What to do with stretch marks after pregnancy?

Pregnancy ends with a lot of things. A baby. A newfound respect for what your body just did. And for many babes, stretch marks.

What to do with them? Whatever you want. Take photos of them. Ignore them. Befriend them. But if you'd like to reduce their appearance, that's okay too. Here's what actually helps.

What causes stretch marks during pregnancy?

Stretch marks happen when skin stretches faster than it can adapt. During pregnancy, your belly, hips, thighs, and breasts can all expand rapidly over a short period of time. When skin stretches this quickly, the collagen and elastin fibres beneath the surface can tear, and those tears are what we see as stretch marks.

How many you get, and how visible they are, comes down to a combination of factors: how quickly your skin stretched, the size of your baby, how well-hydrated your skin was throughout, and genetics. Some babes heal and scar more easily than others, and that's largely out of your control.

What do postpartum stretch marks look like?

Newer stretch marks appear red, purple, or pink. This is while they're still inflamed and the skin is actively healing. Over time they fade to a lighter, silvery colour as the scar tissue matures. Newer marks tend to respond better to topical treatment than older, faded ones, so starting a routine sooner rather than later makes a difference in how much you can reduce their appearance.

What can you do about them?

Exfoliate to encourage cell turnover

Exfoliation removes dead skin cells from the surface and encourages your skin to produce new ones. For stretch marks, regular exfoliation helps improve texture, evens out the skin's surface, and primes it to absorb the moisturising products you apply afterwards.

My Original Coffee Scrub has been a postpartum staple for babes since the beginning. Coffee grinds exfoliate while cold-pressed sweet almond oil hydrates. Use it 2–3 times a week in the shower on affected areas. For a scrub with added skin-restoring benefits, my Rosehip Body Scrub & Cleanser combines sugar exfoliation with rosehip oil, jojoba, and shea butter, all of which help soften the appearance of marks and scars.

Hydrate consistently

Hydrated skin is more elastic, and more elastic skin is more resilient. Keeping skin well-moisturised throughout pregnancy can help it stretch with less tearing, and continuing postpartum supports the healing process.

My Firming Body Cream is built around Body 3 Complex™, a formula that has been clinically tested to help reduce the visible appearance of stretch marks and cellulite with consistent use. Apply it once or twice daily to areas of concern. For a lighter-weight daily option, my Rosehip Dry Body Oil is rich in fatty acids that help brighten skin and support the appearance of marks. It absorbs without stickiness, making it easy to use every day.

If you're after something ultra-portable, the Glide 'n' Go Body Oil Stick is a mess-free solid oil that melts on contact with skin. Avocado oil, rosehip oil, and shea butter in a format you can use one-handed. Which, with a newborn, matters.

Give yourself a moment

My In Your Dreams Sleep Scrub & Soak is packed with magnesium and chamomile to soothe muscles and calm the mind. It's not specifically a stretch mark treatment, but it is a 5-minute window of quiet in a bath that also happens to exfoliate and hydrate your skin. With a new baby, that counts for a lot.

If you want everything in one kit, the Baby Mumma Kit brings together my best pregnancy and postpartum body care in one place.

Will postpartum stretch marks go away?

They'll fade, but they may not disappear entirely. The red or purple marks of early pregnancy tend to respond best to topical treatment. Over time they'll lighten to silver, and at that stage skincare has less to work with. Consistent hydration and exfoliation can accelerate fading and improve texture, but for significant reduction of older marks, professional options like laser treatment or microneedling are the most effective routes.

Stretch marks are normal. They're a record of what your body grew and what it went through to do it. Whatever you choose to do with them is the right thing.

x frank