hips. I, on the other hand, got skipped over by the boob fairy during puberty and pregnancy and am built like a Hershey Bar, although I do have quite a bit of junk in the trunk. Lol!
I did try an essential oil concoction and think I found something comparable on primallyinspired.com. The book in which I originally found the recipe, which, ironically was Mothering Magazine's Having a Baby Naturally, I lost due to flooding. I do remember the recipe called for neroli, which was ridiculously expensive. But, since it was my first and I was ridiculous, I bought it.
I am pretty sure I posted it in my birth month group here from 2005 and/or 2009. I have been meaning to do a search. And I plan to whip it up again and start using it!!!
I have tons of essential oils from years of working in health product stores, doing massage therapy, and most recently having my own shop. Then a couple of weeks ago, my 1/3 full tiny bottle of Neroli (my favorite essential oil) fell out of my cabinet and burst...whew, was it potent! So sad because it is one of the best pregnancy and birth oils. Luckily I think I have another (newer) one.
I agree with Denton about hydration/diet. I worked with the nutritionist at our local birthing center back in CO for a couple of months, and she went on and on about obtaining amazing results from clients she advised working in more hydrating foods/liquids into their diets. Makes sense to me...I have had stretch marks forever, and also signs of dehydration since childhood.
Although I do think my belly stretch marks look cool (like flames!), I could do without the ones on my hips and arms....and any new ones for that matter
I freaked out about stretch marks with my first because I already had them on my hips just from growth spurts as a tween (and my growth spurts involved growing like 1/4" and gaining 2 pounds!) so I KNEW I was one of the people who get them! I used emu oil because my parents have an emu farm and we had sold the oil to a lot of piercers who use it to stretch piercings without stretch marks, so I figured it was worth a try (although stretching a hole in your ear to be 1/2" diameter is nothing compare to tripling your waist measurement!). So i faithfully rubbed it into my belly 2x a day starting at 4 months. I was 120 lbs, 5' 5" and gained 50+ pounds and had a huge belly - didn't get a single stretch mark...on my belly. My hips, which I hadn't bothered with because I didn't gain any weight or do any stretching there, and my breasts which I just didn't think about - total stretch marks. I WISH I had taken some better pics (I did take some but they didn't show up well) because you wouldn't believe it with how big my belly was)! Anyway, by the time #3 came around I didn't have time for "me" and got really lax about using the emu oil (I still used it at least 4x a week, but not 2x a day by any means) and I ended up with 2 1" lines at my navel (radiating from my old piercing which is a stress point) and a 1/4" one just below my navel. I have gained 50 lbs with each pregnancy. Now I know emu oil is not an option if you're a vegie, but if you aren't the stuff WORKS! I'm hoping to be better with it this time, now that I have the little reminder that I AM prone to them, and the frustration that I had avoided them on my belly for so long only to mess up my hard work in later pregnancies!
Well I would, of course, recommend our farm's oil, haha! Of course my website is down as we are creating a new partnership with another farmer and not doing business while we iron out the specs of the agreement. But you can order our products thru my parent's farm site carlhavenemufarm.com, although you have to send a check - they aren't set up to take credit like we were which is a PITA. Otherwise, look for a site that sells directly from the farm. If the price seems way lower than other sites, then assume it is cut with soy or other cheap oils. We used to say get AEA certified oil, but recently found out the the main processor of oil in the US has been cutting the oil from the small farms with lower quality oil from India. So frankly, the emu oil scene is a bit of a purist's nightmare right now. The farmer we are partnering with has the funds and the feed options to get certified organic, so we hope within 18 months or so to have the first ever certified organic emu oil - which doesn't help any of us with these pregnancies, I know, but will be sold at Kaylala.com when it's available.
Happyday, it doesn't technically have a smell (like say, tamanu or coconut), but is not devoid of smell like water, if you know what I mean! It smells like oil. Like Sunflower or some other kind of innocuous oil. As a carrier oil, it is transdermal (which is one of it's major attributes) so you need to be aware of that if adding EOs - it will take them through your skin and into your blood stream - so only do that if you are trying to ingest the EO.
I had some stretch marks on my tummy from being 41.5 weeks pregnant and they have since faded dramatically. They are of course not gone but their appearance is diminished. I use Dermelastic serum every day and night on my c section scar and even though I have not seen much improvement yet on that, Dermelastic serum helps to moisturize my scar and take the itch away. This moisturizes me longer than some other competitor products.
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