
Motherhood will stretch you. It stretches your capacity to love, your empathy, your patience. And those are just the intangibles. There is also the physical stretching that takes place as your body shifts and adjusts to growing, carrying, and birthing a new person into the world. It’s a miraculous feat. But miracles aren’t free. The potential cost of all that stretching during pregnancy may leave your skin feeling taut, itchy, and dry. Very likely, you'll be left with stretch marks.
Although there is something to be said about embracing your new body as you celebrate what it's accomplished, stretch marks are still the bane of many mama's postpartum existence. There’s nothing wrong with taking proactive measures to keep the skin you already know as it is as best as you can.
Even though no one can predict who will and who won’t get stretch marks, you can certainly work to reduce their appearance by keeping your skin hydrated as it expands. Here are 15 of the best products to help do the job.
Pomegranate & Honey Stretch Mark Cream


The name of this product alone just sounds delicious. This cream helps to seal in moisture so you won’t drive yourself crazy scratching your belly all day. it contains shea butter, algae extract, and caffeine, which helps brighten the skin while reducing wrinkles. It's good for use during and after pregnancy.
Stretch Mark Vanishing Butter


After seeing the before and after images of real women who've used this product, we have high hopes. In addition, Island Beauty Secrets says it can help remove stretch marks that are as many as 45 years old. So if you had your children a while ago and were wondering if you could still get rid of your stretch marks, you might want to give this product a try.
The vanishing cream is made with gotu kola oil, which produces collagen and repairs elastin fibers. And if you’re not 100% satisfied with it, you can return it with a 100% refund.
Intensive Treatment Stretch Mark Butter

Basq’s Stretch Mark Butter contains shea and jojoba butters to help moisturize the skin and keep it from itching. The peptides in the product help to boost collagen renewal. It is clinically tested and will not cause any skin allergies. The butter works both during and after pregnancy.
Golden Belly Serum

This serum from Ever Eden contains marula oil and passionfruit seed oil. The skin absorbs it quickly and it creates an all-over glow. Camelina sativa oil and centella asiatica are used to brighten the appearance of stretch marks. The company claims the serum reduces stretch marks by 62% in just eight weeks. For full results, the company also suggests using its Soothing Belly Mask and Nourishing Stretch Mark Cream.
Stretch Mark & Scar Treatment Lotion


This lotion is vegan and free of gluten, parabens, sulfates and phthalates. It’s dermatologist-tested and contains plant butters and botanical oils. It can be used for stretch marks as a result of pregnancy or weight gain (or loss). The company claims its lotion fights not only the appearance of stretch marks themselves but the actual cause.
Raw African Shea Butter

If you're the type of person who likes to keep it simple when it comes to the ingredients you put on your body, raw African shea butter is the way to go when treating and preventing stretch marks. You'll notice that many of the other products we mention also contain shea butter as a key ingredient. Cut out all of the middlemen with this super skin care product.
Tummy Butter for Stretch Marks


This belly butter uses organic cocoa butter and 11 other organic oils to relieve the intense itchiness that comes with ever-stretching skin. It contains Vitamin E and the lesser-known tamanu oil to help promote cellular rejuvenation. In additon to all of the goodness inside, with its orange and chocolately scent, it smells lovely.
The Oil


The name of this product is so simple because so is its composition. It's made of just seven ingredients used to address dryness, itchiness and tightening skin. It's nongreasy and made with rose hips, lavender, and rose absolute, so it has a lovely light floral scent.
Burt’s Bees Belly Butter

Known for its commitment to quality products, this belly butter from Burt's Bees is 99% natural. It contains shea butter, Vitamin E, cocoa butter, and jojoba oil as well. In addition to helping with stretch marks, it can also be used as a recovery butter to help skin return to its former elasticity.
Fearless Mama Belly Butter


This all-natural body butter contains Vitamin E and practically melts into your skin on contact. The ingredients promote skin hydration and elasticity, and they help reduce the appearance of scars. Fearless Mama Belly Butter is vegan but rich and creamy. A little goes a long way.
Pregnant Belly Salve


This salve provides soothing relief not only for your expanding tummy but also for itchy, growing breasts and hips as well. With USDA-certified ingredients such as beeswax, shea butter, and marshmallow root, it's guaranteed to provide some comfort as well as reduce the appearance of stretch marks.
Stretch Mark Relief Hydrating Oil


This hydrating oil is not only good for stretch marks, but it can also be used for C-section scars, cellulite, and dry and itchy skin. It contains blueberry seed oil for regeneration, pomegranate to protect against water loss, and sea buckthorn oil for elasticity.
Mama's Gold Stretch Mark Wonder Oil


This product contains a unique blend of oils including carrot, pumpkin seed, Egyptian chamomile, kigelli, African potato, and blue mountain sage essential oil to penetrate the skin’s surface in order to restore and reduce the appearance of stretch marks.
Pregnant women can lose a lot of nutrients as they support their growing fetuses. This oil helps to replenish the ones needed for healthy skin. The company also suggests preparing the body with its coconut scrub.
Love Lines

This is not a butter or a cream. So Kind has created a balm specifically for your growing skin. This blend contains botanical antioxidants along with fatty-acid-rich oils. The ingredients help to stimulate collagen production. This balm can be used both during and after pregnancy.
Tummy Rub Butter

This citrusy cream is dermatologist tested and contains bergamot oil. It is non-sticky and is enriched with avocado oil, inchi oil and Argan oil, all of which make it super-hydrating, and it should help with your skin's elasticity too.
Results from these products may vary and are not guaranteed.
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