The truth: 90% of women will get stretch marks when pregnant. Stretch marks commonly appear on your tummy, buttocks, and legs. Even though there is no way to completely get rid of them you can prevent and reduce the effect during the pregnancy. Researchers have deemed stretch marks to be genetic, so if your mom had them odds are you will get them as well.
There are numerous medical treatments and topical stretch removal creams that may help, but most moms want a natural solution while carrying their children. There are a couple solutions to this problem, including 10 different ways to remove stretch marks. Some of these method include lasers and surgical, which of course cannot be done until after the pregnancy if you can not remove then naturally. So I put together a list of steps you can take while pregnant:
Think of stretch marks as pregnancy service stripes. – Joyce Armor
What causes stretch marks while pregnant?
It’s important to understand the scientific reason for stretch marks. Remember, being a mom is worth every stretch mark, wrinkle and sleepless night. Think of them as a badge of honor, and that your kids should be forever grateful. But odds you wont and will be wishing they go away fast.
Stretch marks occur with rapid weight gain when the stretching of the skin causes an increase in the cortisone in your body. Cortisone is naturally produced by your hormone system and this is what controls your skins elasticity. Your body was designed to gain weight for child birth, so remember it is natural.
Because of the rapid weight gain, the skin below the surface, or epidermis, ruptures and produces the dreaded marks. The good news is that stretch marks often fade with time. Unfortunately, no treatments can make stretch marks immediately disappear.
There are ways to prevent and reduce stretch marks while pregnant. While pregnant you have to be conscious of what you ingest and put onto your body. It’s best to avoid the use of harsh chemicals as that is absorbed in your blood stream. Therefore, you should follow natural remedies for stretch mark prevention and reduction during pregnancy.
10+ Ways to Get Rid of Stretch Marks While Pregnant, Naturally
1. Keep your Skin Moisturized
Keep your skin moisturized, because you do not want to have dry skin. Dry skin is a major reason that stretch marks can develop faster. So moisturizer is one of the most common solution to help keep your skin healthy and prevent stretch marks. It will not be able to directly fade stretch marks, but will help with your elasticity to prevent further damages. Shea butter, castor oil and coconut oil are 3 of my favorite moisturizers.
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Make sure to regular exfoliate your skin, especially before bathing. Use the moisturizer on your belly, legs, thighs, legs, back, and anywhere that may get stretch marks. If you have dry skin, get a room humidifier to keep the air moist. Set the humidity around 40% for ideal skin conditions. Start these steps early on in your pregnancy.
Dry brushing your skin during pregnancy has been shown to prevent stretch marks. It helps exfoliate your skin and increases circulation to your skin. You will want a dry brush with natural fibers and not too rough. Use this on all your problem areas, pretty much your entire body except your breasts, and focus on the areas that could be a future problem. When finished have a shower and then moisturize after your shower. Even when I’m not pregnant I dry brush because there are so many benefits to dry brushing.
3. Diet and Nutrition
Especially when pregnant, you are going to want to eat a healthy diet high in nutrients and vitamins. You are now eating for two. Remember to eat foods that are high in antioxidants (spinach, fresh fruits, vegetables), contain vitamin E (nuts, greens), and Omegas (fish, Eggs). You are what you eat, and this food will keep your skin healthy, increase elasticity, and help prevent stretch marks.
The most important vitamin to increase during pregnancy for stretch marks is Vitamin A, C, and E. Vitamin C has a reputation for healing skin wounds and scar tissue. Check if your pregnancy prenatal vitamin is giving you enough of these vitamins.
4. Exercise and Keep Active
It’s so difficult to want to exercise while pregnant, but it is extremely healthy for you. It will help you from gaining too much weight, improve circulation of the body, and keep your skin healthy and elastic. Make sure you are doing low impact exercises such as stretching, yoga, light walk, and pilates. It most likely will feel uncomfortable, but at least you will not feel bad enjoying ice-cream afterwards.
5. No harsh chemicals on your skin
Be very careful which soaps, shampoos, and all products you have on or around your skin. Many of these mainstream soaps and body washes have sulfates and cheap filler products that can dry out your skin losing elasticity over time. Choose all-natural products, no-gmo’s, organic, that have been shown to hydrate your skin. For that reason, I use natural clay masks a couple times a week instead of a sheet mask.
6. Stop smoking
As if you did not already need any more reason to quit smoking while pregnant, cigarette smoke deteriorates your skin. Any blemishes that come into contact with smoke become worse and is extremely unhealthy for it. Not only will it keep you looking young and healthy, but will not be affecting your baby.
7. Drink a Lot of Water
I would suggest having a Brita Filter in the fridge or anything that would encourage you to drink a lot of water. Drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day keeps your body hydrated and aids in detoxifying the body. Avoid coffees, teas, sodas, juices, and any other sugars. If possible, consume alkaline water.
Once you notice stretch marks forming, you will want to work immediately to remove or at least reduce their appearance. After rubbing these DIY natural stretch mark removal creams on the area, leave on for approximately 15 minutes before rinsing in room temperature water. Their healing and monitoring properties are what can reduce the swelling and inflammation.
My personal favorite super food is Turmeric. It is an anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and worked the best for me. The homemade turmeric stretch mark removal cream is by far my favorite.
9. Let Time do it’s Thing
The body is an amazing thing and one of the best things to do is let them fade with time. After pregnancy and your body starts going back to normal, you will have more options. Consult with your doctor, there are other (non-natural) ways to remove stretch marks. The most effective is Triroin Cream. It works great for rebuilding your collagen sells reducing stretch marks, but is not allowed for use during pregnancy as it has harmful effects on the fetus.
For more on the cause of stretch marks, make sure to view our other articles on stretch marks for dark skin, stretch mark removal creams that are amazing, and 9 methods of stretch mark removal.
10 Natural Ways to Reduce or Get Rid of Stretch Marks During Pregnancy
Summary
Learn the best ways to reduce and get rid of stretch marks during pregnancy naturally. From natural stretch mark removal creams, to vitamins, we review the best and natural stretch mark removal creams and vitamins.
