We updated this guide in February 2022 to add more information about each featured product, including key ingredients, based on extensive testing done by the Good Housekeeping Institute. Many of our original top-rated picks, selected by the GHI Beauty Lab, remain the same, with the addition of our pick for the Best Organic stretch mark cream.
Whether they’re stretch marks or wrinkles, both have a tendency to appear seemingly overnight as you age throughout the years. Contrary to popular belief, stretch marks aren’t always due to weight gain; they appear when your skin stretches or shrinks as years pass. According to materials published by the American Academy of Dermatology, stretch marks earn their flashy “stripes” after the skin’s cellular support network of collagen and elastin ruptures altogether.
What are stretch marks and what causes them?
Stretch marks and their long, narrow lines appear differently on a multitude of bodies. Depending on your skin color, stretch marks can range from red to purple to dark brown, and commonly crop up on the abdomen, hips, thighs, and/or breasts. They are especially common around puberty and during pregnancy as the skin expands and shrinks: In fact, a 2015 study in the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology found that more than half of all pregnant women will develop stretch marks during pregnancy.
Though millions of people develop stretch marks at some point in their lives, many strive to get rid of them as quickly as they show up — and often turn to over-the-counter remedies to do so. The following list of the best products to prevent stretch marks, and help them fade after they’ve formed, can help you disguise or diminish stretch marks in due time.
Our top picks of 2022:
Do stretch mark creams actually work?
Unfortunately, most stretch marks can’t be fully removed, confirms Manish Shah, M.D., a plastic surgeon maintaining a private practice based in Colorado. This is because stretch marks are, technically, breaks in the skin and are difficult to repair. However, he tells us that there are ways to soften the appearance of stretch marks by improving the collagen content of the skin and getting the color to fade with time.
The best way to treat stretch marks is through prevention: Make sure that your skin is healthy and strong. “Dietary fish oil supplements can help keep the skin hydrated and elastic, vitamin C supplements ensure that you make good quality collagen, and the use of moisturizers and sunscreen protects the skin from continuing damage,” Dr. Shah explains. For at-home stretch mark treatment, he adds that the best thing to do for a new stretch mark “is to vertically massage the stretch mark and cover it with sunblock to soften and fade it.”
What to look for in a stretch mark cream:
Birnur Aral, Ph.D, director of the Beauty Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute, suggests “products that can increase the elasticity of skin before a stretching injury happens.” She suggests looking for “cohort topicals with hyaluronic acid (a powerhouse humectant), and tretinoin, a prescription retinol cream.” However, pregnant women should always consult their doctors for recommendations. Certain collagen- and elastin-producing ingredients can be iffy for use during pregnancy.
The Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab is constantly testing skincare products, such as those like creams and lotions that claim to improve the look of body skin, including stretch marks. In the Lab, scientists use the Corneometer device to measure the hydration levels in skin before and after application of a standardized quantity of the moisturizer. Consumer testers then utilize the products at home in their daily routine for a set time period to report back on the ease of use, product attributes, and performance. These data points are then tallied together to determine which are the most effective.
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