Reviews: Stretch Mark Cream

Another product review - must be a slow day! Haha This time around, I am reviewing a great stretch mark cream that was recommended by my friend's cousin, Kim, who has trained as an aesthetician. Now, there are a lot of myths about stretch marks, so it's difficult to know what's true and what's not. I've heard that the more flexible you are, the more likely you are not to get stretch marks. Then again, I used to have really great skin and I've realized that the older I've gotten, the more likely I'll get things like acne scars! I haven't consulted a professional, but I thought I'd take on the recommendation of a friend and try the Mustela Double Action stretch mark cream.

Right off the bat, I'll let you know that Mustela is by no means cheap! I wasn't able to find it in the UK, but luckily I was meeting friends in Greece in June, which was around the time that my bump was starting to become more apparent. My friend Jessica was able to find it in Nordstrom for $39 per 5 oz. bottle. Like I said, not cheap! Fortunately for me, I told her to get 2 bottles and at the second Nordstrom, they only had the Tester bottle, which hadn't been opened because they didn't have a back stock of it and there was no point putting out a Tester bottle. So all they did was take it out of the box and put a 'Tester' sticker on the bottle. When the salesperson rang it up, the register said it cost 1 cent! Woot! I basically got 2 bottles for $39.01 (plus tax)!

I applied the cream once a day (although the instructions advise twice a day) after a bath or shower to my bump, boobs, and butt - anywhere that stretches! The two bottles lasted me 4 months, which means I only ran out of it last week toward the very end of my pregnancy. So far, so good! I can happily say that I've managed to avoid stretch marks! However, like I said, it's hard to tell what is the result of a cream and what is the result of genetics. For me, this cream worked!

So what now, now that I've run out of it? I've switched to my 'back-up' cream: Palmer's Cocoa Butter Massage Cream for Stretch Marks.

Compared to the Mustela Double Action cream, Palmer's is a bargain! It can also be found at most drug stores such as SuperDrug in the UK and probably even more in the US. SuperDrug sells this for only £5.77. I'm not sure how much it costs in the US because my mom actually bought this for me and shipped it over along with some baby clothes that my uncle and aunt had bought me. It's hard for me to review this product because I've only started using it and I had previously been using Mustela. I haven't noticed any stretch marks anyway (knock on wood!) The only thing I don't like about this product is the smell. It's not as sickly sweet-smelling as Palmer's Cocoa Butter lotion, but it does smell a lot waxier than Mustela. It also has a much thicker and creamier feel to it than Mustela. The Mustela cream felt more like a lotion and it did take a bit longer for it to be absorbed by my skin. I didn't mind the time though, because applying it felt like giving the baby a mini-massage!

Overall for Mustela Double Action Stretch Mark Cream:
5/5 for the product itself. I didn't get any stretch marks, although the feel of the cream is more like lotion and it took a while for it to absorb into my skin.
Cost: $39 per bottle (less if you can get the 'Tester' bottle!)

Overall for Palmer's Cocoa Butter Massage Cream for Stretch Marks:
Tentative 4/5 for the product. It feels more like a cream and absorbs well, but I don't like how it smells!
Cost: Less than $10