Are Stretch Marks Permanent? What Actually Changes Over Time

Yes and no, which is an annoying answer, so here is the useful version.

They will not disappear. They will also not stay looking the way they look today. A fresh mark is red or purple; over months it fades to a silvery white that sits much closer to the skin around it. That happens on its own, whatever you do, and it is the single most useful thing to know about them.

What one actually is

A tear in the dermis, the middle layer of your skin, where collagen and elastin give it strength and spring.

Stretch that faster than the dermis can adapt and the fibres break. What you see on the surface is the scar tissue that forms in the gap. Dryness has very little to do with it, whatever the cream adverts imply.

In our own 2021 survey of 1,515 Mamas, 91% reported having them. That counts how common they are. It measures no product.

The itch comes first

Usually you feel them before you see them.

Scratching makes it worse, because you are damaging skin that is already under strain. This is the moment a moisturiser genuinely earns its place: it eases the itch. It is not preventing anything, and that is fine.

Why they happen

• Genetics, more than anything else. If your mother had them, your odds go up
• Weight changing fast, in either direction
• Puberty, where growth outruns the skin
• Some medical conditions, such as Cushing's or Marfan syndrome
• Steroid creams used long term

Twins, a big baby and extra amniotic fluid all stretch you faster, which is why they raise the odds too.

Red ones and white ones are different problems

Red or purple means new. There is still blood supply and active inflammation underneath, and skin at this stage responds far better to anything you do.

White or silvery means the scar tissue has settled. No pigment, no active blood supply, and much harder to shift.

Dr Dia Febrina SpKK, who consults through the Mama's Choice Ruang Tanya Mama programme, puts it simply: treat them while they are still red and you get a better result.

You cannot stop the colour change. You can work on how noticeable the end result is.

What prevention can honestly do

Before any product: no moisturiser has been shown to prevent stretch marks.

What one does is keep your skin comfortable, easing the dryness and itch while it stretches. Whether marks appear at all comes down mostly to genetics, how fast you stretch, and hormones.

Still worth doing, because it costs little and helps in other ways:

• Enough fibre and protein
• Movement, within what feels safe
• Enough water
• Moisturiser applied consistently from early on
• No steroid creams unless a doctor prescribed them

Once they have appeared

You can soften how they look. You cannot erase them.

Mama's Choice Stretch Mark Serum is lighter and absorbs quickly, with alpha bisabolol, mugwort and niacinamide.

Mama's Choice Stretch Mark Cream is the heavier daily layer, with Lypobelle Soyaglicone, olive oil, aloe vera and shea butter to hold moisture and ease the itch.

Both are made for pregnancy and breastfeeding, without synthetic fragrance, parabens or alcohol. Serum first on the marks themselves, cream over the whole area that is stretching.

Doing it every day matters more than which you start with.

Reading the numbers on this page

Different studies, not comparable with each other.

• Prevalence survey (n=1,515): how many Mamas get stretch marks. It measures no product at all.
• Spincontrol Thailand 2023 (n=22): up to 65% reduction in appearance over 28 days, with Cream and Serum used together. Both at once, no comparison group, so the result cannot be split between them.
• Consumer satisfaction surveys: the share of Mamas who felt a change. Impressions, not measurement.

"72%" and "75% in 30 days" appear on different pages with no shared measurement point. Until the original sources surface, read both as user impressions rather than clinical results.

When to get them looked at

Stretch marks almost never need a doctor. Go if:

• They appear very fast and widely with no weight gain
• Your skin feels unusually thin and bruises easily
• They are painful, warm, or ringed with spreading redness
• Weight has climbed sharply on your trunk and face only

That combination can point to a hormonal condition worth ruling out.