This is round two for me. Round one left me with no stretch marks and I’m hoping to keep them at bay again using a combination of tried and tested and new products!

My first is one that used religiously throughout pregnancy number one. It’s made by pharma company, Novartis and has some good studies backing up efficacy – Trofolastin. Not widely available in the UK, it’s a must! Continue Reading

It has won 80 skincare awards and is the number 1 selling scar and stretch mark product in 11 countries. Enough of  the dazzling you with figures. How about telling you it contains PurCellin Oil!  Oh yes, indeed it does. That’s what makes it light and non-greasy to you and me. It’s been around since the beginning of the century and remains a favourite so it must be doing something right. It also contains lavender, chamomile, calendula and rosemary oil along with vitamins A and E. I personally also like the simple packaging and the light pink colour but that’s pretty irrelevant I suppose. It’s whether it works that counts. I have two bottles of it in my bathroom cabinet. Best used on damp skin; that’s my little bit of advice.  Please, don’t ignore the boobs, especially if you are breastfeeding, in my case the way they grew to resemble overfilled balloons and then shrunk all over again without suffering a single stretch mark lays claim to a great product and some good genes. Thank-you Mummy. Lastly, my top tip for new mums; do not leave your bottle unattended for too long-my postman must have super soft skin: I’m certain that he stole the first sample kindly sent to me by the company! Continue Reading

Becoming a mum is a wonderful experience because you can celebrate the arrival of a beautiful bundle of joy but the experts at Johnson understand that it can change your body. Research has revealed that 70% of new mums suffer from stretch marks which can affect self-esteem and many believe that expensive surgical procedures are the only treatment available. Continue Reading

So, we are back from the Cote d’Azur, the South of France, Callian to be precise! ‘Where?’, I hear you ask! Callian, a lovely medieval village perched in the hills in Fayence , more importantly for you all about 20 minutes by car from Cannes, 30 minutes from Saint Tropez both of which only received fleeting visits from us during our two-week villa break. Continue Reading

Forget body brushing or at least forget body brushing alone (yes I still believe it helps with overall well-being and keeps my cellulite at bay but I need more!). I’m ballooning and it scary. Still not down to the foetus growing at lightening speed inside me (lime-sized apparently, now that I’m in week ten), but those bloody steroids. Trofolastin is going to be my miracle cure. One can but hope. It’s semi-researched,ordered (sold in Spain, made by Novartis, that well reputed Swiss pharma company and has had good results in some small trials in Germany) and winging its way over from a pharmacy in Mallorca as you read this. I’m sold, at least for now. It’s the best there seem to be out there at the moment. Everything else available to us pregnant expanding creatures makes miracle claims, has loads of cash thrown at marketing but doesn’t seem to come up with the goods. Plus, even if you read independent reviews ( if you can actually find any), they are impossible to rely upon because the woman who used Clarins body oil and claims to have no stretch marks after pregnancy may never have developed them even if she’d slathered Hellmann’s mayonnaise on daily instead of the oil costing twenty times the price. Anyway, of course I’ll let you know how it goes. Continue Reading