I've got some on my arms and sides to. I'm gonna try this stuff.

.: Bio Oil :.

I saw tiny stretch marks on the under sides of arms when I was fixing my hair a few months back. I think that was one of my 'I've gotta lose weight NOW' moments. I know that they'll become faint and fade, but they won't go away. I do use cocoa butter and vit. e lotion which helps.

Well I also have stretch marks on the under sides of arms and also my legs and they don't seem to fade out??? Do you think that it'll be here always???

I have quite a few stretch marks, and for the most part I don't care. They are mostly old and have turned a few shades lighter than my skin. My friend, however, only has a few and is rather concerned about them. I am trying to see if I can find some way to remove/reduce them for her. Does anyone know of sucessful treatments for stretch marks? Preferrably non-surgical ones. Also if there actually is a way to treat the older stretch marks I'd appreciate knowing that as well.

Cocoa butter works for me. They will never completely go, so they say anyway. Miracles can happen.

Unfortunatelly,stretch marks ,once installed, are there to stay.The recent ones ( are still red) can be diminished by anti stretch marks creams but the old ones ( white) cannot be treated.They are definitive skin tissue ruptures that cannot be treated.

Anyone have product recommendations for stretch mark creams? I've seen the one that Palmer's has on the market (cocoa butter and shea butter I think). I wondered if any of them really worked and is there a time-frame in which they need to be used in order to reduce stretch marks?

I've had stretch marks since hips showed up when I was very young... I want to know if I can do anything about them as I lose weight (I assume they'll get worse)

Thanks!

-Sunny

self tanners will help hide them (neutrogena makes a nice one that doesnt give you an orangey glow) but I dn't think there's a cream that is going to make them disappear completely

I know a lot of pregnant women use cocoa butter as their bellies grow to keep the skin supple. I've always been under the impression that moisture rich skin keeps skin elastic so that the sub layers don't tear as easily (causing stretchmarks). I know that those creams claim to "reduce redness" if you're trying to get their appearance lessened but stretchmarks take time to go away, if they ever do. Your body needs time to absorb and repair the skin if it can.

Mal's suggestion of tanner works well because it makes your skin one color.

And, not to stray from topic, but this is for anyone who has lost weight... are anyone else's stretchmarks now a pale white in color since there is less fat filling out the skin, therefore making the stretchmarks "deflated"?

self tanners like... brozing or creams that give you color?
I look a little silly with color.. red hair and skin that matches the white paint on my wall.... lol.

Maybe I'll try some good ol' fashioned cocoa butter and see if it helps.

that's why i liked the neutrogena tanner - it didn't turn me malibu barbie tan... it just gave a slight hint of color... (I'm a close relative of casper the friendly ghost

So... if I use one of the tanners and go to the beach, does sunblock work the same? Common sense says it would but it seems like there's conflicting ingredients in everything in life.

I can't go far without sunblock

- Sunny <--- and my parents named me that..... why? lol!

you'd still need the sunblock

spf 45 is my best friend

Yea I'd use it. I just wondered if the ingredients of the sunblock were affected by anything in the lotion... silly thought, I'm sure.

Unfortunately there is nothing you can do about them except moisturise, but they do fade with time and some creams help to diminish their appearance, but they're here to stay. I have some on my inner thighs due to weight loss that was probably too fast, and they turned from purple to pale white and are almost not visible. I have some very slight ones on my bum from puberty but my boyfriend still hasnt noticed so they can't be that visible.

Palmers is great - it does help them to fade a bit faster, but there is no mirracle cure. I always found that it worked better than the expensive stuff, and they did a survey in the UK where they gave very expensive products ($140 a pot), then mid-expensive (Dior stretch mark stuff, that kind of stuff), and the cheap Bio-oil and Palmers to women who did not know what they were using on their stretch marks. After 4 weeks, the winner was Palmers, followed by Bio-oil.

The key really is to keep the skin moisturised, however this wont prevent them from forming (although it might lessen their extend, just like wrinkle cream may help reduce the depth of wrinkles) unfortunately. Stable weight loss and avoiding yo-yo weight changes is the key.

A bit of fake tan does help - gradual self tanners may help (they dont make you orange as its gradual) and make wobbly bits look better too. Another thing that helps is to mix 50/50 moisturising cream like Palmers and fake tan. If you do try that, make sure you really rub it in as it can make stretch marks look worse otherwise.

Sunblock does not affect fake tan and vice versa. I'd try getting sunblock with the highest UVA protection as well as at least SPF 30 (SPF only applies to UVB protection and not UVAs - UVAs do more damage as they penetrate the skin more deeply). I cannot give more advice though as in europe (you live in the states right?) we have different sunblock rating systems, and one of the best ingredients against UVAs hasnt been approved in the US yet (or at least wasnt a few months ago) - I was surprised to find out that a lot of Americans import French sunblock.