Anyone using a stretch mark cream or oil? Is so, which one and would you recommend it. I'm using palmers cocoa butter cream, but no idea if it is any good. Any advice would be very welcome.
I used Palmers Stretch Mark lotion...it was greasy. But then I got the Palmers Belly Butter, it isn't greasy, makes me stop itching. Plus I love Bio Oil. I get it at WalMart for under $12. It works great for scars, dry skin, stretch marks, rashes, cuts. I used it after a ton of surgeries from the awful scarring. It helped heal my incisions as well as fade the scars dramatically. I am on my 5th child, I didn't use either with my first, I was 15, I used lotion but there wasn't much to choose from back then. I have been told if you're going to get stretch marks there's no way to prevent them. Who knows for sure? I have since used these 2 products from my 2nd baby til now. They have faded them& the dry/itchy is gone. So worth a shot. Good luck!
There are three layers of skin. Collagen and elastin, which keep your skin smooth and stretchy, are in the deepest layer and a little in the second. Your average skin care products don't penetrate the first layer, the epidermis.
Oils are the easiest to absorb and travel deepest, usually with more nutrients. Lotions are second deepest, and generally hydrating. Creams are third, and tend to help rebuild the lipid layer on the skin surface to help your skin repair and maintain itself while delivering moisture. Thick ointment like tummy butter mostly sit on the surface and help seal stuff in.
Your best bet is to probably apply an oil with tummy butter on top. A lot of companies add alcohols to their formulations so it dries the skin out so you will use more of it, especially in lotions. And the oil will make the butter easier to spread.
@Jwigs that's what I do. I use the Bio Oil as soon as I get out of the shower, then I put on the Palmers Belly Butter. I swear its the perfect concoction!
@mrsdelrae I do, too. But I don't like the smell if the bio oil, so sometimes I just use vit e oil. I coat my boobs, too, because they get so itchy. They are SO soft now! Goodness, even my nips are too soft to describe.
@Jwigs the Bio Oil does have a different smell, I think its the rosemary in it. But I put the Belly Butter over it&the cocoa butter smell overpowers it mostly. Yeah, I put it from my shoulders down to my c-section scar, on my neck from surgeries too. I love Bio Oil, a lot! I figure I can get past the smell if it helps, which it does, so I suck it up
@mrsdelrae It does seem to be pretty amazing, it just reminds me of my grandma. And I don't have the best relationship with my grandma, so it's not really a positive connotation.
Ladies, I just found an oil at my local health food store that I am loving! All natural ingredients, no preservatives. I put it on about 10 mins before bed and its not greasy at all! The name is Mothers Special Blend. www.mothersspecialblend.com. Its a blend of coconut oil, sweet almond oil, cocoa butter, and vitamin e.
With my first pregnancy I used stretch mark solution from bath and body works. Not one stretch mark. But they dont make this product anymore.
@new_baby_in_oct at Sunflower Market where I am, they had a similar oil, but it was named different...Mamma's Belly or something like that. It had a lot of the same things as Bio Oil, but also was a lot more expensive in a smaller bottle. I guess when it comes down to it, try a few things out. Everyones skin is different, so what works for one, doesn't necessarily work for another. A friend use baby oil gel, worked for her. It didn't for me. Just made me feel like a greased turkey but I still itched. But she also had greasy/oily skin, mine is very sensitive. Odd. Let me know how that stuff works though!
Comments
it says to use thru the pregnancy n even after u give birth
Oils are the easiest to absorb and travel deepest, usually with more nutrients. Lotions are second deepest, and generally hydrating. Creams are third, and tend to help rebuild the lipid layer on the skin surface to help your skin repair and maintain itself while delivering moisture. Thick ointment like tummy butter mostly sit on the surface and help seal stuff in.
Your best bet is to probably apply an oil with tummy butter on top. A lot of companies add alcohols to their formulations so it dries the skin out so you will use more of it, especially in lotions. And the oil will make the butter easier to spread.
With my first pregnancy I used stretch mark solution from bath and body works. Not one stretch mark. But they dont make this product anymore.