Pregnancy is an amazing experience. Feeling a new life growing inside, kicking at you and responding to your actions is a truly unique experience. You really gain a new appreciation for the abilities of the human body as your stomach stretches beyond anything you had ever imagined to accommodate a new baby. However, there are definite downsides to being pregnant and one of them is the side effect of all that stretching . . . stretch marks.

What Causes Stretch Marks

Stretch marks occur when the skin is stretched beyond it´s elasticity. The upper layer stretches and the lower layer of skin tends to tear, causing small rips in the tissue. This results in some rather ugly red marks that feel different from the regular texture of your skin. These will fade to white after your pregnancy, but this can take time and they never really do go away..
Whether or not you will get stretch marks really depends on genetics, the elasticity of your skin and how big you get during the pregnancy. Some women don´t grow much at all and have more than sufficient elasticity in their skin to withstand the stretching and remain completely unmarked.
Preventing Stretch Marks

The best way to get rid of stretch marks is not to get them at all. While 90% of women have the genetic predisposition to stretch marks in pregnancy, that doesn´t mean you have to just sit back and let them happen. Prevention is truly the best medicine when it comes to these nasty lines. They may be a banner of your ability to carry a child, but really, most women would prefer to avoid them all together. The best time to start prevention is as soon as you know you´re pregnant, long before the skin needs to expand.

It´s important to only use organic skin products while pregnant. Most chemicals are not proven safe for your unborn baby and it’s best to just avoid them. Going organic will give you peace of mind and you’ll be able to treat your skin without fear of affecting the child inside.

Organic skin products are just as effective against stretch marks, if not more so, than commercial, chemical laden ones. You´ll find that natural ingredients work naturally with your skin to soothe it and soften it. Not only will you be preventing stretch marks, you´ll also be promoting softer, more hydrated skin.

What to Look for in Stretch Mark Prevention Treatments

Certain organic ingredients work better than others against stretch marks. Basically, you want to moisturize your skin and enhance the elasticity. A good prevention cream will also provide some healing power to help any existing tears in the skin heal faster, without getting worse. This is particularly helpful if you are starting treatment later in the pregnancy.

Organic stretch mark creams usually use one or more of the following ingredients:

Shea Butter: By far the most common ingredient used in stretch mark prevention since is one of the best natural moisturizers on the market. It also has healing properties to help with any existing stretch marks.

Coconut Oil: A very good moisturizing oil that also enhances elasticity and hastens healing of existing problems.

Olive Oil: Another good moisturizer that helps boost elasticity and soften skin, making it more supple and resistant to tearing.

Any organic skin product designed to treat and prevent stretch marks should include one of the above ingredients for maximum benefit. Often they will have other natural ingredients, as well , to promote healing and enhance the moisturizing effect.

By: Amy Nutt

When you have a kid your world really changes drastically. When you were used to put yourself before anything else, now things are not the same way. Maybe your room or house was one with lots of fancy stuff, really nice rugs, expensive electronics and all that. Now, once your baby came, your house changes from the normal, young people’s home to a place where security has become the priority. We don’t care to make huge changes in order to give the new member of the family a better place to live. With don’t have any other option if we want to have the peace of mind that our kids are safe. The same goes for personal hygiene products we use. We have to pay attention where we put those things or our children can take them and be at risk. Not to mention insecticides and other harmful chemicals.

When we talk about babies, we have to take all precautions necessary for their security. Their skins, eyes and whole body are too delicate to let them be exposed to such dangerous elements. That’s why some companies take special attention to baby skin care products.

I remember when my nephew’s baby was born. She looked so delicate and fragile and even a little drop of normal perfume, the ones we adults use, immediately irritated her skin. Is not that we wanted her to use that perfume, but some times my nephew was so distracted that a couple of times he dropped a little perfume on her little body. Of course, they were very young and didn’t know too much about baby skin care products and which ones could help them to keep the baby’s skin healthy.

Regarding clothing, I remember that after that incident, they became so careful that they washed her blankets and everything that came in contact with the baby so well that everything looked just like new every day. Of course, they started to study a lot about baby’s parenting and especially about baby skin care because the little girl was allergic to almost everything.

Just visit your nearest drug store or supermarket or even use the internet and you’ll find out that you have almost endless lines of baby skin care products. You can find all price ranges and perhaps you would like to opt for the best and a little more expensive ones which normally perform better in your baby’s skin. You’ll see that the extra money you spend won’t affect you at all because your baby just worth it.

By: Victor C.