DIY Stretch Mark/Scar Salve

I ended up getting a few stretch marks the very last week of my pregnancy. I had been doing well and hadn't gotten any until that point. I was doing some research to see if there was anything I could do to help lessen their appearance. I found that there are several items out there that aid in skin regeneration, elasticity and hydration.

Coconut oil: I first took coconut oil for its skin care properties. Coconut oil is very nourishing for your skin. It has proteins in in that help to rejuvenate skin as well as protect it. Coconut oil also has anti-aging properties and will also protect the skin from further wear and tear.
Cocoa Butter: Next, I added cocoa butter since that is a well-known and common ingredient in many "belly creams" you see on the market for stretch mark creams. Cocoa butter has antioxidants that are good for your skin and has powerful moisture retention properties which is wonderful for skin. Another nice property of cocoa butter is the wonderful smell! It smells so good! Although, you have to buy the unrefined cocoa butter, otherwise refining it strips it of its yummy smell.
Vitamin E Oil: I also added Vitamin E oil. I bought a bottle of the oil itself, not the capsules. The reason for this was that the oil was a much stronger concentration. At the stronger concentration, its meant for topical use only. The capsules are a smaller concentration and can be ingested. Since I don't plan to ingest this and only use it topically, I went with the bottle of concentrated oil. Vitamin E is well-known for its skin healing properties. Vitamin E is essential in skin healing, regenerating, repair on wear and tear on the skin and protecting against wrinkles and cracking.
Frankincense Essential Oil: I added a small amount of Frankincense oil to the mixture. When used topically, Frankincense has scar healing properties. Some may not like the smell of Frankincense though, but don't worry! If you used unrefined cocoa butter, that is all you will smell.

For this batch, I used 3T. coconut oil, 4T. cocoa butter, 1 1/2t. Vitamin E oil, 4-5 drops of Frankincense oil.

**NOTE: Coconut oil and cocoa butter both melt at skin temperature. So when you apply it, it will turn to an oil. Start off with small amounts and rub into skin well. Since they are oils, you wouldn't want an oily spot to show up on clothing. Just be sure to rub it in well! Knowing that, If you want the cocoa butter to return to a semi-solid (like shown in the last picture) you will need to temper it when heating it. A double boiler and a reliable chocolate/candy thermometer works well. If you are fine with it remaining more oil-like since that's how it will be once it's warmed by the skin, a quick heating process will be fine. If you heat it quickly and not tempered, it will not solidify again at room temperature. You will need to keep it in the refrigerator if you want it to stay a solid.

Acne Scars:

If you are looking for something to use on acne scars, substitute shea butter for the cocoa butter. Cocoa butter could clog your pores, where as shea butter is non-comedogenic.

Unfortunately, once you have stretch marks or other scars, they are next to impossible to totally get rid of. I am hoping that this salve I made will help lessen the look of the few stretch marks. This salve would also be great as a preventative measure if you are currently pregnant! I hope this helps many of you!