>
Stretch marks during pregnancy are no longer inevitable, it seems.
Specially designed underpants and creams are said to prevent the scars with an 82 percent success rate.
The first pregnancy range of its kind has already helped 30,000 women avoid stretch marks, says the company that sells the products.
Researchers at University College London worked on the technology behind the underpants, which cover the bump and hold the skin in place, dispersing pressure as the skin stretches and blocking the path of stretch marks using pads placed in an irregular pattern.
The company behind the invention, Secret Saviours, is selling the briefs for £50 alongside £50 ‘bump bands’, £65 bras, £75 leggings and £65 shorts – which together are also said to prevent stretch marks on the breasts, thighs and bottom.
Secret Saviors sells the briefs for £50 alongside £50 bump bands and £65 bras (file image)
The underwear, which should be worn every day and taken off at night, is part of a three-step program that includes a daytime gel and nighttime massage cream, which cost extra.
The range has been tested in formal clinical trials and is said to support the back, bumps and breasts against pregnancy pain ‘while enhancing every woman’s natural curves’.
Dr. Stephen Barker, vascular surgeon at UCL, helped develop the range. He said it was “much better” to prevent stretch marks than to try to cure them.
“Stretch marks can be thought of as a kind of wound — a partial tear in the skin during pregnancy with the rather reddish, purplish jagged lines running across the abdomen,” he said.
‘We have developed a theory of how they might form. We know that in the abdominal wall the skin is laid in a certain pattern with bands running from left to right.
“If you create a point of tension in the skin, it tears… giving rise to stretch marks in the abdominal wall.
“What we need to try is to prevent that stress focus from forming in the first place and to even out the tensions across the abdominal wall by grasping and holding the skin.
“What we would say about stretch marks is that prevention is much better than cure. Unfortunately, if you develop stretch marks, they will stay with you for the rest of your life.
Researchers at University College London worked on the new slip technology
“It’s much, much better to keep them from forming.”
Before the collection was made public, the clothing went through formal clinical trials to ensure its effectiveness.
“We wanted to make absolutely sure that what we said would happen would happen,” said Dr. barker.
“We wanted to prove that using the support band, day gel and night cream would actually do what they said to help prevent stretch marks.
‘We have organized a formal clinical trial for this. More than 120 women participated in this trial – 60 did not use our system and more than 60 used our system.
“What we confirmed, using the Secret Saviors System, was that we were able to prevent stretch marks in seven out of ten women.
‘We were able to significantly reduce the appearance of stretch marks in another two out of ten women.
‘One in ten women developed stretch marks despite using the system.
‘So the regime we have developed is twofold and it is important that both elements are used.
“First, the support band. Second, the use of the day gel and night cream. This way you have the best chance of preventing stretch marks.’
Founder and CEO Sophie Hooper said, “We are pushing the boundaries in skin care support because we want to give pregnant women the choice of how to care for their skin.
Stretch marks affect more than 80 percent of women during pregnancy and while some women embrace them as their well-deserved tiger stripes, some are left with lifelong mental scars.
‘Secret Saviours is the first real solution for stretch marks. It is scientifically proven that creams and gels don’t work, but our breakthrough textile technology offers pregnant women a real solution to one of the most common skin care problems women face in their lives.’