3 Stretch Mark Remedies for Growing Pregnant Bellies

When I first became pregnant with Andrew there were two things that I was overly obsessed about not happening: gaining too much weight and getting stretch marks on my belly.

I was young and naive at the time so I didn’t realize that genetics also played a roll but I made sure to slather cocoa butter lotion on me almost every day. Scott would make comments about how I smelt often but I was determined to keep my belly hydrated and elastic. I made it through my pregnancy with very few stretch marks and I truly believe keeping my skin moisturized played a huge role.

Looking back, I shudder to think what the ingredients were in that cocoa butter lotion but I’m sure it was full of toxins that I wouldn’t want anywhere near my body, especially my belly.

When I first found out I was pregnant with #2, my sister sent me the very same Mama-to-Be package from Earth Mama Angel Baby that I sent her; it consisted of a belly oil, body butter, and a few other things. I immediately started using the belly oil and body butter and soon ran out. Now what? Do I spend a boat load on the already made products or would making my own versions be just as easy and cost effective?

Turns out the belly oil consisted of fairly simple ingredients and the body butter looked somewhat easy to replicate too so I gave it a whirl.

Keeping the Homemade Stretch Mark Remedies for Growing Pregnant Bellies Simple

I honestly like to keep things as simple as possible, so for the growing belly body butter I opted for 3 ingredients: rosehip oil, cocoa butter, and an anti-stretch mark and scar synergy from Plant Therapy.

Rosehip oil is an oil that is considered “dry.” It’s kinda funny to think that an oil can be dry but what it actually means is when applied to the skin, rosehip oil does not leave a greasy residue. This is great feature because often one of the first concerns of making your own products is experiencing the greasy leftover and not wanting to put your clothes on.

According to Plant Therapy,

Rosehip Oil contains a high amount of vitamin E, vitamin A and essential fatty acids which promotes collagen and elastin levels to increase and assists with cell regeneration. It promotes healthy skin and, can be used to treat burns, sunburns, wrinkles, stretch marks and eczema. (source)

I decided cocoa butter was going to be my base because:

1. Cocoa butter smells absolutely amazing (be careful, your partner may want to eat it off of you!)
2. It’s very hydrating and rich in vitamin E and other minerals
3. It adds a thick, creamy, luxurious feel to the products you make with it — perfect for a body butter!

Finally, since I know essential oils are incredibly healing, I wanted to add essential oils that work best for scarring and stretch marks. Plant Therapy has a synergy called Anti-Scar/Stretch Mark Synergy that is made up of Lavender and Neroli essential oils. Neroli stimulates new cell growth which is great for repairing already made stretch marks and scars. Lavender is an all-purpose oil that has calming effects and helps reduce minor scarring. I would imagine that the regular application of these oils also help in preventing stretch marks from happening.

I have read that Frankincense also is great for skin so if you have some on hand, you could add a couple drops to the body butter, oil, or lotion bars as well.

Is Making Body Butter Hard?

Surprisingly, the actual making part of it is really easy. The problem I had was remembering to take the melted ingredients out of the fridge/freezer before it got too hard to whip. I ended up having to melt, cool, re-melt, and cool about 3 times before I finally remembered to take it out in time to whip with my hand mixer.

Can we say preggo brain!?

Holy cow, I never thought I was going to have this body butter done. Next time, I’ll make sure to put a timer on my phone so I don’t get distracted and forget about it.

Two More Easy Stretch Mark Remedies for Growing Pregnant Bellies

If making body butters is not your thing or you’re worried that you’ll fall in the same boat I was in, you can always opt for a simple growing baby belly oil. It’s literally two ingredients that you measure, mix, and pour into your desired bottle. How simple is that, right? Since rosehip oil is so rich in essential vitamins and minerals to nourish a growing belly, it’s a great easy way to make something yourself without too many steps or ingredients involved.

If you’re feeling a little spontaneous and want to take your growing belly lotion with you, you can opt to make lotion bars. Plus, as time goes on and that belly gets bigger, you’ll inevitably be out somewhere and feel your belly itching. If you have a couple lotion bars in a tin in your purse, you won’t have to wait until your home to apply for some relief. Make a double batch and give them out to the other mamas in your life!

You’ll find the recipes for these as well as the whipped body butter below

The Recipes

Growing Pregnant Belly Whipped Body Butter

Ingredients:

• 8 oz raw, unrefined, organic cocoa butter (where I buy my cocoa butter)
• 1/4 cup cold-pressed rosehip oil (where I buy my rosehip oil)
• 25 drops Anti-Scar/Stretch Mark synergy (where I buy my Anti-Scar/Stretch Mark synergy)

Directions:

1. Add cocoa butter and rosehip oil to a small glass bowl fitted on top of a shallow pot with water; turn the heat on medium
2. Stirring occasionally, let the cocoa butter melt completely
3. Remove from the stove with pot holders and stir in Anti-Scar/Stretch Mark synergy
4. Still using your pot holders, place the bowl in your refrigerator for 20 minutes (set the timer on your phone!) or until ingredients are still liquid but are starting to harden (you’ll notice the outer ring starting to get hard).
5. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whip on medium until the consistency becomes like homemade whipped cream
6. Scoop into desired container

To use: Simply place some body butter in between your fingers and rub onto body. The body butter will literally melt into your skin leaving it soft, luxurious, and nourished.

Growing Baby Belly Oil

Ingredients:

• Cold-pressed rosehip oil
• Anti-Scar/Stretch Mark synergy

Directions:

1. In a 1oz serum pump bottle, fill with rosehip oil until it is almost full
2. Add 4-5 drops of Anti-Scar/Stretch mark essential oil and shake well

To use: Pump desired amount into hands and massage onto belly, hips, and breast area.

Growing Pregnant Belly Lotion Bars

Ingredients:

• 2 oz filtered organic beeswax pastilles
• 2 oz cold-pressed rosehip oil
• 1 oz organic, raw, unrefined cocoa butter or shea butter
• 1 oz virgin coconut oil
• 20 drops Anti-Scar/Stretch Mark synergy

Directions:

1. In a double boiler (you can make that at home by placing a glass heat-proof bowl on top of a pot with boiling water) melt beeswax
2. Add the rosehip oil, cocoa or shea butter and coconut oil to beeswax and melt down to liquid
3. Once melted, remove from heat (careful, the bowl is hot!) and add essential oils; mixing with a spoon a few times
4. Pour into desired silicone molds or tin containers and place in the refrigerator for a quicker set

To use: If using lotion bars, warm them in between your hands before applying on belly. If using tin containers, rub finger in lotion and apply on belly or wherever needed.

The lotion in the tin is a harder consistency so if you want something a little bit more spreadable, consider only using 1 oz beeswax.

This post is sponsored by Plant Therapy. However, the opinions and photos are of my own. Authenticity is important so I would never promote any brand or product that I wholeheartedly don’t believe in.