Bio-Oil prevents stretch marks according to a PR e-mail I have just received. The evidence? A photograph of a celebrity who is pregnant, and not wearing any clothes. Obviously celebrities are better than us and so we should take what they say extremely seriously, but I have to say I have my doubts.
I have reviewed Bio-Oil before, and I am prepared to believe that it is a product that might be of some help in clearing stretch marks a little more quickly than leaving them to themselves. The ingredients seem to have the right sort of properties to do so. I am also impressed by the number of people who have posted positive comments about their experience online. I am less impressed by the data produced by the company that makes the stuff. The ASA weren’t either and restricted some of the claims that could be made for Bio-Oil.
But what about the idea that Bio-Oil prevents stretch marks? Well that is a completely different claim. I don’t think that there is any particularly good reason to believe this is the case. Pictures of attractive blond women with no clothes on don’t really add to the debate.
Incidentally I have no idea who this particular celebrity is. Her name is Nell McAndrew if that means anything to you. If I am getting stuff through I dare say other bloggers will be as well. So if you really want to see her supposedly well oiled bump I am sure it will turn up somewhere in the world of beauty bloggery soon enough. I don’t think it is the kind of think people tune into Colin’s Beauty Pages for though, so I’ll give it a miss.
If you are interested in Bio-Oil make sure you have a look at what the ASA said about their marketing claims four years ago.
What the ASA said about Bio-Oil
Oh Nell – she’s known for being Tomb Raider here. Anyway propensity for stretch marks is also primarily genetic so who knows if the celeb would never have got them anyway if she hadn’t used anything.
Exactly so Wonderlusting. It would be one heck of a job to do a trial to prove that anything reduced the severity of stretch marks.
I bought a bottle of this during my pregnancy at my sister’s recommendation. I never used it in the end because I read that one of the ingredients, Rosemary oil, is to be avoided during pregnancy. Being extra cautious I put it aside unopened. So I’ve returned to use it now that baby has been born but more so to use it up than anything else without much expectation of a result. I still marvel at the amount of products I came across while pregnant with ingredients that were clearly not ideal for a pregnant woman to use. I would love a blog post btw about reading labels for ingredients that are safe to use during this time.
Just to clarify – I mean the products that were clearly marketed at pregnant women, not the general public.
There’s also the ingredient Retinyl Palmitate which I understand is also to be avoided during pregancy.
This topic is a favourite of mine.
The mechanism behind the formation of stretch marks is poorly understood and genetics plays a very important role.
Bio Oil does not and cannot prevent stretch marks. There is no evidence to support this as pointed out by Colin.
Here is an interesting paper that explores a cause at the molecular and takes into account the hormonal aspect:
http://people.maths.ox.ac.uk/maini/PKM%20publications/350.pdf