Any lotion, oil, or cream can be used to help prevent stretch marks, but after talking with moms and dermatologists, we chose some favorites.
The facts about stretch marks
Stretch marks are extremely common and completely natural during pregnancy. While there isn’t any sound evidence to suggest we can prevent them, it’s also not a bad idea to, well, stay buttered up as your body grows and changes.
“A cream that has evidence-based medicine behind it — we don’t have that,” says Dr. DiAnne Davis, FAAD, a dermatologist at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.
What we do know for sure is that keeping your skin moisturized as it expands helps support fragile skin and encourage circulation, which can help your skin look and feel better — and maybe help prevent stretch marks from forming.
There are several products available labeled as a stretch mark cream or belly oil, but in reality, any body lotion, oil, cream, or butter that’s made with pregnancy-safe ingredients works just fine.
Essentially, however you stay moisturized, keep at it and then some. But if you’re looking for suggestions, here are some that we recommend.
Best overall stretch mark cream
Mustela Stretch Marks Cream
- Size: 5.07 fl oz
- Key ingredients: galactoarabinan (a plant collagen), avocado peptides, shea butter
- Price: $$$
Mustela’s stretch mark cream is dermatologist-tested and free of parabens, phthalates, and phenoxyethanol. We love that this product is EWG Verified, and it’s made of 97% plant-based ingredients, including avocado oil and peptides, passion fruit polyphenols, and witch hazel extract.
Expecting parents mostly love this cream and appreciate the fact that it’s fragrance-free. However, a few online reviewers mention there it still has a light scent, but it’s mild and pleasant (a plus for the pregnancy nose).
Best stretch mark cream splurge
Mutha Body Butter
- Size: 1.7 fl oz
- Key ingredients: shea butter, coconut oil, mango butter
- Price: $$$
Yes, the Mutha Body Butter is expensive, but when you’re pregnant, something more luxurious goes a long way to level up your self-care when you need it most. It’s touted as a top body butter, and customers say the price is worth it for this rich, high quality butter.
It’s a light, whipped-like formula that feels super indulgent with a subtle citrus fragrance.
This product is hypoallergenic so it’s good for sensitive skin. Ingredients include shea butter, cocoa butter, and mango butter, plus vitamins, fatty acids, and seed extracts. It also comes sans synthetic fragrances, mineral oil, parabens, sulfates, and formaldehyde.
And the brand does have some small studies the show it’s proven to hydrate for 48 hours.
If you’re looking to splurge but maybe not quite so much of a splurge, Osea’s Undaria Algae Body Butter is another super clean, indulgent option.
Best belly oil
Bio-Oil Skincare Oil
- Size: 6.7 fl oz
- Key ingredients: mineral oil, retinyl palmitate (a form of vitamin A), lavender oil, anthemis nobilis flower oil, rosemary leaf oil, calendula oil
- Price: $$$
Bio-Oil is one of the most dermatologist-recommended, holy grail skin products recommended for stretch mark prevention and treatment for existing scars. Despite “oil” in its name, Bio-Oil is a nongreasy formula with a fresh, floral scent. In our experience, the scent is light and pleasant.
One of our reviewers who used it for two pregnancies found that despite being an oil (which she typically avoids), it absorbs super fast and goes on smooth. She found it particularly helpful for relieving itchiness. Another reviewer also found it beneficial throughout her two pregnancies.
Ingredients include vitamin E, chamomile, rosemary, and lavender extracts.
It does contain a form of retinol that is thought to be safe for pregnancy (retinyl palmitate). Because it’s not listed as an active ingredient and the vitamin A may be incorporated as part of the mango seed butter, Marisa Garshick, MD, a dermatologist at Medical Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery in New York, notes that it shouldn’t cause issues. But always check with your healthcare professional. You can also purchase a version the product that is made without vitamin A if you prefer to err on the side of caution.
It could still make your skin sensitive to the sun, so stay on top of wearing sunscreen throughout the day.
Best belly oil with clean ingredients
Pipette Belly Oil
- Size: 4 fl oz
- Key ingredients: squalane, ceramides, winter cherry extract
- Free of: fragrances
- Price: $$
Pipette Belly Oil absorbs quickly and helps calm itchy skin, according to reviews.
Our editor found it felt luxurious and was a fan of the “clean” nature of the ingredients — for example, winter cherry extract and calendula for itchiness, antioxidant vitamin E for moisture, and squalane (a naturally hydrating lipid) for balance.
The only downfall she reported is that the snap-top tends to result in the outside of the bottle becoming oily over time — and wishes it was a pump top instead.
It’s hypoallergenic, making it a good fit for sensitive skin.
Best organic stretch mark cream
Glow Organics Pure Organic Belly Butter
- Size: 4 oz
- Key ingredients: organic shea butter, organic cocoa butter, organic macadamia nut, organic grapeseed oil, organic sweet almond oil
- Free of: sulfates, synthetics, parabens, phthalates, gluten
- Price: $$$
If you’re looking for a stretch mark cream that’s made with 100% USDA organic ingredients, look no further than this belly butter. In addition to being formulated with only-organic ingredients, this belly butter is also made without the use of parabens, sulfates, synthetics, or artificial fragrances.
It contains macadamia nut, shea and cocoa butter, and grapeseed and sweet almond oil, which are thought to help prevent stretch marks by improving skin elasticity. These natural ingredients also create a light, subtle scent, making it great for parents-to-be with sensitive noses.
Fans of this butter say it locks in moisture and soothes dry, itchy skin. They also warn that, due to its thick, buttery consistency, you need to use the heat of your hands to melt it before applying it to your skin.
Best drugstore stretch mark cream if you care a little less about natural ingredients
Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Massage Lotion for Stretch Marks
- Size: 8.5 fl oz
- Key ingredients: cacao extract, sweet almond oil, palm oil, coconut oil, petrolatum
- Free of: parabens, fragrances, phthalates, mineral oil
- Price: $
If you’re looking for cheap, Palmers has been popular for decades. It’s free of mineral oils, parabens, and phthalates. It has some natural ingredients, but not as many as the Burt’s Bees option — as far as drug store buys go.
Even though it’s thick and creamy, online reviewers say it absorbs well. Its ingredient profile includes cocoa and shea butter along with sweet almond and argan oil.
That being said, the moms we spoke with provided mixed reviews. One mom liked that it wasn’t oily or sticky feeling, and found herself sans stretch marks after her pregnancy.
Another mom we spoke with could not get past the smell, which she found to be too strong and stopped using it immediately. If you find yourself in the same boat but still want to keep it cheaper than the other products on our list, the same mom opted for Burt’s Bees Belly Butter for her first pregnancy and Vaseline’s Essential Moisture Daily Body Lotion for her second, and found herself without any stretch marks at the end of both pregnancies despite being prone to them genetically.
Best stretch mark cream for sensitive skin
Earth Mama Belly Butter
- Size: 8 fl oz
- Key ingredients: aloe leaf juice, olive fruit oil, sunflower seed oil, shea butter
- Free of: parabens, petroleum, mineral oil, artificial preservatives and fragrances
- Price: $$
This lightweight, creamy body butter is free of petroleum, parabens, and artificial fragrances, and formulated with organic herbs and oils, such as aloe and shea butter. One mom we spoke with used it after every shower and once every morning and felt it helped hydrate her dry skin.
Since it’s been clinically tested for irritation, it’s great for people with skin sensitivities, whether they’ve always had sensitive skin or if their pregnancy has made them more likely to experience sensitivity.
Many online reviewers prone to rashes, eczema, or breakouts report that they were able to use this cream with success, and a handful say its light, refreshing scent is reminiscent of a Creamsicle or fruity cereal. (Yum!)
Best drugstore stretch mark cream if you care about natural ingredients
Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter
- Size: 6.5 oz
- Key ingredients: shea butter, vitamin E
- Free of: parabens, sulfates, fragrances, formaldehyde, phthalate
- Price: $$
This unscented drugstore find from Burt’s Bees is great for moisturizing your skin both during and after your pregnancy. It’s formulated using 99% natural ingredients and is free of phthalates, parabens, petrolatum, and sodium lauryl sulphate.
In addition to moisturizing ingredients like cocoa, shea, and jojoba butter, this cream contains sweet almond, sunflower, and coconut oil, which can help sooth sensitive skin.
In our editor’s experience, it’s a thick body butter that isn’t too greasy. It rubs in and absorbs well despite being thicker. Another mom we spoke to used it twice a day in the morning and before bed and found it kept their skin very hydrated without being greasy. She pointed out that it did not have much of a smell and felt each container lasted a long time.
Another mom who faced really dry and itchy skin in her first trimester agreed this belly butter helped her itchiness a lot (even though she did get some stretch marks, which we’ve established can largely be unavoidable for many people).
How we chose the best stretch mark creams
The market is full of stretch mark creams that promise amazing results. While there’s no clinical evidence to suggest stretch marks are totally preventable, there’s also no harm in trying.
To select the products above, we searched through ingredient lists and product reviews to help you narrow your search. We chose the best stretch mark creams for pregnancy based on the following criteria:
- Experience: We considered feedback from 9 moms about 8 different products they purchased with their own money and tried throughout their pregnancies.
- Ingredients: We looked for stretch mark creams formulated with hydrating ingredients, like nut butters and oils — such as cocoa, shea, or jojoba.
- Brand integrity: We sought trusted brands that are leaders in their industry. They all passed our vetting process, which ensures brands follow ethical business standards and don’t have any pending lawsuits, among other factors.
- Price: There’s no need to break the bank for a stretch mark cream. We tried to feature stretch mark creams that fall in the price range of $8–$30 (but we did recommend one splurge option).
- Reviews: We combed through online customer reviews, only featuring the brands that were well-liked, easy to use, and alleviated customers’ skin issues.
- Experts: We reached out to board certified dermatologists to get their opinion on what makes for the best stretch mark creams.
What to look for in a stretch mark cream
Decide whether you want a cream that is scented or fragrance-free. Scan the ingredients list for potential irritants, especially if you have allergies or sensitivities. While pregnant and nursing, avoid products that contain retinoids.
Choose a product (or investigate creating your own!) that contains ingredients such as:
- nut butter such as cocoa or shea, or jojoba oil, like Mustela Stretch Marks Cream
- vitamins A and E, like Bio-Oil Skincare Oil
- hyaluronic acid
- coconut, argan, or rosehip oil, like Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter
- aloe vera, like Earth Mama Belly Butter
- peptides, like Mustela Stretch Marks Cream
“Certain ingredients that can sometimes be helpful are hyaluronic acid or peptides,” Davis says. “I usually will check active ingredients and recommend the patient check with their OB-GYN before using it.”
Takeaway
There’s a lot going on in your body and mind right now. Go ahead and pamper yourself with one of these stretch mark creams. Best-case scenario, it prevents stretch marks. Worst-case scenario, you’re left with really soft and hydrated skin.