What to do about stretch marks!

[steel_g]

Ladies, some of us have had children. I have two and with came stretch Marks. I am not a big girl I?m 5 ?1? and weight 119 lbs all of my life I have weight between 115 and 119 so gaining and losing weight only came with the pregnancies. I have been using stripeptin for a while and I am not noticing a difference, may be I need to use it longer. Would you like to share what products you use if you have the same problem!

Steel_g

[buttercup963]

I have had 2 children, and luckilly I dont have stretch marks on my tummy, but I have them at the top of 1 leg?? Mine have now gone a silvery colour over time, and all I do is put a bit of fake tan on them and they disappear, there are several creams on the market though that can help reduce (not get rid) the appearance of stretch marks though and that can be better.
Try searching on the net and checking out the reviews people have done, I dont buy anything unless I go to sites that have people review them, I usually go on www.ciao.co.uk, but I am sure you will find lots of different sites.

[lolakitten]

I have one baby & I didn't get stretch marks on my belly, but I have a couple around my hips. I agree a tanner helps hide them - they really don't bother me enough to do much more about them.

[bambifox]

When u find out...pleazzzz let me know! What's worse is that I have "brown" skin and stretchmarks show more! Like zebra stripes! Eeeeek!

[tight booty]

Luckily I didn't get any stretch marks but I am pretty sure that products containing Vitamin A really help!

[kwu3]

I've heard that anything with cocoa butter in it helps with stretch marks

[bklyncherrybomb]

when i was pregnant I was terrified of getting stretch marks so i researched ---in the end I had like 5 different creams and oils and salves that i would put on every day-all day.
I didnt get any on my belly, but i did get some on my legs and hips.
heres what I found out....

keeping the skin super moist is the best way to prevent stretchmarks because keeping moist helps keep the elasticity. Additionally, this is what also helps the skin shrink back afterwards.

stretch marks occur from th skin literally splitting apart as it reached the end of its elasticity...the skin on the edges forms a ridge and the skin in the middle is new and fresh which is why it looks so different.

the best way to minimize the look of your stretch marks is to
1. keep moisturized by drinking lots of water every day and using some good creams/oils (what you choose to use is up to you)
2. exfoliate the skin frequently to remove dead skins cellls and reduce the "ridge" on the edges of the stretchmark. I use an apricot scrub on a loofa all over my legs and hips every day.


*********Important.
As a tattoo artist I have had a lot of women come to me and ask if they can tattoo over their stretchmarks to hide them. the answer is yes and no.
depending on how deep and big the marks are you may be making them look even worse if you tattoo over them.
many times tattooing over or around them will draw the eye away from them and make them significantly less noticable.
HOWEVER if they are very bad, the ink doesnt hold in the stretchmark the same way as it does in the normal skin...so you might end it with some serious spreading/blurring of the ink inside the marks which will not only make your tattoo look like crap...but it will defeat the pupose of trying to hide the marks
(same goes for all of ther types of scars)

[steel_g]

Has anyone tried laser treatments?

Here are some of the creams that I have read take away or diminish the appearance of stretch marks.

Shrink Rap
Strivectin-SD Intensive Concentrate for Exsisting Stretch Marks
Lierac Paris Phytolastil Gel
This Works: Stretch Marks oil
Bio Oil
Decleor Perfect Sculpt Stretch Mark Restructuring Gel Cream

These are just a few?

There is an interesting article about stretch marks on Marie Claire magazine the July 2008 issue; V15 issue 7