How to Get Rid of Stretch Marks
THE FACTS Cocoa butter has many uses, but one of the most common is combating the linear marks that result from rapid growth, especially in pregnancy, and weight gain.
The problem afflicts most pregnant women, not to mention many body builders, teenagers going through puberty and people who are overweight. Cocoa butter is a popular solution, but studies have found that it produces rather unimpressive results.
The largest study on the subject was published in 2008 by a team of dermatologists and obstetricians. It followed 175 women in their first pregnancies, some randomly assigned to apply a cocoa butter lotion each day and others assigned to use a placebo. Neither the subjects nor the researchers knew who was using which treatment. After many months, the researchers found no difference in the development or severity of marks, known medically as striae, over the abdomen, breasts or thighs.
For those looking for an alternative, scientists have found that vitamin E creams are more effective. In a similarly double-blinded study of 100 pregnant women in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in 2000, for example, researchers found that those who were assigned to use a cream containing alpha tocopherol, a form of vitamin E, developed fewer marks than those given a placebo.
Surgical and radiofrequency treatments are available, too, but they carry a higher price.
THE BOTTOM LINE According to research, regular application of cocoa butter does not reduce stretch marks.