Stretch Marks During Pregnancy: Why They Happen and What You Can Actually Do

Your body is doing something remarkable. In nine months, it will stretch and shift in ways that no other experience in life quite matches. And for many women, that journey leaves marks — quite literally. Stretch marks during pregnancy are extremely common, affecting around 50 to 90 percent of women to some degree. Yet they remain one of the most searched and most misunderstood topics in pregnancy skincare.

Here is what is actually happening, and what you can realistically do about it.

Why Stretch Marks Form

Stretch marks — or striae gravidarum, to use the medical term — form when the skin is stretched faster than it can keep up with. As your belly, breasts, hips, and thighs expand during pregnancy, the middle layer of skin, the dermis, can develop small tears in its collagen and elastin fibres. These appear at first as pink, red, or purple streaks, and over time fade to a silvery-white.

Genetics plays the biggest role in whether you'll get them. If your mother had them, you're more likely to as well. Your skin type, how quickly you gain weight, and whether you're carrying multiples also factor in. This is important to acknowledge upfront: no product in the world can completely prevent stretch marks if your skin is genetically predisposed to them. But the right skincare, started early, can meaningfully reduce their appearance — and there is good science behind that.

Prevention vs. Treatment: Understanding the Difference

There is a real distinction between preventing stretch marks from forming and reducing the appearance of ones that already exist.

Prevention is about keeping the skin as supple, elastic, and well-hydrated as possible throughout your pregnancy, so that as it stretches, it has the best possible chance of doing so without tearing. Starting early — ideally from the first trimester — gives you the most to work with.

Treatment refers to addressing marks that have already formed. The earlier you treat them (while they are still pink or red), the more responsive they will be to active ingredients. Older, silvery marks can still improve, but it takes longer.

Hyaluronic acid

Holds moisture in the skin at a cellular level, helping to maintain plumpness and elasticity — both of which matter when skin is under stretching pressure.

Aloe vera

Soothes, hydrates, and supports the skin's own repair processes. It's one of the most well-tolerated ingredients in pregnancy skincare and works beautifully alongside heavier emollients.

Shea butter & shorea butter

Both are deeply moisturising emollients that help maintain the skin's suppleness and prevent the tightness and itching that often accompanies a stretching belly.

Regestril

One of the most clinically studied actives for stretch marks. Derived from a plant peptide, it works by targeting the root cause — it helps stimulate collagen and elastin production in the skin's deeper layers, working preventively to minimise the formation of stretch marks before they fully develop.

A Note on How You Feel About Stretch Marks

Stretch marks are a normal part of many pregnancies. They are not a sign that you did anything wrong or didn't care for your skin well enough. Some women feel proud of them. Others find them harder to accept. Both reactions are completely valid.

What we believe at SoKind is that taking care of your skin during pregnancy is an act of kindness toward yourself — not a cosmetic obligation. Do it because it feels good, because the ritual of it is something that belongs entirely to you, and because your skin deserves the same thoughtfulness you bring to everything else about this season of life.

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SoKind

Stretch Marks During Pregnancy: Why They Happen and What You Can Actually Do

Why Stretch Marks Form

Prevention vs. Treatment: Understanding the Difference

Ingredients That Are Worth Your Attention

A Note on How You Feel About Stretch Marks