Red and White Stretch Marks: What the Colour Tells You

The colour is not a cosmetic detail. It tells you how old the mark is, and how much of it can still be changed.

Which is the single most useful thing to know about stretch marks, and almost nobody says it.

The two stages

Red marks, striae rubra, are new. There are still active blood vessels underneath, and that is where the red or purple comes from.

White marks, striae alba, are mature. The vessels have narrowed, the mark has paled, and it is far harder to soften.

"When a stretch mark first appears it is reddish. Marks treated at this stage give better results. Over time red marks turn white, and become harder to fade."

Dr Dia Febrina SpKK, Ruang Tanya Mama, Mama's Choice.

Why the colour changes

Skin stretched quickly tears in its middle layer. At first that injury still has a blood supply, so it looks red. That is all the colour means.

Over a few months the vessels narrow and the scar tissue matures, and the mark turns silvery white.

It is a natural process and it cannot be stopped, though it takes the better part of a year to finish. What can be worked on is how noticeable the end result is.

What brings them on

The common thread is size changing quickly, in either direction.

Pregnancy. Your belly grows fast, particularly in the second and third trimesters, stretching skin across your stomach, thighs and hips. Skin left dry and itchy, then scratched, marks more easily.

Puberty. Teenagers get them too. Body shape changes faster than skin adapts, usually hips and breasts.

Muscle gain. Training that builds size quickly leaves the same marks. Size is size, as far as skin is concerned.

Breast growth, where how much it marks depends partly on your own skin elasticity.

Beyond those: family history, corticosteroid use, and conditions such as Ehlers-Danlos and Cushing's syndrome.

What to do while they are still red

This is the window, and it helps to be clear about what "start now" actually achieves.

No moisturiser has been shown to prevent stretch marks. What one gives you is comfort: less dryness, less itch, while your skin stretches. Whether they appear at all is decided mostly by genetics, how fast you stretch, and hormones.

What is worth doing:

• Drink enough and keep your skin moisturised
• Apply twice a day, morning and night, from the second trimester
• Do not scratch an itchy belly, however much it is asking to be scratched

Mama's Choice Stretch Mark Cream is water-based, light and non-sticky, with Lypobelle Soyaglicone, aloe vera, shea butter and jojoba oil. Made for pregnancy and breastfeeding, and the cooling finish genuinely helps with the itch.

For marks already set, Stretch Mark Serum is lighter and absorbs faster, with alpha bisabolol, mugwort and niacinamide.

Massage it in circles so it spreads evenly. For older marks, twice daily over six to eight months is the usual advice, which is worth knowing before you judge it at week three.

Can they be removed

No. You can improve how they look.

Laser, microdermabrasion and chemical peels are used in dermatology practice. During pregnancy they are postponed, and they should be discussed with a dermatologist first.

Dr Dia Febrina SpKK makes the point that it is never too late. Even white marks look softer with care. The change is just slower and more limited than it would have been six months earlier.

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 it cannot be split between them.
• Consumer satisfaction surveys: the share of Mamas who felt a change. Impressions, not measurements.

"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.