Product Review: Palmers Tummy Butter and Skin Therapy Oil

I was about 40 lbs heavier than my pre-pregnancy weight when I was younger, so I am quite well-acquainted with stretchmarks. My plan during this pregnancy, therefore, has been to not freak out over new stretch marks, but to try and prevent them none-the-less without spending a fortune!



I started out with Palmer's Skin Therapy Oil, which I was able to buy in-store at BuyBuy BABY in Manhattan (7th Ave and 25th St) for around $6 in September--cheaper than most places that I've seen it. I applied the oil once a day to my stomach, hips, and chest and it lasted about two months.

Palmer's oil was nice--it kept my skin moisturized, smelled good, and wasn't too greasy--but I didn't see much of a difference at all in the appearance of my old stretchmarks. I've actually noticed some faint new ones creeping up, which I didn't want but expected since I'm apparently predisposed to them.

One strange thing that the oil did for me was turn the hair on my stomach blonde! The "non-staining" formula also stained a silk dress of mine, but that was really my fault as I didn't wait for the oil to dry.

Palmer's Skin Therapy Oil is not available online at BuyBuy BABY at the moment, though, so if you want to give it a try and can't make it to the store in Manhattan, I'd recommend checking your local pharmacy or Destination Maternity (the average price is $9). I'd actually really recommend, though, that you try something similar to the next product...



I bought Palmer's Tummy Butter at the beginning of my pregnancy but was turned off in the beginning because I couldn't figure out how to get the seemingly hard product onto my body! When I ran out of my Skin Therapy Oil, I figured I'd give the Tummy Butter a go again as I had spent $9 on it (which seems to be the average).

The key to getting this stuff onto you is to actually scoop out a chunk with your finger and then rub it into a nice warm oil in your hands before slathering it on. Its a messy process for your hands, but it keeps my skin really moisturized throughout the day. I just wipe my hands on a wet towel when I'm done and am really careful getting dressed and that seems to do the trick. I haven't had any clothes staining incidents yet.

The stuff works for me too! I've noticed that in just a week of using the Tummy Butter, some of the faint new marks that were showing up when I was using the Skin Therapy Oil are actually getting fainter. Hooray! The tub seems like it is going to last only a month or two though, so, your best bet might be this 3 for $20 deal HERE. I plan to buy some for post partum. (Perk: my husband thinks its smells yummy!)

Now, perhaps just a simple tub of regular cocoa butter would do the trick. Its much cheaper, but the Tummy Butter actually has some extra ingredients like Mineral Oil, Collagen, and Elastin (oh my!) The bottom line is that stretch mark remedies seem to work differently for everybody, so despite my review, each of us must really go through the trial and error process on our own. I like the Tummy Butter, but maybe you won't. But, come on, its well worth the try!