Those two dirty words: stretch marks

Like most pregnant women, I hoped to avoid stretch marks. Or if not avoid them altogether, at least have a minimal outbreak.

So, I started buttering up quite early on.

And I know what you are thinking. That stretch marks are genetic. That if I'm meant to get them, I will.

Maybe you are right. But, I figure it can't hurt keeping my belly, boobs, thighs, and love handles nice and moisturized, right? And if it even helps in the slightest, well... hot dog. Yes, hot dog.

Although I didn't get my wish of avoiding stretch marks altogether, I did manage to not get one on my belly. I think that's quite a feat, right? Instead, they are on my boobs... But, at least they aren't covering both, right?

Here is my 38w3d bare belly:




The only "issue" I've had on my belly is where my belly button was once pierced (17-year-old me had this done back in 1999 at a store called 4:20 in Myrtle Beach... classy, right?!). Well I haven't worn a belly ring in 10+ years, but man does the pierced area do funny things while pregnant.

I thought I would run down which products I've been using and what I like or dislike about them. I have no idea if they have really helped me, but even if they mentally helped me, that's good enough for me.

DREAMBELLY BUTTER

I received two jars of DreamBelly Butter, and I've used it daily since I was 20 weeks pregnant. Out of everything I've tried, it goes on the easiest and absorbs the best. It's also great because it doesn't leave you feeling oily, only moisturized. I used this every morning after getting out of the shower on my belly and boobs. After I noticed a couple faint stretchmarks appearing on my thighs, I started using it there too. This was my morning cream, since it didn't leave me feeling greasy (didn't want my clothes to end up greasy!).

What I love most about this cream is that it is all-natural, and doesn't contain any parabens or phthalates (two things I tried to avoid using on my skin while pregnant). The fragrance is pleasant. It's not amazing, but it's nice and not overwhelming.

I ran out of DreamBelly Butter about a week ago. Since I'm so close to my due date (11 days!), I decided not to restock. I'm starting to regret that decision, as my belly has been noticeably itchier since I stopped using it.

Price-wise, it's not too bad. It's currently on sale over at Fairhaven Health for $14.95/jar, plus free shipping. I definitely recommend this product!


BURT'S BEES MAMA BEE BELLY BUTTER


I'm a Burt's Bees girl. So, I had high, high hopes for this product. And it did nothing but disappoint.

I can't say I used it for very long. The consistency and smell did nothing for me. The smell is... well, not good. It's not awful, but definitely not good. I can't even explain what it smells like. Close to nothing, with a hint of bad. Or sour.

The consistency of the "butter" is really like a thin lotion. It did not leave me feeling as moisturized as I had hoped. And since I got the DreamBelly and this one at the same time, I quickly shelved the Mama Bee Belly Butter.

The only upside to this one is that you may be able to find it at a Target or WalMart. And that's the only real plus. Unfortunately, I could not find it at my local stores, and ended up ordering it from Amazon.

BURT'S BEES MAMA BEE NOURISHING BODY OIL


Thankfully, Burt's Bees Mama Bee products didn't completely let me down.

I love this oil! It has a really great, clean scent, and leaves you feeling incredibly moisturized. A little goes a long way, and a bottle lasts quite a while.

The downside is that it is, well, oil. And so it leaves you greasy... which is why I did this one at night. I could let it air dry while I'm in bed reading, and don't have to worry about getting a shirt all greasy.

Although I do love this oil very much, I'm not sure I would have used it on its own (without a belly butter). I liked having the combo of belly butter in the morning, nourishing oil at night. I felt like I was covering more of my bases that way.

This product is also available at your local Target or WalMart, which is handy.

PALMER'S COCOA BUTTER FORMULA TUMMY BUTTER


This was a gift given to me at my baby shower. I didn't open it until I ran out of my Dream Belly Butter, because I was well-entrenched in my routine.

Palmer's Tummy Butter is probably the most popular of butters. And the formula is impressive: collagen, elastin, and no parabens or phthalates.

And it's an ok product.

It's hard to apply. It's chunky and greasy. I have yet to apply it to my whole stomach. Wayyyy too much work. I use this on my boobs every day, though. Since that is where I have the most stretch marks, I figure I will concentrate this "Intensive Treatment" on the part of my body that is most heavily affected.

The smell is just ok... nothing to write home about.

I don't think I would purchase this product again. I'm glad it was given as a gift, though. Especially since I'm running low on all of these stretch mark butters/oils/creams.

_____________

In summary, next time around (if I'm lucky enough to be pregnant again), I will definitely use the DreamBelly Butter + Burt's Bees Mama Bee Nourishing Body Oil combo. And although I'm not sure that any of it has helped prevent stretch marks, staying moisturized and not itchy is imperative, especially so the bigger your belly gets. No one likes an itchy belly!

Comments

  1. Thank you for this, so helpful! Just this week I started looking into belly treatments. I'm already noticing some stretch marks on my hips (not even 17 weeks yet!) and my belly is very dry and itchy. Reviews on Amazon are so mixed for every product, it was hard to know what would be good! Definitely going to check out this DreamBelly/Burt's Bee's combo.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well done on avoiding belly stretch marks!

    This is good info to have if I decide to buy a belly butter, but since I already have stretch marks, I may not bother. I think I'm hoping that my body will just reuse my old stretch marks. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I too was so proud of making it to 38 weeks with twins and no stretch marks, until after birth mine never showed up. Once they were born my tummy had nice little white ones all over. I really hope this is not the case for you and you escaped those nasty things :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm one of those who believes that stretch marks are genetic. I mean, I after carrying twins until 39 weeks, gaining over 60lbs during pregnancy and never rubbing my belly with anything, I didn't get even a tiny one. But, hey, even if those creams don't work, moisturizing you skin can only do good to you, right? :)
    Oh, and my belly piercing is back to normal. Although it took a while for it not to look all weird and funky.
    Do you have a tattoo on your side? Or is it back?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lucky duck... my tummy's so red from stretch marks now I think I'll be keeping it hidden under clothing (and swimsuits) forever!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You've done good! Tummy looks great... so funny about the bellybutton piercing hole doing odd things during pregnancy; I have one of those too and if/when I do get preggo (knock on wood), I'm really curious to see what it does!

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  7. Might need the good cream once your breasts become engorged though. Your breasts will grow ALOT once your milk comes in.

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  26. Stretch marks are not exclusive to women, and both women and men can get these marks on the thighs, buttocks, arms, lower back and abdominal area. One cannot attribute these marks to a particular reason, but some people tend to get it more than others. So, we can say it is sometimes genetic. It has been also observed that people with darker skin tend to get it more.
    Young people can get these marks during puberty when the skin cannot expand in similar proportions to body’s growth. Body building may be another cause when muscle growth the stretch the skin too much. Topical or oral corticosteroids have been also found responsible for causing stretch marks

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  27. Stretch marks are frequently brought about by the tearing of the dermis and epidermis layers or the two highest layers of the skin. It shows up when the body extends anomalous. It is otherwise called 'striae'.

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