I think we give the jar of cream way too much responsibility when we talk about stretch marks.

Almost the entire conversation is topical.

What are you putting on your belly?

Oil?

Cream?

Tallow?

Some $90 serum specifically marketed to pregnant women?

And I've always thought that seemed a little simplistic.

Your skin has to grow, stretch and adapt at an absolutely wild pace during pregnancy.

So when I think about supporting skin through pregnancy now, I'm interested in everything that helps build resilient tissue in the first place:

protein

minerals

hydration

light

sleep

circulation

And yes:

what you put on the skin matters too.

Both can be true.

First: can you actually prevent stretch marks?

Not perfectly.

Stretch marks — medically called striae distensae — are influenced by a combination of rapid tissue expansion, hormonal changes, genetics, skin structure and individual susceptibility.

Pregnancy is basically the perfect setup.

Skin is being asked to expand quickly while the hormonal environment that influences connective tissue is also changing.

Some people can do absolutely nothing and barely develop a mark.

Someone else can do everything “right” and still get them.

So I would never tell a pregnant woman that stretch marks mean she failed to nourish herself properly.

That isn't how biology works.

What I do think is useful is asking:

If my skin is about to undergo months of rapid expansion, what helps support healthy tissue while that is happening?

That's a much better question.

Skin has to be built before it can stretch

Skin isn't just a surface.

The dermis underneath contains structural proteins including collagen and elastin, which help give skin its strength and flexibility.

During pregnancy, that tissue has to accommodate an enormous change in size.

Which immediately makes me think beyond skincare.

Because collagen isn't made out of body butter.

Protein matters

This would probably be my first food priority now.

And when I say protein, I mean actual substantial protein.

For me, that's primarily:

• beef
• lamb
• pork
• poultry
• fish and seafood
• eggs alongside meat rather than pretending two eggs have covered my protein needs for the morning

Pregnancy is an incredibly protein-demanding state.

You're building:

a placenta

blood volume

uterine tissue

breast tissue

a baby

and your own constantly adapting body

Skin is competing inside that same system for amino acids.

I'm much more interested in making sure the raw building materials are there than finding the most exotic stretch-mark oil.

Collagen is not just collagen powder

Collagen-rich foods can absolutely have a place.

But the bigger picture is adequate total protein.

Muscle meat.

Slow-cooked connective tissue.

Gelatinous cuts.

Broth if you use it.

You need the amino acids required to build and maintain connective tissue.

I don't think a scoop of collagen thrown into coffee compensates for a low-protein diet.

Food first.

Minerals matter too

This is one thing I still strongly agree with from the original version of this article.

Pregnancy is mineral-intensive.

Minerals are involved throughout:

• protein synthesis
• connective-tissue formation
• fluid balance
• cellular signalling
• antioxidant systems
• muscle function

So I don't isolate one “stretch mark mineral.”

I want mineral-dense food generally.

For me that looks like things like:

meat

seafood

oysters

eggs

potatoes and root vegetables

fruit when it makes seasonal sense

good salt

And topical magnesium is one of the additional tools I personally love during pregnancy.

Not because magnesium lotion is secretly a stretch-mark drug.

Because magnesium requirements matter during pregnancy, I use topical magnesium regularly anyway, and the lotion also happens to keep rapidly stretching skin really comfortable.

Very efficient.

Hydration means more than drinking gallons of plain water

Skin flexibility depends partly on water content.

But hydration isn't just:

drink more water.

Fluid balance is an electrolyte problem too.

Sodium.

Potassium.

Magnesium.

And the rest of the mineral environment that determines where water actually goes.

I would rather see someone eating mineral-rich food, salting food to taste and drinking according to thirst than forcing litres of plain water because an app told her to.

Then there is circulation

This one doesn't get enough attention.

Growing tissue needs blood flow.

Movement throughout pregnancy supports circulation to tissues throughout the body.

That doesn't mean you need some heroic pregnancy workout program.

Walking.

Moving.

Squatting.

Changing positions.

Getting outside.

Not spending nine months completely sedentary because you're afraid to move your pregnant body.

Normal human movement matters.

Light and sleep belong in this conversation too

I think skin gets isolated from the rest of physiology in a really strange way.

As though the tissue covering your entire body somehow doesn't know whether you slept.

Or whether you're exposed to daylight.

Or whether your circadian rhythm is completely upside down.

Skin has its own circadian biology.

Repair, cell turnover, blood flow and hormonal signalling don't occur independently of the rest of you.

So yes, during pregnancy I care about:

morning light

daylight exposure

dark nights

good sleep

Not because morning sunlight is an evidence-based stretch-mark treatment.

Because you're growing an entire human and I want the whole biological environment working well.

Healthy skin is part of that environment.

And now: the cream

Because after spending this entire article telling you stretch marks aren't just a topical problem...

I absolutely still believe rapidly growing skin deserves topical support.

Pregnant skin gets tight.

It gets dry.

It itches.

Your belly can grow noticeably in a matter of weeks.

Your breasts change.

Your hips change.

The skin is mechanically being asked to accommodate more and more tissue underneath it.

Keeping that surface soft, supple and comfortable makes perfect sense to me.

Moisturizer can't control your genetics

This is the part skincare marketing tends to skip.

There is no moisturizer that can guarantee you won't develop stretch marks.

Studies of topical products for preventing pregnancy stretch marks have generally produced mixed or limited results.

So I'm not going to tell you:

Rub this on your belly and you won't get stretch marks.

I don't know that.

Nobody knows that.

What I can tell you is that moisturizers help soften skin, reduce dryness and decrease water loss from the surface.

And when my skin is rapidly stretching and feels dry?

I want that.

My pregnancy go-to: Purist Body Butter

This is where Purist Body Butter lived during my pregnancies.

Belly.

Hips.

Breasts.

Thighs.

Anywhere that felt dry or tight.

It's rich.

It's simple.

And the combination of tallow, cacao butter and jojoba leaves a substantial layer on the skin instead of disappearing five minutes after you apply it.

That's what I want from pregnancy body care.

Not twenty “actives.”

Just very comfortable skin.

And Magnesium Lotion

This is my other pregnancy staple.

I use Magnesium Lotion on:

feet

belly

and underarms

The magnesium is why I originally reach for it.

The fact that it's also a rich moisturizer makes it perfect for pregnancy.

Especially at night:

feet

belly

bed

Easy.

When should you start moisturizing your belly?

Whenever it starts feeling like it needs it.

I don't think there is a magical week where stretch-mark prevention officially begins.

You can moisturize from the beginning.

But as the belly starts expanding quickly in the second and third trimester, I tend to become much more consistent.

And if the skin starts itching or feeling tight?

Put something on it.

Your body is not handing out bonus points for enduring dry skin.

My own pregnancies

Ironically, the very first time I ever made a tallow concoction was because I was pregnant and desperate for something to put on my growing belly.

That was long before FATSKN was a skincare company.

I went through three pregnancies.

And with my third, I gained around 60 pounds.

Thanks, Ray Peat.

And I came out of my pregnancies without abdominal stretch marks.

Can I prove that was because of the tallow?

Absolutely not.

Maybe genetics did a lot of the heavy lifting.

Maybe nutrition mattered.

Maybe the way I gained weight mattered.

Maybe connective-tissue differences mattered.

Probably all of it.

That's the entire point.

I don't think biology usually gives us one lever.

What I would do again

If I were pregnant tomorrow, I wouldn't buy a cabinet full of “stretch-mark prevention” products.

I'd concentrate on the things I think build a strong body generally:

Eat enough protein.

Eat mineral-rich food.

Salt my food.

Stay hydrated.

Move.

Get outside.

See morning light.

Keep my nights dark.

Sleep.

And then I'd keep the skin itself comfortable with a thick moisturizer — especially anywhere that was growing quickly or feeling dry.

Probably Purist Body Butter.

Probably Magnesium Lotion.

Probably sitting beside my bed where I would actually remember them.

The bigger idea

Pregnancy is one of the clearest examples of why I don't think skincare starts in the bathroom.

You are building tissue.

Then rapidly expanding it.

Of course what you eat matters.

Of course circulation matters.

Of course your hormonal and circadian environment matters.

And of course the skin itself can benefit from being moisturized while it does something extraordinary.

It doesn't have to be:

inside OR outside.

It's both.

Build resilient tissue.

Then take care of the surface too.

That's how I think about stretch marks now.

More for pregnancy: Everything You Need to Know About PUPPP Rash and Skincare for Momma and Baby.