Stretch marks come to us in many ways – puberty growth spurt, weight gain, weight loss, hormones, pregnancy, and postpartum even! Women have shared on pregnancy and motherhood forums online that they were lucky to not experience stretch marks during their pregnancy, but got a shock when those pink, white, and brown streaks started appearing after childbirth.
And, hey, it’s not your fault if you have them, it’s just how our bodies were wired to tattoo and remember these beautiful landmarks in our lives.
While we can’t erase them completely, there are ways to reduce the stretch marks that we have (or may get). Here, we found some great stretch mark creams, oils, and advice that women (and men) have shared with each other online:
Starting with the basics – moisturise and hydrate. Moisturise your skin with an oil or cream, and hydrate your skin from within by drinking lots of water (caffeinated drinks such as tea and coffee do not count since they draw water out of your body even more).
A user called Crolleen on reddit shared that she recommends “Bio Oil or straight up vitamin E oil.” After you do that, “try keeping yourself as moisturised as possible, inside and out.”
Echoing the above advise, user Tinyromans also praised the effects of vitamin E, “I really recommend vitamin E cream, make sure it’s not cream with a touch of vitamin E but pure vitamin E cream.”.
Vitamin E is known to increase the elasticity of your skin – perhaps preventing any sudden and drastic stretching, contraction, or rupture in your skin’s collagen and elastin (which then gives you the dark scars that we know as stretch marks).
Two particularly popular vitamin E products are namely the:
- Jason Natural, Vitamin E Skin Oil (5,000 IU), $7.14 which boasts raving reviews by users who claim that it has helped them stave off any further stretch marks
- De La Cruz, Vitamin E Cream (10,000 IU) $5.91 which most reviewers seem to have used to restore any patchy, irritated, or extremely dry skin on their face
If you’ve tried all these drugstore oils and creams but none of them worked at all, user apasserby has some advice for you.
“Go to your doctor or dermatologist and get a prescription for tretinoin 0.1%”. However, there’s a heavy disclaimer, “you will also NEED to wear sunscreen any time you are exposing the area outside in the sun.”
What is tretinoin and how is it different from retinol? As we all know, retinol is commonly known as vitamin A. In layman terms, tretinoin is a more straightforward, potent and concentrated acid version of retinol. Tretinoin has been clinically proven to improve the appearance of stretch marks (you’ll find many available studies online, such as this).
Trying to get tretinoin in Singapore to treat your stretch marks? You will need to visit a doctor to get it prescribed, such as the always friendly and accessible Dr Calvin Chan at Wheelock Place (no consultation fees charged)!
Here’s a long-term solution that is actually clinically proven to remove stretch marks: exfoliate. Yes, dig out that DIY sugar scrub recipe. It’s time to make yourself a coarse scrub which you can use daily in the shower (gotta make sure it’s pocket friendly!). Otherwise, try the Australian body care brand Frank Body’s scrubs ($15), as recommended by user NoOne_DoesItBetter:
“I use Frank body coffee scrub… it’s so good at getting rid of stretch marks and many other things. It’s pretty much small granules of coffee with different natural oils and stuff I know of a heap of guys and girls who use it as well. Definitely worth a try!”
Not fond of s physical scrub? Try chemical exfoliation – apply a glycolic acid skincare product over your stretch marks nightly instead. Do remember to wear sunscreen over the affected area daily throughout the course of application!
The idea behind exfoliating is to lift those dead skin cells that have formed as scars (stretch marks) on your skin, so the unscarred skin that’s regenerating will eventually surface.
However, do note that you should not over-scrub or go at it too hard lest you irritate your skin – and that’s known to really aggravate and worsen your stretch marks.
If your budget allows, pop by an aesthetics doctor for regular laser treatments to help rebuild and increase collagen production to repair those damaged tissues deep within your skin (that’s causing the appearance of stretch marks). According to Medical News Today, laser could “significantly improve the appearance of stretch marks”.
However, you’ll need to approach this treatment with reasonable expectations. A laser treatment plan will not work instant magic, and may require up to 20 regular sessions before you see visible results.
This article was first published in The Singapore Women’s Weekly.