Mederma Cream Could Make Stretch Marks Look Better

By Margarita Nahapetyan

A moisturizing cream, called Mederma Stretch Marks Therapy, whose active ingredient is an extract of onion, can now help women have an effective and clinically proven option to improve the appearance of stretch marks on different parts of the body.

Nearly 90 per cent of future mothers, 70 per cent of adolescent females and 75 per cent of men have stretch marks on the body, which appear as wavy, linear red scars, commonly on the hips, breasts, arms, thighs, stomach of women, and the buttocks and pectoral area of men. Stretch marks also can occur in individuals who have rapidly lost their weight. Although stretch marks pose no harmful risks for health, many people are concerned and bothered by their presence. The marks can cause negative body image issues for people of all ages, shapes and sizes.

The experts say that the stretch marks gradually fade and become flat on their own, however that can take many years to happen. As a result, doctors have been trying to come up with a product that will help make stretch marks look and feel better.

The new study to test Mederma Stretch Marks Therapy involved 54 women, with the ages between 18 and 45 years, all of whom had matching stretch marks on their outer thighs. Dermatologists asked the women to apply a quarter-sized amount of the cream only into one of their stretch marks twice a day for the period of 12 weeks. The other stretch mark was left without treatment.

As a result, as noted by the women themselves, the stretch mark that underwent the treatment with Mederma cream, looked better, was less red, and was softer and smoother to touch, when compared to the untreated stretch mark. The women reported that they started to notice the difference two weeks after the start of treatment, and the difference persisted through all 12 weeks of the experiment. The experts also discovered that the treated stretch mark looked and felt better starting the beginning of the second week, compared with the stretch mark that was not treated with the cream. However, the most significant difference in redness was noticed at the eighth week of treatment with the Mederma cream.

The main ingredient of the new product is an extract of onion, which contains flavonoids, a type of antioxidant, that has anti-inflammatory properties. The cream also contains pennywort, a plant found in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Pennywort also has anti-inflammatory properties and is commonly used in Indian naturopathic medicine for the treatment of ulcer. In addition, Mederma cream includes sulfur, which was found very efficient in fighting bacteria and infection, and a moisturizing cream to help rehydrate the skin.

The new study was presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. Mederma Stretch Marks Therapy comes in a 5.29-oz tube and is sold at a retail price of $39.99. Currently it is available at CVS, Walgreens and some other drugstores nationwide.