[cynthiamireles]

Im 37 weeks pregnant and I want to know how can I minimize my huge strech marks due to this pregnancy.. they are horrible!!

[J_9]

Drink lots of fluids. Many times we get stretch marks because our skin is not hydrated enough. With all of my pregnancies I used cocoa butter several times a day. I don't have one stretch mark after 4 children.

With that said, you already have the marks, so you will have to treat after the baby is born. Vitamin E, cocoa butter, and bio oil are just a few things to try.

[artlady]

Between 75% and 90% of women develop stretch marks to some degree during pregnancy. The sustained hormonal levels as a result of pregnancy usually means stretch marks may appear during the sixth or seventh month.

Only one randomised controlled study has been published which claimed to test whether oils or creams prevent the development of stretchmarks. This study found a daily application of a cream (Trofolastin) containing Centella asiatica extract, vitamin E, and collagen-elastin hydrolysates was associated with fewer stretch marks during pregnancy.[2][3] Another study, though lacking a placebo control, examined a cream (Verum) containing vitamin E, panthenol, hyaluronic acid, elastin and menthol. It was associated with fewer stretch marks during pregnancy versus no treatment.[4]

Though cocoa butter is an effective moisturizer, no research studies have shown its ability to either prevent stretchmarks, or to reduce their appearance once a stretchmark has already formed.

Various treatments are available for the purpose of improving the appearance of existing stretch marks, including laser treatments, dermabrasion, and prescription retinoids.[citation needed] Some cream manufacturers claim the best results are achieved on recent stretch marks; however, few studies exist to support these claims.

A study in the journal Dermatologic Surgery showed that radiofrequency combined with 585-nm pulsed dye laser treatment gave "good and very good" subjective improvement in stretch marks in 33 of 37 patients, although further studies would be required to follow up on these results. In addition, the use of a pulsed dye laser was shown to increase pigmentation in darker skinned individuals with repeated treatments.[5]

A surgical procedure for removing lower abdominal stretch marks is the tummy tuck, which removes the skin below the navel where stretch marks frequently occur.

A new modality, fractional laser resurfacing, offers a novel approach to treating striae. Using scattered pulses of light only a fraction of the scar is zapped by the laser over the course of several treatments. This creates microscopic wounds and as such is a "no downtime" procedure. The body responds to each treatment by producing new collagen and epithelium. In a 2007 clinical trial, 5-6 treatments resulted in striae improving by as much as 75 percent.[6] A 2007 Brazilian clinical study showed that Fraxel improved both texture and appearance of mature, white striae in skin types I-IV.[7]

[J_9]

Between 75% and 90% of women develop stretch marks to some degree during pregnancy. The sustained hormonal levels as a result of pregnancy usually means stretch marks may appear during the sixth or seventh month.

Only one randomised controlled study has been published which claimed to test whether oils or creams prevent the development of stretchmarks. This study found a daily application of a cream (Trofolastin) containing Centella asiatica extract, vitamin E, and collagen-elastin hydrolysates was associated with fewer stretch marks during pregnancy.[2][3] Another study, though lacking a placebo control, examined a cream (Verum) containing vitamin E, panthenol, hyaluronic acid, elastin and menthol. It was associated with fewer stretch marks during pregnancy versus no treatment.[4]

Though cocoa butter is an effective moisturizer, no research studies have shown its ability to either prevent stretchmarks, or to reduce their appearance once a stretchmark has already formed.

Various treatments are available for the purpose of improving the appearance of existing stretch marks, including laser treatments, dermabrasion, and prescription retinoids.[citation needed] Some cream manufacturers claim the best results are achieved on recent stretch marks; however, few studies exist to support these claims.

A study in the journal Dermatologic Surgery showed that radiofrequency combined with 585-nm pulsed dye laser treatment gave "good and very good" subjective improvement in stretch marks in 33 of 37 patients, although further studies would be required to follow up on these results. In addition, the use of a pulsed dye laser was shown to increase pigmentation in darker skinned individuals with repeated treatments.[5]

A surgical procedure for removing lower abdominal stretch marks is the tummy tuck, which removes the skin below the navel where stretch marks frequently occur.

A new modality, fractional laser resurfacing, offers a novel approach to treating striae. Using scattered pulses of light only a fraction of the scar is zapped by the laser over the course of several treatments. This creates microscopic wounds and as such is a "no downtime" procedure. The body responds to each treatment by producing new collagen and epithelium. In a 2007 clinical trial, 5-6 treatments resulted in striae improving by as much as 75 percent.[6] A 2007 Brazilian clinical study showed that Fraxel improved both texture and appearance of mature, white striae in skin types I-IV.[7]

Very interesting. Would you mind quoting your sources?

EDIT** could you provide some links please?

[artlady]

Stretch marks - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm not saying I agree but it has some info.
I say cocoa butter!

[J_9]

I used cocoa butter for all 4 of mine, the oldest is 22 and the youngest is almost 7. LOL

[Becca1025]

My dad is a dermatologist and I am always bugging him about what I can do to minimize stretch marks and he is always just saying Vitamin E cream is the best. It's best to use cocoa butter AND vitamin E cream as well as staying well hydrated. I did that after I had my first and they faded pretty quickly (they'll never fully disappear unless you get the laser treatment.) And also try not to scratch. That was my biggest problem was scratching. It made it worse

[GirlWSlingshot]

You can hydrate and moisturize as much as you want but if you're destined to have stretch marks, there isn't much you can do to avoid it.

If you're genetically inclined to get stretch marks, you're going to get them. And at this point, there isn't much you can do to minimize them. The less weight you gain, the less obvious they'll be.

The good news is that stretch marks fade. I have terrible ones but they've faded considerably over the last year.