Stretch Marks!

[OhioSKy]

Anyone ever found a way to reduce them?

[feisty redhead]

Try cocoa butter or shea butter. They've worked for me.

[happylynngilmer]

Shea butter! :} Not gone all the way, but definitely reduced to as small as I think I can get them without lasers. They are not from pregnancy though, from a growth spurt on my thighs from high school.

[OhioSKy]

I have them all over my stomach bad from pregnancy and even though DD is 4 now they haven't faded much. I also have them on the insides of my thighs. I used Palmer's Cocoa Butter through my pregnancy but haven't really tried it since then as it didn't work to prevent them. Maybe I will give the shea a try, though.
Thanks for the responses :grinhappy:

[jel]

I found that my stretchmarks completely faded while I was on the Atkins diet (5+ years ago). I attribute this to ingesting lots of protein, healthy fats, fresh vegetables, and high doses of Evening Primrose Oil as a supplement (multivits too, but I almost always take those).

No topical treatment had ever worked for me.

[Altocumulus]

Mine are from pregnancy and nothing I did helped them in any way. They've faded with time - now they're just thin white lines. Cocoa butter smelled great but made me crave chocolate. ;)

[Kirin]

Oh what a painful subject for me. Before I had children, I was gregarious, extroverted, and self confident in anything i wore.

Nothing has worked, nothing. I have stretchmarks, oh yes, all over my stomach, like silvery purple spider webs, my thighs, front and back, some on my hips that are so deep they look like caverns and on my breasts. I wont wear shorts, miniskirts, or bathing suits.

I've been on atkins, lost a load of weight, no budge in stretchmarks though, matter of fact they are WORSE. They are angry, huge, and in great multitudes. I've tried vitimin E, scar cream, microdermabrasion cloths, cocoa butter, shea butter.....*sigh* not a budge.

I've often been at the beach, or somewhere in the summer with my husband, looked at him, and gone off to cry. He is a handsome well built man (slender but muscular too), and hasnt changed, not even a pant size since we met. A few grey hairs, but thats it. Its almost unfair, as women look at him and smile... people tell him how handsome he is... I certainly dont get that reaction, not for many many years.

People's advice to "embrace" it and "live with it" .... even my husband's well meant "Your still beautiful to me" is very hard to live with, when YOU are the person with the problem. The few times i've exposed skin, people have actually said to me "Oh you need to do something about those". Don't they think I'm trying?

I finally got some validation, a few years ago, sick of hearing how that and a few other physical problems from my pregnancies (inability to climax during sex anymore) among other things....I went to a psychiatrist.

For the first time thank GOD.... i was told to my face, that it was OKAY to NOT accept these things. I don't have to accept the way I am now, and its okay to be sad about it sometimes, as long as i realize, with a deep breath, the reality of it.

I havent needed to see him in a year and a half, only saw him for six months, because after that, I do have a "relationship" with these stretchmarks. Mostly, because when he explained something.

Stretchmarks such as I have, are NOT a minor nuisance, a right of passage, or something that is trivial or vain in wanting to be rid of. It is, a completely uncontrolled disfigurement.

Thinking of it that way, makes it easier to accept, than someone telling me "I am beautiful anyway" or, "its a right of passage for having children".... or some other old wive's goodie thrown at me to make me feel better. In viewing it as a disfigurement of my body, much like scars of any other kind that cover a large portion of the body, at least I can handle that, and live with it.

[Altocumulus]

Kirin, I completely understand. My stretch marks aren't so bad, but I have A LOT of extra skin from my pregnancies (DD was 10 lbs, 14 oz, DS was 9 lbs 11 oz, so I had to stretch a lot!) as well as the c-section "shelf" and I absolutely hate it. I haven't had a normal, or even passably normal, stomach since DD was born 13 years ago, and I never will. Over the years I've gotten better at not thinking about it, but that doesn't mean I like it any better.

[Kirin]

Yes, my children are 13 and 10...... a lot of years to have this going on. It has so helped me that its not a vanity issue. I have teh stomach shelf, even getting as far down as 135 lbs at 5'7"... and working out like mad. there's just no fix. Though i keep trying

[OhioSKy]

Mine are from pregnancy and nothing I did helped them in any way. They've faded with time - now they're just thin white lines. Cocoa butter smelled great but made me crave chocolate. ;)

I know what you mean. I put it on in the morning and catch whiffs of it all day long that give me a major sweet tooth, lol...

Kirin, I'm glad you feel that way about your body. I think some people have more control over these things than others do, like how cocoa butter works for some and not others, but either way you just kinda have to deal with what you're given and it's not easy. Looking at it as a disfigurement makes a little more sense than viewing it as kin to an awful zit or other equally annoying skin problem, because it's not just going to "go away" And, if you think about it in those terms, it makes it sound worse than it really is, and then I think, "Hey, at least I'm not missing an arm or something." because those are the things I think about when I hear the word "disfigured." That was probably very random and ramble. I haven't had enough coffee this morning.

Altocumulus, I've heard people say that it makes sense to them they got stretch marks because they had large babies or gained a lot of weight. I was so sick during my pregnancy that I only gained 12 pounds, and DD was 7 even. But my stretch marks are as bad or worse than everyone I know who gained up to 100 pounds when pregnant. It doesn't make sense :/

[LORA410]

My problem isn't so much the stretch marks (which btw i got more of them AFTER she was born ) as it is the pouch and the wrinkles where my belly button used to resemble a belly button..lol

[Sibylla]

Coco nut oil with a BBB!!!

Iīve read that flaxseed oil can reduce belly fat. It has the worst taste in the world but I take 1 table spoon a day to see if it helps (itīs very good for your skin too).

[OhioSKy]

Coco nut oil with a BBB!!!

Iīve read that flaxseed oil can reduce belly fat. It has the worst taste in the world but I take 1 table spoon a day to see if it helps (itīs very good for your skin too).

BBB on your stomach? Doesn't that hurt? lol
I've seen flaxseed oil in capsules at the drug store. How long have you been taking it, and how has it affected your skin?
Thanks for the info :grinhappy:

[quidscribis]

Kirin, I'm with you. No pregnancies, but weight gain, but for that matter, I had stretch marks all over the place even before I gained weight - just growing from a child to adult-sized body did it for me.

Some of us get the genetic short straw. Mine have faded - no longer red, but white - but a lot of them are just as huge as the day they showed up. The backs of my legs are gross and disgusting - lines and lines and lines and lines of scar tissue. There's really nothing BUT scar tissue there.

For me, it's my genetic collagen disorder (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome). I mention this because the kind of stretch marks I'm talking about, and from how you describe your stretch marks, are quite common with collagen disorders like mine, but there are also usually other health problems associated with the collagen disorders, and you mentioned other health problems. If you want to PM me, feel free.

For what it's worth, it's entirely possible that your husband genuinely doesn't care and genuinely does find you beautiful. I know your self-worth might dictate otherwise, but it's really actually completely possible. I didn't think it was possible, either, but then I married this guy who thinks I'm beautiful anyway, and absolutely nothing fazes him. He just won't stop loving me no matter what. I don't think this trait is as rare as, say, Hollywood and stick-thin-model culture would have us believe.

[Medievalsilver]

Shea butter! :} Not gone all the way, but definitely reduced to as small as I think I can get them without lasers. They are not from pregnancy though, from a growth spurt on my thighs from high school.

Yea I've got the same thing. They are just lengthwise on my knees.

[Katze]

I have them all over my lower belly, on my hips, and on my upper arms. No idea what they are from, but the belly ones have been there since adolescence. I've tried smearing everything possible on them and they don't really seem to change, and although I don't want to "accept" this ugly aspect of my skin, they seem like they are there to stay. Oh yeah, I have never had children.

I take fish oils for my mood, for my cycle, and for my skin/hair, but have also not noticed any change in my stretch marks.

However, my sister, who just had a baby, swears up and down that cocoa butter prevented her from getting stretch marks from pregnancy...

[OhioSKy]

Quidscribis, I have never heard of a collagen disorder but it's entirely possible that I may have something like that. I have had the little silvery ones on my knees, lower back, thighs, and the outside of my breasts forever, and the amount I got during pregnancy is just ridiculous. What other health problems can be related to this? The other health problems I mentioned during pregnancy, and why I didnt gain any weight, was gall stones. I also have issues with my pancreas which causes my blood sugar to be messed up all the time.
I know DH doesn't care- he outweighs me by 100 pounds and has stretchmarks too lol. I know he is attracted to me anyways and he never makes me feel embarrassed about my body. I have no problem walking around the house naked with him around. My problems come more when my friends want to go to the river or something, and I stand in front of the closet for half an hour trying to decide if I want to wear a bikini or not. I always end up wearing it, but with another shirt over, and then there's always all those little skinny girls everywhere with flawless skin (some with kids!) and those are the only times I feal really bad about it.

[Islandgrrl]

I got horrible (well, to me, anyway) stretch marks on my belly when I was pregnant with DD21. I didn't gain much weight, less than 20 pounds, and she was only 7lbs. But the stretch marks are pretty significant. What I found really odd was that they didn't get any worse when I was pregnant with DS1 and DS2-18 (C-section). And I didn't get any more of them, either. And I gained about 40lbs.

They're there and yes, they used to bother me a lot. Not so much anymore. What REALLY bothers me is the scar from the C-section. I wasn't put together quite right (big fat jerk of a doctor, thankyouverymuch) and I have no sensation on one side where the scar is. Add to that the intersecting HUGE scar from last year's hysterectomy and, well, my belly pretty much looks like a road map. Oh, and there's the baby moosh from the stretch marks that makes the skin a bit mooshy and un-elastic. Yech.

I feel less disfigured from the stretch marks than from the damage done by the C-section.

[OhioSKy]

Some people have terrible lasting scars and disfigurement from Csections. I know one girl, however, who had already had one normal birth and had lots of extra skin and stretch marks from it, and when she had her second child via Csection, the doctor cut out several inches of extra skin and sewed her back up- like a tummy tuck! Her tummys taught, the scar is hardly there, and the only stretch marks she has are on her sides around her love handle area.
Some people have all the luck, huh?

[Sibylla]

The BBB is for thighs....You have to be gentle..

[Islandgrrl]

Some people have all the luck, huh?

No kidding.

I could have a tummy tuck, but really, it's not worth the trouble to me.

[quidscribis]

Quidscribis, I have never heard of a collagen disorder but it's entirely possible that I may have something like that. I have had the little silvery ones on my knees, lower back, thighs, and the outside of my breasts forever, and the amount I got during pregnancy is just ridiculous. What other health problems can be related to this? The other health problems I mentioned during pregnancy, and why I didnt gain any weight, was gall stones. I also have issues with my pancreas which causes my blood sugar to be messed up all the time.
From the Marfan site (http://www.marfan.org/nmf/GetSubContentRequestHandler.do?sub_menu_item_conte nt_id=3&menu_item_id=2) (Marfan's Syndrome is also a collagen disorder), there are over 200 heritable collagen disorders. I'm only familiar with Ehlers Danlos because that's what I have.

Collagen is a type of protein - there are something like 33 different types of collagen in the human body. Collagen is the stuff that provides elasticity and flexibility to skin, blood vessels, tendons, ligaments, and the tissue that surrounds the various organs and keeps them where they're supposed to be. The eye is 80% collagen. In other words, it's pretty much everywhere.

How a collagen defect will vary between people depends on what type of collagen defect they have, which collagen types are affected and where, and, well, randomness. Let's take a sample family.

The father, brother, and two sisters have EDS III, or Ehlers Danlos Syndrome hypermobility type (there are a bunch of variations within EDS itself).

The father had brain aneurisms, painful debilitating joint problems, extremely see-through skin (you can spot all the blood vessels), and periodontal disease (only four teeth left by the time he was 40 or so).

The brother has periodontal disease, cataracts, and digestive problems.

The sister has periodontal disease, cataracts, vericose veins, extremely see-through skin, and extremely stretchy skin (as in, it can stretch out six or ten inches away from her arm when pinched under the tricep. This skin stretchiness is one of the hallmarks of EDS. She also is light sensitive, hearing sensitive, extremely skin sensitive, smell sensitive, and so on (remember The Princess and the Pea? That's what we're talkin' bout here. :))

The second sister has extremely flexible joints that easily dislocate either fully or partially, painful joints, cataracts, periodontal disease, hormone imbalances, headaches, migraines, dizziness & lightheadedness, low blood pressure and POTS (post orthostatic something or other that means a person passes out easily), IBS, severe periods (heavy bleeding, painful cramping, and so on), severe hormone imbalances, malabsorption problems, hemhorraging, fatigue, insomnia, pancreatitis, muscle spasms (including with various valves in various organs), and so on. She also is light sensitive (triggering auras leading to migraines), hearing sensitive, extremely skin sensitive, smell sensitive, and so on. The distinguishing feature with the second sister is the hypermobile joints - that's the only symptom she has that marks her as potentially having EDS. All the other symptoms can be attributed to other things, and usually are even though they're all caused by the collagen disorder.

Even within the one family, all with the same type of EDS, they have wildly varying symptoms. The father, brother and sister would only ever be diagnosed if the second sister were diagnosed first, leading to a genetic investigation into the rest of the family.

Others with the exact same type of EDS may have completely different symptoms, or may have no symptoms at all, or might have only a few. It varies wildly. As well, women tend to suffer more with EDS due to estrogen levels affecting the collagen - I don't know the exact details, but I do know that, during my period, I have a very difficult time walking due to the bones in my pelvis shifting around so very badly.

And that's just one subtype of one type of collagen disorder. :)

As a further note, I had gallbladder problems, but not stones - the valve went into non-stop spasms and would not give up. But I don't know if it's part of EDS or not - gallbladder problems also run on the non-EDS side of the family.

If you suspect that you might have a collagen disorder, see a rheumatologist or a geneticist. But be warned that not all collagen disorders are genetic, and even among those that are genetic, the specific gene markers haven't been found for all. Like mine. Also be warned that collagen disorders typically take decades to diagnosed properly, mostly because most doctors have never heard of collagen defects and have no idea what the possible symptoms are. Most people with collagen defects are initially diagnosed with other things that are more common. Like arthritis when there's joint pain even when there are no other symptoms of arthritis. Or depression when there's fatigue. Because the biggest problem with collagen disorders is that they can affect 100 different people with the same disorder in 100 different ways.

[getoffmyskittle]

Man, how I wish LHC were up. There was this really long thread on stretch marks over there wherein lissomllama described in great detail how she got rid of her stretch marks using copper peptides, glycolic acid, and emu oil. I think she used the Skin Biology trireduction cream and emu oil, and 50% glycolic acid peels. Anyone else remember what I am talking about?

[OhioSKy]

Wow... that describes most of the health problems I have that I consider minor. The blood sugar and galldladder things seems to run in my family, but I also have terrible joint pain that no one has been able to identify. We were in the middle of running tests (my doc thought I may have Lupus) when I lost my insurance and never finished the tests. My shoulders dislocate frequently, I have frequest problems with fatigue (maybe because of the blood sugar) I am extremely sensitive to light and smells and get migraines easily, sometimes from lights or smells or sometimes from apparently nothing. Low blood pressure, lightheadedness, hormone imbalances.... hmmm. I have also experienced that shifting bones thing, but not at any certain time of month, I don't think. Interesting. I have never heard of collagen imbalances, but it may be worth researching.

As I mentioned, I have no insurance, so I'm in no position to begin a decades long search for a diagnosis, but will do a little more research.
Thanks for all the information, Quidscribis!

[quidscribis]

You're welcome. :) I'm going to PM you.

[darian moone]

Man, how I wish LHC were up. There was this really long thread on stretch marks over there wherein lissomllama described in great detail how she got rid of her stretch marks using copper peptides, glycolic acid, and emu oil. I think she used the Skin Biology trireduction cream and emu oil, and 50% glycolic acid peels. Anyone else remember what I am talking about?

I absolutely know what you're talking about Skits. It was a really good thread with great info. I can't remember exactly what her procedures were though. I've actually tried to mess around and figure it out on my own without any success. I hope the info is still on the LHC when we return. She really did get fantastic results.

[OhioSKy]

hmmm maybe eventually Ill be able to join TLHC and figure out what you guys are talking about.

[Rain]

I only gained 25-30 pounds with my first pregnancy but it was all in my belly. I'm short with practically no torso and I had a huge baby so my belly had to stretch a lot. When they were new and livid red, they were pretty hard to accept. When I got the baby sliced out of my belly and saw the overhang dealie, that was hard to accept too. I wasn't expecting to be so disfigured by pregnancy. My mom popped out five kids and still looked normal. She's also average height and has a different body type and different skin.

The stretch marks faded with time. They're pale white like the rest of my skin and I'm used to them now. I don't pretend to love them but I'm not going to hate myself because of them either. They are what they are. The overhang is disgusting and I hate it but again, it's a physical flaw and doesn't define me as a person. If I had the money for a tummy tuck, I'd have to spend it on putting my kids through college so I accept this is just something I'm going to have to live with. It's okay. No one looks lower than my boobs anyways. Ha, ha.