Wipe Out Stretch Marks

If you recently had a baby, lost a lot of weight or have a teen going through a growth spurt, you’re familiar with stretch marks. Aside from old wive’s tales, there’s been no proven way to get rid of them until now.

New mom Tricia loves the time she spends with her five-and-a-half-month-old son, Gabriel. However, she’s not so happy about the toll pregnancy took on her body — mainly the stretch marks.

Nurse practitioner Brenda says stretch marks are a common problem for thousands of people. The marks are depressions in the skin that occur in areas of rapid growth or loss. She says medical evidence strongly suggests the European gel “Mederma,” used successfully to treat burns and acne scars in Europe, could also wipe out stretch marks.

“Stretch marks have to be in the early phase, though, which means new onset or red-purple before they’ve turned silvery white,” says Brenda.

Its creators say the key to Mederma’s success is its main ingredient, onion extract. Scientists say the extract has unique healing abilities if it’s consistently massaged over the affected area. “Massage it into the site three or four times a day,” says Brenda. “They say the massage is one of the other reasons why you can get some lessening of the stretch mark to the area.” Brenda also says many patients see results in about six months.

Mederma is available without a prescription and is usually kept behind the pharmacist’s counter. A tube of the cream costs around $30.