Our whole lives, we've watched moms-to-be and plenty of other women slather themselves in stretch mark cream. But is it all for naught?
According to our reviewers, when stretch mark cream contains dermatologist-approved ingredients and is used consistently over several months, skin quality improves and (newer, non-white) stretch marks fade slightly. However, if a product claims to eliminate stretch marks completely, take it with a grain of salt.
Your body works hard to accommodate impressive changes like pregnancy and swift weight gain or loss. And though some stretch mark creams (paired with a lot of patience) can help, don't feel obligated to annihilate your stretch marks as if they're something a body shouldn't have. If you have new, dark-colored stretch marks and are willing to commit to daily use over two or three months, have at it. You may notice results.
Otherwise, take a cue from supermodel Chrissy Teigen (our personal stretch mark icon) and learn to embrace your stretchies.
It takes commitment to apply stretch mark cream two to three times daily over the course of several months. So if it doesn't really work, wouldn't you like to know before buying one?
"Stretch mark creams containing ingredients like alpha hydroxy acids combined with retinol (or vitamin A), cayenne pepper, tiger's herb, vitamin C — anything that encourages collagen or elastin (elastic tissue) production and circulation — can help," says dermatologist Dr. Howard Murad, MD.
With that in mind, our testers tried three popular stretch mark creams for eight weeks, none of which made stretch marks vanish (even the packaging of some products admit "no topical formulation can completely eliminate stretch marks"). Still, some products left testers oohing and aahing at their results. Find out which products and ingredients made a difference.
