Do Stretch Mark Creams Work? What the Evidence Says

For preventing stretch marks, no. A Cochrane review of six trials covering 800 pregnant women found no high-quality evidence that any cream, oil or lotion stops them from forming. For fading them, the answer is “a little, sometimes, and only early.” A review of 69 studies found that prescription tretinoin and glycolic acid improved how stretch marks looked, mostly when the marks were still new. Older, pale marks barely respond to anything you rub on. What a stretch mark cream reliably does is moisturize: it eases the tight, itchy feeling of skin that’s stretching, and it makes skin feel softer. That’s worth having. It just isn’t the promise on the front of the jar.

What a stretch mark is

A stretch mark is a type of scar. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, it forms when skin stretches or shrinks quickly and the collagen and elastin that support it rupture. The mark is what’s left as the skin heals.

They show up most during puberty growth spurts, pregnancy, rapid weight gain or loss, and weight training with fast muscle growth. Hormone shifts seem to play a part, and so does family history. Long-term use of a corticosteroid on the skin can cause them too.

The Cochrane reviewers put the share of pregnant women who get them at 50 to 90 percent, most often on the abdomen, breasts and thighs. So if you have them, you’re in the majority.

Why the age of the mark matters so much

Stretch marks change over time, and the stage decides what can be done.

Like any scar, a stretch mark is permanent. It fades by itself with time, and treatment may make it less noticeable sooner. Nothing sold in a jar removes one.

Can a cream prevent them?

This is the question the best study was built to answer. In 2012, three researchers at the National University of Ireland Galway published a Cochrane review, which is a formal round-up that pools every decent trial on one question. They found six trials with 800 pregnant women in total. The trials compared creams and oils with active ingredients against a placebo, against no treatment, or against each other.

Women who used the products developed stretch marks at about the same rate as women who didn’t. The difference wasn’t statistically significant, meaning it was small enough to be chance. The three trials that measured how severe the marks were found no clear difference either. The products tested were Alphastria, Trofolastin, Verum, olive oil and cocoa butter.

The limits are real. All six trials were small, and four of them had fewer than 100 women. They started the creams at different points in pregnancy. The reviewers’ own conclusion was that bigger, better trials are needed, especially on the products women buy most. So the fair reading is “nothing has been shown to work,” which is a little different from “nothing could ever work.”

The AAD’s summary lands in the same place, with one opening. In studies, almond oil, cocoa butter, olive oil and vitamin E didn’t prevent stretch marks. Products with centella (an herb) or hyaluronic acid may help prevent them. “May” is carrying that sentence, and it’s the reason we wouldn’t pay a premium for either ingredient on that hope alone.

Can a cream fade the ones you have?

Here the evidence is a bit kinder, as long as the marks are new.

Two dermatologists in Spain reviewed everything published on stretch mark treatment from 1976 to 2024 and reported the results in the journal Actas Dermo-Sifiliograficas in 2026. They assessed 69 articles: 20 on products applied to the skin, 35 on lasers and energy devices, and 14 on other therapies. Two topical ingredients stood out. Tretinoin at 0.1 percent and glycolic acid at various strengths both showed improvement, especially in recent stretch marks.

The same review is blunt about how soft this ground is. Some of the studies were low quality with small groups, and the authors say the evidence doesn’t point to any single best treatment.

Dermatologists also list hyaluronic acid as an ingredient that made early stretch marks less noticeable in two large studies, and they note that retinol, tretinoin’s over-the-counter cousin, may help early marks too. Popular home remedies did worse. In studies, massaging almond oil, cocoa butter, olive oil or vitamin E into existing stretch marks didn’t fade them.

About tretinoin

Tretinoin is a prescription retinoid, so it isn’t something to order online and try. In one study, people who applied it every night for 24 weeks had less noticeable early stretch marks. If your marks are new and they bother you, it’s a reasonable thing to ask a dermatologist about.

If you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, check with your doctor before treating stretch marks at all. Some stretch mark products contain ingredients, such as retinol, that can harm your baby.

If you do try a cream, three habits matter

• Start early. Use it on marks that are still colored. Mature marks show little response.
• Massage it in. Taking the time to work the product gently into the skin may make it more effective.
• Give it weeks. Daily use for weeks is the minimum before any result shows.

What researchers are learning about why they form

A 2026 study in the British Journal of Dermatology, from plastic surgery teams at two Shanghai hospitals, compared skin samples from women with pregnancy stretch marks against healthy skin. Using a technique that reads gene activity one cell at a time, they looked at fibroblasts, the cells that build the skin’s support structure.

In stretch-marked skin the mix of fibroblasts was off. Cells that promote inflammation and scarring had expanded, and cells responsible for repair had shrunk. One group of fibroblasts was also processing fats differently, driven by an enzyme called ACSBG1. When the researchers blocked that enzyme in lab-grown cells and in mice, the skin’s structure looked healthier.

That’s interesting, and it’s a long way from a product. This was lab work on skin samples, cells in a dish and mice, done in one country. Nobody was treated. It suggests a target future treatments might aim at. It doesn’t tell you that anything on a shelf does this, and no cream should be bought on the strength of it.

What a cream can honestly do

Three things, none of them small if you’re uncomfortable.

• Comfort. Early stretch marks can itch, and skin that’s stretching often feels tight and dry. A rich moisturizer helps with that.
• Softer, smoother-feeling skin. Well-moisturized skin looks better around a mark even though the mark itself hasn’t changed.
• A habit. If massage does help, it helps because you did it every day.

For looks alone, self-tanner does more than any cream. It can camouflage both early and mature stretch marks, though it doesn’t get rid of them. A real tan does the opposite: stretch marks don’t tan, so they stand out more. Our guide to gradual self-tanners has the easy ones.

Body oils, creams and glycolic lotions worth buying for comfort

None of these is a cure, and none is claimed to be the product from any study above. They’re good moisturizers and two smoothing lotions, picked for comfort and skin feel.

Prices move constantly, so we link to live listings instead of printing a number that is wrong by the time you read it. Links go to Amazon, which is where a referral gets credited.

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Massage Lotion for Stretch Marks is about $10, though the price changes often. It’s a non-greasy lotion with cocoa butter, shea butter, vitamin E, and argan, almond and coconut oils, made to use all over in place of your regular moisturizer. Cocoa butter didn’t prevent stretch marks in trials, so buy this for what it is: a big, cheap bottle of moisturizer you’ll use generously.

Naturium The Smoother Glycolic Acid Body Lotion has 10% glycolic acid with shea butter and glycerin, and it’s fragrance-free. Naturium suggests a generous amount two to three times a week, ideally at night. It carries a sunburn alert, because an AHA can make skin more sensitive to the sun, so cover up or use sunscreen on any skin you treat. It smooths rough texture. Whether it does anything for a stretch mark is a much smaller maybe.

Bio-Oil Skincare Body Oil is the oil nearly everyone has heard of, and it also comes in a fragrance-free version. An oil makes the daily massage easier to keep up, and that’s the whole case for it. Our body oils guide treats it the same way: a softness helper, not a guarantee.

Mustela Maternity Stretch Marks Cream is a shea butter and glycerin cream with avocado oil, and this version is scented. Mustela’s directions are to apply it morning and evening to the abdomen, hips, thighs and breasts from the first month of pregnancy and on after delivery, and to keep it off recent cesarean scars. It costs more than three times what the Palmer’s does for about the same amount, so it’s the pick for someone who wants a cream designed around pregnancy.

Glytone Exfoliating Body Lotion is fragrance-free and stronger, with 17.5% free acid value glycolic acid in a base that includes petrolatum and glycerin. Glytone says to apply it daily to arms, legs and other areas that need attention, and not to use it on the face or right after shaving or hair removal. If you’re new to acids, start with the Naturium and a few nights a week.

If I Were You

If you’re pregnant and hoping to prevent them, buy a moisturizer you like and use it for the itch and tightness. Don’t expect it to change whether marks appear, and run any treatment product past your doctor first. Our guide to skin changes in pregnancy covers the rest.

If your marks are new and still red or purple, this is the window. See a dermatologist and ask about tretinoin, and tell them if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding.

If your marks are old and pale, skip the creams sold to fade them. Moisturize for comfort, use self-tanner if you want them less visible, and ask a dermatologist about in-office options if they bother you.

If you’ve already spent a lot with nothing to show for it, stop buying jars. That’s the point where a dermatology visit is the better use of the money.

Bottom line

Stretch mark creams are moisturizers with ambitious labels. The best evidence says they don’t prevent stretch marks, and the ingredients with any record of fading them work mainly on new marks, with tretinoin behind a prescription. Buy a cream or oil because your skin feels tight and itchy and you like using it. If the marks themselves bother you, a dermatologist has better tools than the drugstore does. There’s more in our skin care archive.