Results behind Mama's Choice Stretch Mark Cream, test by test

It is fair to ask what a stretch mark cream has actually been shown to do. We would rather show you each test, what it measured and what it did not.

Mama's Choice Stretch Mark Cream is one of our best-loved products. Mothers come back to it for how it feels: light, quick to sink in, and comfortable on a tight, growing bump. We have also tested it with the Serum for how stretch marks look. Both kinds of result are below, with who took part and when.

What mothers said about the cream

In a Mama's Choice satisfaction survey of 78 mums in Indonesia in 2022, mothers who used the cream rated how it felt to use:

• 100% felt the texture was just right
• 98% felt it absorbed easily
• 97% felt it was comfortable to use and not sticky

Texture matters. Stretch mark care only works if you keep it up twice a day for months, through the heat, the tiredness and the late nights. A cream that disappears quickly into the skin, so you can get dressed straight away, is a cream you keep using.

Pairing it with the serum

The cream is made to be used with the Stretch Mark Serum: serum first, cream on top. The two are sold together as the Stretch Mark Cream and Serum Set.

The Stretch Mark Serum has its own results too. In a Mama's Choice use test with 29 mums in 2022, 90% agreed it helps skin feel more moisturised, 83% agreed it helps skin look smoother, and 83% agreed it helps the skin over the stretch mark area look brighter.

What the research says more widely

It is worth keeping these results in context. A Cochrane review found no high-quality evidence that any cream prevents stretch marks from forming in pregnancy. Your genes, how fast your skin stretches and your age all play a big part, and no cream can promise you will not get any.

What a good cream does is keep stretching skin moisturised, soft and supple. That eases the dry, tight, itchy feeling of a growing bump, and with regular use can help marks look less noticeable.

What is in the cream

• Aloe vera gives a cool, fresh feel on warm skin
• Lipobelle soyaglycone, a soy-derived ingredient, helps keep stretching skin feeling firm and moisturised
• Shea butter softens dry skin
• Olive oil and jojoba oil add richness without leaving a greasy film

The cream is formulated for pregnancy and breastfeeding. It is made without parabens or drying alcohol and is halal certified by BPJPH, Indonesia. The full ingredient list is on the product page.

How to use it

1. Smooth the cream over your belly, breasts, hips and thighs every morning and night.
2. Massage gently in circles until absorbed, with a lighter touch over your bump.
3. Start early, from the end of the first trimester, and keep going after the birth.
4. For marks that are already there, apply the Serum first and the Cream on top.

Patch test on the inside of your arm first if you have sensitive skin.

If you have intense itching, especially on your palms and soles and worse at night, see your doctor. It can be a sign of a liver condition of pregnancy called obstetric cholestasis.

Where to buy

Find Mama's Choice Stretch Mark Cream on Shopee or Lazada, where the latest price is shown. To learn more about the ingredients, read the truth about aloe vera and shea butter for stretch marks.