How Can You Reduce Stretch Marks During Pregnancy?

Stretch marks during pregnancy are common and mainly affect those whose skin contains less collagen. Are you struggling with the battle scars of pregnancy?

Stretch marks aren’t easy to deal with. To face this challenge, you’ll need a combination of taking care of yourself and the right product to help you deal with stretch marks.

Please read our guide to learn more about how you can deal with stretch marks during pregnancy!

What are stretch marks?

To deal with them, we need to understand what stretch marks are. Stretch marks occur when collagen ruptures in your skin. Collagen plays a vital role in your skin’s elasticity, so a lack of collagen can cause your skin to get damaged as it stretches, resulting in stretch marks. They can appear on various body parts, such as the abdomen, thighs, hips, breasts, upper arms, and lower back. Stretch marks aren’t exclusive to pregnant women. Both women and men can experience it.

All about stretch marks

Before stretch marks appear, the skin will usually begin to look thin or pink. Stretch marks may initially seem like wrinkles but slowly change colour and look different from other skin parts.

There are two main types of stretch marks:

Striae Rubrae: Pink or red stretch marks
Striae Albae: White stretch marks

Other types of stretch marks include:

Stretch marks that occur due to pregnancy, better known as Striae Gravidarum
Gray or black stretch marks, which usually appear in people who have darker skin, are called Striae Nigrae
Dark blue/purplish stretch marks, also known as Striae Caerulea
Stretch marks due to thinning skin. This can develop in those suffering from Cushing’s syndrome (a collection of symptoms arising from high cortisol levels in the body). This type of stretch mark is also often referred to as Striae Atrophicans.

Stretch marks causes and risk factors

Stretch marks are generally caused by:

Pregnancy: 50-90% of mamas will experience stretch marks during pregnancy or after giving birth.
Puberty: Due to the rapid growth that is common in teenagers
Rapid weight growth: A dramatic increase or decrease in body weight can cause stretch marks.
Medical conditions: Medical conditions such as Marfan syndrome and Cushing’s Syndrome
Use of Corticosteroids: The frequent use of lotions and creams that contain corticosteroids can reduce collagen levels in the skin. Collagen strengthens and supports the skin and can reduce the risk of stretch marks appearing.

Stretch marks can happen to anyone, especially pregnant women. It isn’t easy to avoid, but it’s possible with proper care. Now that you know what stretch marks are and what causes them, here are six critical points you need to know to help deal with stretch marks!

1. Not all mamas experience stretch marks

stretch marks on the hip

During pregnancy, the skin on your belly stretches more and more. That’s why it’s essential to moisturise your skin! Collagen can also help thicken your skin, reduce the risk of stretch marks and help to repair damaged skin.

Weight gain is also a significant cause of stretch marks. The body parts that most often cause stretch marks are the abdomen, hips, thighs and buttocks.

Most pregnant women – around 50% – 90% – will experience stretch marks. Although the odds of avoiding stretch marks are slim, there are steps you can take to reduce the risk of them appearing!

2. Genes can cause stretch marks

stretch marks on the legs

Genes can affect the natural elasticity of everyone’s skin. For some, avoiding stretch marks during pregnancy will be nearly impossible.

However, it’s possible to reduce the chance of stretch marks appearing by taking action during early pregnancy. Using a stretch mark cream or collagen-based product can also help to fade stretch marks if they appear!

3. Itchy skin can be a sign of stretch marks

Stretched skin is usually itchy. So if you’re feeling itchy skin on your belly or thighs, you should take note of this! It’s probably a sign that stretch marks are about to appear. Instead of scratching, try relieving your itchy skin with safe moisturisers such as aloe vera.

(Tip: Our Mama’s Choice Stretch Mark Cream moisturises your skin AND relieves itching! Find out more below.)

4. They don’t harm your foetus

stretch marks during pregnancy

Stretch marks can be annoying to look at. So here’s a little bit of good news: They don’t harm your foetus at all!

Despite this, most of us would prefer to avoid stretch marks. So please read on below to learn how you can prevent them!

5. Stretch marks can be prevented

Stretch marks can be prevented! There are three steps you need to take if you want to try and avoid stretch marks from appearing:

Moisturise your skin regularly, especially vulnerable areas like your belly, hips and thighs.
Avoid scratching your skin, as it can further damage your skin and worsen stretch marks.
Use a collagen product to thicken or repair your skin, reducing the chance of stretch marks appearing or fading existing stretch marks.

Conquer stretch marks with Mama’s Choice Anti-Stretch Mark Treatment Series!

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We’ve developed a triple-acting Stretch Mark Cream specially designed to help you with all three steps! Our Mama’s Choice Stretch Mark Cream contains:

Aloe Vera acts as the perfect natural moisturiser for your skin. It also relieves itching!
Shea butter helps to protect your skin from damage.
Lipobelle™ Soyaglycone, our hero ingredient! Lipobelle™ Soyaglycone is derived from soy and naturally enhances collagen production in your skin, improving skin thickness by up to 12%. Increasing collagen production, Lipobelle™ Soyaglycone intensively protects your skin and fades existing stretch marks.

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We’ve also created Mama’s Choice Stretch Mark Serum to work in tandem with our best-selling Stretch Mark Cream! The innovative formula of our Stretch Mark Serum containare92% Natural Active Ingredients that is directly absorbed into the skin.

Our anti-stretch mark serum contains organic ingredients Alpha Bisabolol certified by Ecocert which can regenerate skin cells, Mugwort as an anti-inflammatory, and Niacinamide which brightens the skin.

Mama’s Choice Stretch Mark Serum effectively fades 72% of stubborn stretch marks in just 30 days. Use with Mama’s Choice Stretch Mark Cream and experience 2X more optimal results for removing stretch marks.

Pregnant mamas need to keep an eye on any toxins they might be exposed to, which is why we’ve taken care to avoid all harmful ingredients in our Stretch Mark Cream and Serum. It’s paraben-free, alcohol-free and dermatologically tested right here in Singapore!

Tips to maximise our Anti-Stretch Mark Treatment Series:

It would be best if you used our stretch mark cream and serum every morning and night.
Start applying stretch mark cream regularly as early as the first trimester.
Apply our stretch mark cream whenever your skin feels dry or itchy. It is specially designed to help relieve itching and build the collagen you need to prevent stretch marks (or fade existing ones).

Click on the image below to get yourself a solution to your stretch mark problems!