According to the NHS, stretch marks affect 8 out of 10 pregnant women, and it’s no surprise – skin is being stretched to new extremes to make room for a growing baby. You’ll know from honest conversations with friends and family that some women will get lots of stretch marks, some will only get a few, and others will get none at all – but it’s impossible to identify who will or won’t be affected and to what degree.
At 5ft 2in, I haven’t done much growing in my life, so I instantly felt nervous that my body wouldn’t know how to handle so much drastic stretching. It was only about six weeks into the first trimester that I soon realised my body was capable of getting stretch marks, when I started to see newfound stripes crop up on my hips and boobs. Though, I can’t put all the blame on my baby for my body’s sudden stretching – I had just come back from a month of indulging in daily three-course meals during my honeymoon in Australia.
It wasn’t until I was waiting for an antenatal appointment in my local NHS hospital, when I saw a video appear on the waiting room TV showcasing Secret Saviours’s stretch mark prevention kits, that I felt hopeful there could be a solution after all. I started Googling the brand instantly and was relieved to see more than 1,000 honest reviews and photos from real women of different ages, shapes and sizes posing stretch-mark free, having used the products. I was even more tempted by the prospect after reading that Secret Saviours has helped prevent stretch marks for more than 8,000 women in the UK.
Secret Saviours’ prevention wear is available as bump bands, briefs, leggings, shorts or bras
(Secret Saviours)
However, if you do develop stretch marks, it’s important to remember they are a badge of honour for growing another human. Lesley Bland, a registered midwife at My Expert Midwife, says: “Embrace them and care for them – after all, it is estimated that 50-90 per cent of women will have them, so, welcome to the gang!”
While your newfound stripes will always be a visible memory of such a special chapter in your life, and I encourage you to be proud of them, there is no denying that many women, like myself, would prefer not to have them.
In an honest interview with Sophie Hooper, the founder of Secret Saviours, she admitted that if she could choose not to have stretch marks, she would. She explained that her own experience of stretch marks from both her pregnancies was among the reasons why she wanted to help women.
I want women to look and feel as confident in their body after birth as they did pre-pregnancy
Sophie Hooper, Secret Saviours founder
While she said she feels so much admiration for women who embrace their stretch marks, she opened up about her body confidence struggles since acquiring stretch marks, and her reluctance to put her belly on show. Having self-esteem issues is something I can completely relate to, including being the main reason why I felt so nervous about how I’d feel if stretch marks started appearing on my body. With holidays involving pool time on the agenda within the first year after giving birth, I’m already self-conscious about getting into swimwear postpartum and I don’t even know how my body will look yet.
How does Secret Saviours prevention wear work?
Secret Saviours prevention wear ranges from bands and briefs to leggings, shorts and bras – all intelligently crafted with textile technology to support the prevention of stretch marks in the most vulnerable areas. Invented by two University College Hospital London doctors, the derma dot intelligent skin support textile technology consists of clever tacky pads printed onto shapewear. The pads hold skin in place, dispersing any pressure as skin stretches. It cleverly blocks the path of stretch marks as they try to rip downwards through the dermis.
The three-step kits (day gel, prevention wear and night cream) have been tested in clinical and independent consumer trials. The clinical trial found around 70 per cent of users didn’t get stretch marks and 20 per cent had less-severe stretch marks, while 82 per cent of Secret Saviours users didn’t get stretch marks in the consumer trial.
The clinical trial proved unequivocally that if you use Secret Saviours daily throughout your pregnancy, you will double your chances of avoiding stretch marks
Stephen Barker, Secret Saviours inventor
How I tested
I put Secret Saviours’s prevention wear to the test from week 12 of pregnancy
(Leeanna Lock)
I started testing Secret Saviours’s stretch mark prevention band and full brief kits from week 12 of my pregnancy. At that point, my bump wasn’t noticeable at all but I wanted to get as much of a head start as I could, following the brand’s recommended guidelines. I opted for a size small in a pair of the black briefs and a size medium in the nude band.
Minus a few days here and there, I applied the day gel, wore the prevention wear and smoothed my bump with the night cream throughout the rest of the trimesters. I used the gel routinely after my morning shower and rubbed the night cream in just before bedtime.
Being strict on myself to wear the band or briefs daily meant I also tested them with all sorts of outfits, during exercise and for long periods of time. I rated the products based on comfort, quality post-wash, body sculpting, support, VPL/VBL (visible pant line/visible band line) and, of course, how well they prevented stretch marks.
During my third trimester, Secret Saviours launched its latest range of prevention wear leggings and bra kits. I couldn’t wait to get my boobs and bum in a pair of each and began testing from week 30 of my pregnancy. This testing was slighly different having already developed some stretch marks on my breasts, thighs and hips since growing my mini me. For this test, I instead counted how many ‘tiger stripes’ I already had in each of the vulnerable areas to see if they increased, stayed the same, or reduced from wearing the prevention wear for seven weeks.
Secret Saviours review
The day gel and night creams are included in each of the prevention kits reviewed below, so I thought I’d share my experience of those two products first. As soon as you open even just the outer packaging of the kits, you’re welcomed with such a fresh, natural smell of the products’ organic ingredients.
I never used to moisturise my body post-shower but I can confidentally say my skin is grateful for the new routine as I’ve experienced zero dryness since using the creams. Lots of women experience an itchy tummy during pregnancy as their bump grows but, luckily, I’ve had no sense of this and I think my indulgently nourished skin has something to do with it. Adding these morning and evening moisturising slots into my daily routine also means designated bonding time with baby as the gentle circular motions on my bump when applying creams always gets them kicking.
Read below to find out how I got on with testing each of the prevention wear kits to support my bump, bottom, boobs and thighs from developing stretch marks.
Secret Saviours prevention wear ranges from bras to leggings
(Secret Saviours)