Stretch marks. They are an inevitable part of pregnancy aren’t they? For many of us our post pregnancy bodies will bear the stripes which appear when the baby grows faster than our skin can cope with. While genetics and the type of skin we have seem to play a big part in just how many stretch marks we will get it seems likely that moisturising and massaging around the belly, hips and boobs can help prevent stretch marks and reduce their appearance.



There are so many times during pregnancy that my belly has felt tight or itchy, keeping it well moisturised has been essential for comfort as well as to protect my skin. I have quite a few stretch marks on my boobs and hips from puberty, but in my first 2 pregnancies I only gained a few additional ones, it’s too soon to say for this pregnancy as I know in the last few weeks my tummy just seems to grow and grow and grow with stretch marks suddenly appearing.

In my first 2 pregnancies I moisturised my tummy every day with Palmer’s. I loved the smell and it helped my skin feel soft all day. This pregnancy I have mostly used the body lotions I have lying around the house, although one of these resulted in a rash as all the chemicals in it were too much for my pregnant skin. Palmer’s recently sent me some products from their stretch marks range so I have gone back to that yummy cocoa butter smell for the end of my pregnancy.

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula (with Vitamin E) for Stretch Marks

Palmer’s sent me: Massage Lotion for Stretch Marks (body lotion), Massage Cream for Stretch Marks (Cream Concentrate) and Tummy Butter for Stretch Marks (Intensive Treatment).  They are all different in consistency with the Tummy Butter the most solid and they all contain: collagen, elastin, argan oil and shea butter. My favourite for using during pregnancy is the Massage Lotion because I like the thinner cream for covering the larger area of my big belly. If I have areas which feel particularly tight I use the thicker cream or butter. Post pregnancy (and once my tummy has shrunk down a bit) I expect I will use the thicker products to provide a more focussed massage on any stretch marks which have appeared to help them fade from the angry red/ purple.

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula (with Vitamin E) Baby Products

Palmer’s also sent me a few products for baby skin which I wasn't familiar with. I have been sent the Bottom Butter nappy cream with cocoa butter, vitamin A and pro vitamin B5 and Baby Butter baby lotion with cocoa butter and aloe. My biggest concern about using these on my newborn is that I’m going to want to eat him all up! Knowing how gentle the Stretch Marks products are on my skin I am confident the baby products will be great too. My youngest daughter was born with very dry skin which cracked and bled so it’s great to have the body lotion we can use to help prevent problems this time. The nappy cream is designed to keep wetness away from baby’s sensitive skin. I’ll let you know how I find them after my baby arrives.

***Disclosure: I was kindly sent the Palmer's Cocoa Butter products for the purpose of review. Products are available from most major retailers.***