Originally Posted by
haloinrverse welcome to MuT!
cocoa butter
might kind of sort of maybe do something to prevent stretch marks, but it wont do anything at all to fade them. theyre pretty much a rip in the skin. time will fade them from red and raised to white or flesh colored and flush with the skin. the only thing that will get rid of them is laser treatments. nothing you rub on will mend the skin again.
you can get cocoa butter lotions at the grocery/drug store. palmers cocoa butter formula with vitamin e lotion smells really nice (vaguely chocolatey in a natural way.)
This is just a reaffirmation of what Halo said above. Here's info. from a
doctor regarding stretch marks:
I'M VERY SELF-CONSCIOUS ABOUT THEM. HAS ANYONE OUT THERE HEARD OF ANY METHODS TO PERMANENTLY GET RID OF STRETCH MARKS? IF SO, PLEASE E-mail ME.
Dr. Bermant comments:
This should not be construed as medical advice. I am a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon.
STRIAE are the result of your skin collagen breaking down under the stress of extra weight or a stretching mass (ie pregnancy). Early on they are red. In this phase they will try to heal (become white).
Most scars do better when massaged with a lubricant like cocoa butter. They can thus fade a little. Once the scars have matured they cannot be removed except by cutting them out. This leaves an unacceptable scar and therefore is not done. Laser treatment can help with fine wrinkles.
I have never read nor seen any studies claiming that they will work on stretch marks. BE WARY! Make the doctor who is making the claim prove it not only to you, but the rest of the medical profession! The best way to minimize stretch marks is not to damage the skin in the first place. There is no good alternative for pregnancy but gaining extra unneeded weight is a reasonable goal. Once you have the marks, camouflage is a reasonable choice. Clothing and special concealing makeup are effective. Stretch makrs look worse in loose skin. If you skin needs tightening, like with a body lift or butt lift, it may look better after surgery. The stretch marks will still be there, but often they are less crepy.
Michael Bermant, MD
Q: I heard that cocoa butter helps make stretch marks fade faster, despite the smell of coconut s every were.
Dr. Bermant comments:
It is not the cocoa butter but the massaging itself that seems to help with the stretch marks. I recommend that my patients massage many of their scars with cocoa butter to hasten the maturation. Pressure therapy has helped some scars, but not the stretch marks.
Michael Bermant, MD