Let me preface this post by saying that there’s nothing wrong with stretch marks. In fact, I have stretch marks from my puberty years when I seemingly grew overnight! However since I suffer from extremely dry skin, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to switch to some stretch mark lotion to try and prevent any stretch marks.
During my second trimester I started using Palmer’s Cocoa Massage Lotion for Stretch Marks. I’ve always liked the Palmer’s range and it had great reviews online, so I thought I’d give it a try. The lotion has a special blend of cocoa butter, Vitamin E, Shea Butter and Bio C-Elaste (combination of Collagen, Elastin, Centella Asiatica, Sweet Almond Oil and Argan Oil). The consistency of the lotion was slightly thicker than a standard lotion and slightly oilier but it absorbed well into my skin. It had a delicious cocoa scent and I loved using it as part of my daily moisturising routine.
When I reached my third trimester, I started using Palmer’s Tummy Butter for Stretch Marks. On its own, I found that the butter was very thick and difficult to spread, so I used it on top of the lotion. It took longer to absorb, but I found that if I applied it first thing after my shower, it had completely absorbed by the time I’d finished getting ready.
The combination of the lotion and butter seems a bit intense but my belly and chest grew so quickly during my third trimester, that I felt that it really helped to improve the elasticity of my skin to prevent any stretch marks.
While my belly and chest were free of any stretch marks, I did get some angry red stretch marks on the sides of my glutes in the last few weeks of my pregnancy. This wasn’t an area that I was actively moisturising, so I’ll have to remember to test the efficacy of these lotions on my glutes for next time!
Marie xo