How to Prevent Stretch Marks During Pregnancy

Preventing pregnancy stretch marks is very important to most expecting mothers, with good reason as these marks can leave ugly, reddish purple marks all over your hips and breasts, but are particularly likely to affect your belly. Statistics show that between 75 and 90 percent of all pregnant women develop stretch marks during pregnancy and even after. Moreover, studies have shown pregnancy stretch marks are a major cause of concern and anxiety for many pregnant women.

As pregnancy can result in extreme stomach stretch marks, as well as stretch marks (also known as striae) on the breasts and hips. These striae mostly start out as highly discolored ripples of scar tissue. They are often purplish or reddish in color. They may fade out to a silvery white as years go by, but their unpleasantly rippled texture will remain the same.

Stretch Marks During Pregnancy

Can stretch marks really be prevented during pregnancy? To avoid stretch marks during pregnancy is as easy as increasing the skin's ability to stretch. Striae are mostly caused when the skin is stretched too far, too fast, resulting in tiny tears and little rips. Fortunately, these tears heal, and are replaced by scar tissue. These are what we call stretch marks. If you increase the skin's ability to stretch, and the rips and tears will never happen in the first place.

It is worth noting that the body has its own method to prevent pregnancy stretch marks. In fact,it sends collagen and elastin to the rescue. These are two proteins which make up our skin. They give skin its ability to stretch. Increase the levels of collagen and elastin in the body, and you equip your skin with the ability to stretch further naturally.

Also, instead of rubbing a mere moisturizer into your skin twice a day, rub in a natural skin care cream that has components that will trigger the regeneration of these essential proteins. Many lotions ,on sale nowadays, contain trace amounts of collagen and elastin, and some are loaded with them, but unfortunately they both miss the point. It is not that important in trying to add proteins to your skin from the outside. Instead, they must be generated as part of the structure of your skin and thus from within.

When looking for an effective stretch marks cream, you must use a cream that has the ability to activate your skin's own renewal systems a cream that will trigger the replacement of damaged skin cells with new healthy skin cells from within.

Tips to Prevent Pregnancy Stretch marks

However, stretch marks also occur after pregnancy as a result of losing weight too quickly. It is important to establish a skin care program. Find these natural ways to prevent stretch marks during pregnancy.

Moderate Your Weight Gain

Prevent stretch marks during and after pregnancy by being extremely careful about the foods that you eat. You may find it a little hard to believe but what you put into your body on a daily basis can have a great impact on whether you will get stretch marks during and after pregnancy.

While Vitamin A foods should be avoided during pregnancy, vitamins that have a great impact on the overall appearance of your skin are Vitamins C and E and zinc.  You will also have a better chance of preventing stretch marks during pregnancy if you have a steady weight gain over the nine month period.

Don't Forget to Hydrate Your Skin

Prevent and treat pregnancy stretch marks by drinking a lot of water. Does drinking a lot of water prevent stretch marks during pregnancy? By keeping your body hydrated you are also keeping your skin hydrated and thereby helping to prevent stretch marks from occurring in the first place.

Massage Olive Oil Into The Skin

Since stretch marks can occur in areas like the stomach, thighs, buttocks and arms, be sure all of those areas are massaged with olive oil at least once per day starting prior to pregnancy if possible and continuing until postpartum.

Olive oil is a great moisturizer and can really help in making the skin more elastic. If skin is dry and weight is gained quickly, stretch marks are much more likely to make themselves apparent.

Eat Right and Take Vitamins

Although pregnant women are eating for two, it isn't for two adults so it's important to not overeat because a lot more excess weight will be gained. It's recommended that pregnant women only increase their daily caloric intake by 300 calories throughout their pregnancy.

Eating sensibly and maintaining a balanced diet during pregnancy you will help feed the body and skin with essential vitamins and oil that help keep your skin healthy and elastic, helping to prevent pregnancy stretch marks.

Homemade Stretch Mark Cream

Over-the-counter stretch mark creams and lotions can be expensive. An inexpensive alternative is creating your own stretch mark cream using a variety of natural ingredients. Homemade stretch mark cream is easy to make by using skin soothing ingredients like coconut oil  and cocoa butter.

Make your own DIY Stretch Mark Cream

Cocoa Butter is famous for protecting the skin from stretch marks. Cocoa Butter is rich in vitamin E, and is an excellent skin softener and toner. Shea butter quickly melts into the top layers of skin and  leaves your stretch marks feeling extra soft.

Following is an easy homemade stretch mark cream to help prevent stretch marks.

You Will Need

• 2 tablespoons cocoa butter
• 2 tablespoons Shea butter
• A few drops of Vitamin E oil
• 20 drops lavender essential oil

What You Have To Do

• Mix together 2 tablespoons each of Shea butter and cocoa butter.
• Add one tablespoon of coconut oil into this mixture.
• Also add Vitamin E oil and lavender essential oil.
• Place this mixture in a thick bottomed pan and melt it in low heat. 
• When the mixture is melted, whip with a whisk and then remove from heat. 

This is your homemade stretch removal cream. Applying this diy cream improves the skin elasticity, prevents stretch mark scars. Apply this stretch mark cream every morning and evening for 2 to 3 months for the best results.

What you Should Know About Stretch Mark Creams

Remember that while there is no harm in using various lotions or creams designed to prevent stretch marks, there is no proven product available on the market today that contains ingredients known to actually prevent stretch marks. In addition, there is no testing on products to remove stretch marks, so be wary of dropping large quantities of money on products that may not be effective.

It may be just as effective to have a daily massage with a good quality skin lotion in the last half of pregnancy rather than buying a specific stretch mark cream. If expectant mothers are interested in preventing stretch marks, they should look for lotions or creams that contain some of the ingredients that have been tested and found helpful to prevent or reduce stretch marks.