Lotion for pregnant womens belly?

[walkinwounded]

My wife has asked me to make her some body lotion that may help to reduce the damage from having a baby like stretch marks and such, does anyone have any advice on oils, additives, etc etc that may be ideal.
Any techniques or anything, any information would be helpful.

Thanx.

 

[mariflo]

Hi there!

Here are a couple of interesting previous discussions on the topic
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/vi ... etch+marks
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/vi ... etch+marks

Good luck and congrats!

 

[Tabitha]

mariflo,

Thanks for searching those threads out!

I like whipped shea for a pregnant belly.

 

[walkinwounded]

Thanx Mariflo,

They were helpful. I'm at work and did not search through the threads! but I wanted to make something when I got home for her.

 

[Hazel]

I've heard cocoa butter is great because it helps to prevent stretch marks.

 

[MychelleC]

When I was pregnant I found that anhydrous butters and balms, and shea in particular, made me itch like crazy! It was terrible. A nice, thick, water-based body butter kept my skin soft and soothed the itching. Swift has several formulas on her blog (http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/). I used a lot of cocoa butter, coconut oil, and avocado oils. Stretch marks are genetic so topicals can't really help prevent them, but I figured a nice cream that kept my skin soft couldn't hurt. HTH and congrats!

 

[Hazel]

Good point about genetics. Diet and hydration would be the most beneficial things to do for preventing or minimizing stretch marks. A good nutritional plan to follow to prevent rapid weight gain and plenty of water to help with hydration. I've heard vitamin A & C help with collagen production. Limit the the consumption of caffeinated beverages.

But I still think anything that keeps the skin hydrated and supple is going to help.

 

[mariflo]

Eric,
Is your wife pregnant or has she already had the baby? (I can't really tell from your post)
I think shea and cocoa butters can help with prevention but I don't know what you can do to help afterwards.

 

[walkinwounded]

MychelleC, thanx for the links.

She does not have any stretch marks yet, she is due in middle of Nov, but she would like to prevent as much damage as possible, she eats well and her mother never had any, but like most women I would guess, she would like to due what she can to prevent them or minimize them. She has been using Jergans Lotion to keep moisture in her skin on her belly, but when I read the ingrediants, the only good thing I could find was Vit-E, and who knows how much they actually put in, they use parriffin oil??? So she asked me to make her something as I know a little about ingredients from making soap, but was lost when it came to lotions. So I sought the help from others and from what I have learned here and other web sites I have hatched a plan, tell me what you's think about this!

1. My plan is to use Macadamia Nut oil as largest part, Cocoa Butter, Almond Oil, and Argon Oil. Infuse the oil with Calendula and Chamomile.

2. Then use Oatmeal, Annatto, Arrow Root infused Aloe Vera Water.

3. Add Vit-E Trop....., and Q 10 Coenzyme, and Lecithin.

4. Preservative- Germall Plus.

 

[walkinwounded]

Lotion turned out great!

It does not leave a greasy feel, absorbs nicely, leaves the skin feeling healthy and happy, I think my wife will be impressed when she gets home.

20 oz Butters/ Oils
38 oz Water/ Aloe Vera Juice
2 oz Emulsimulse (from saffireblue.com) lotion wax
1/2 oz Preservative (Optiphen Plus)

I never used any fregerance or color because my infusions left a floral note and a pink/yellow hue.

And arrow root does have medicinal properties for skin so I read, but it is a gelling agent, turned into a clear glob of gel when I added it to Aloe water. So I just picked it out and continued.

 

[carebear]

The only thing she can really do to prevent stretch marks is choose her mother wisely. Srsly - it's pretty darned genetic.

I have only the tiniest amount and I didn't do squat.

 

[soapbuddy]

MychelleC, thanx for the links.

She does not have any stretch marks yet, she is due in middle of Nov, but she would like to prevent as much damage as possible, she eats well and her mother never had any, but like most women I would guess, she would like to due what she can to prevent them or minimize them. She has been using Jergans Lotion to keep moisture in her skin on her belly, but when I read the ingrediants, the only good thing I could find was Vit-E, and who knows how much they actually put in, they use parriffin oil??? So she asked me to make her something as I know a little about ingredients from making soap, but was lost when it came to lotions. So I sought the help from others and from what I have learned here and other web sites I have hatched a plan, tell me what you's think about this!

1. My plan is to use Macadamia Nut oil as largest part, Cocoa Butter, Almond Oil, and Argon Oil. Infuse the oil with Calendula and Chamomile.

2. Then use Oatmeal, Annatto, Arrow Root infused Aloe Vera Water.

3. Add Vit-E Trop....., and Q 10 Coenzyme, and Lecithin.

4. Preservative- Germall Plus.

Lecithin will work as an emulsifier, but only temporarily. I would use an emulsifier like e-wax, so the lotion doesn't separate over time.

 

[Sunny]

The only thing she can really do to prevent stretch marks is choose her mother wisely. Srsly - it's pretty darned genetic.

I have only the tiniest amount and I didn't do squat.

WHAT! nooooooo

 

[mariflo]

Lotion turned out great!

It does not leave a greasy feel, absorbs nicely, leaves the skin feeling healthy and happy, I think my wife will be impressed when she gets home.

Well done!!! I hope it works well for her
I saw you also used Argan oil in your formulation, that's an excellent choice. I found it to be very helpful with my skin.
How about adding some vitamin A to your lotion? Might be worth looking into it

 

[MychelleC]

The only thing she can really do to prevent stretch marks is choose her mother wisely. Srsly - it's pretty darned genetic.

I have only the tiniest amount and I didn't do squat.

Seriously. I only ended up with one, but I slathered myself in cocoa butter, shea butter, rich oils and Vit. E throughout. I kept joking that I would be the final proof of whether topicals worked to prevent stretch marks, because if I got them after all of that nothing can work! I even had a song I would sing while using my shower lotion bar followed by my body butter followed by my oil spray. It started with "No, stretch marks, no, no, no.." and went from there. I have a mother who only got one or two after two kids, I drank a ton of water and only gained 25 pounds very slowly. Still stretched, but just a little. I don't know if anything works, but I suggest doing it all anyways!