I don't have anything against stretchmarks per se, but I have some rather large tattoos that are quite meaningful to me and I hate the thought of them being invaded by stretchmarks. I'm on a mission to prevent them and I began some prep work in the two months prior to conception by creating a lotion ritual that I'm hoping will ward them off.
The essential ingredients:
1) Ceridwen's Cauldron
bath melt from Lush at Lushusa.com (also widely available in the UK!!)
2) Bath and Body Works
body cream in Rice Flower and Shea (or any scent you like, for me this is nice and light for my uber strong pregnancy nose!)
3) Bio-Oil
4) St Ives Collagen and Elastin
body lotion
5) with a side of The Body Shop's cocoa shea body butter
So
you wanna soak in the tub and relax? Ceridwen's Cauldron is a must!!
It's a delicious bath melt that releases just enough oil to soften your
skin and leave it moisturized without feeling greasy. Not to mention the sweet smelling earthy scent that is soothes all the aches and pains! I'd say it's a
definite once a week treat for your baby making body.
Fresh
from your shower or bath, slip on some Bio Oil- it dries quickly
without being greasy. Some people disagree with using this oil during pregnancy, I say do your own research and decide. If I decided not to use it, I'd also have to swear off laptops, computers, cell phones, sunlight, unorganic everything and fresh air. I love how it smells, I love how it feels and I've been using it since two months pre conception and definitely notice a difference in my skin as a result- so I'm sticking to it.
Then slather on some St Ives Collagen and Elastin
lotion- primarily on your belly, hips and breasts. I can speak to the scientificness of this lotion, but stretchmarks are affected by collagen and elastin so I'm using this because I WANT to believe in its claims. It's a nice and light scent and feels really luxurious when you rub it on. It settles in and dries quickly, another plus for me. There's nothing like having to wait for lotion to dry before dressing and I refuse to do it, so I choose my lotions and potions accordingly.
The final layer is the BBW Rice flower
and Shea body cream. It's richer than the lotion and keeps my skin
moisturized all day. It has a really lovely light scent. I alternated this with BBW's warm vanilla sugar body butter in the early months because I was worried my morning sickness and newly tuned sensitive olfactory sense would make me hate my favorite familiar smells- I'm happy to report, crisis averted!
Should you start to feel itchy
skin later in the day, nip into the loo, and apply a quick dose of The
Body Shop cocoa shea body butter in the convenient on the go tub. This has been a lifesaver at work when my belly starts itching and I don't want to look like the weirdo in the corner who's trying to sneak in some scratching. It's also in a small tub and fits in my bag so I can take it everywhere.
I
can't swear by this little concoction just yet- I'm only 22 weeks
along- But I'm currently stretchmark free and using this moisturizing
ritual daily and intend to keep it up!! My mom and sister each had
stretch marks by 20 weeks- so I'm hoping this is a sign that I'm going
to beat the genetics with the power of lotions and oils!!
