Stretch Mark Prevention Cream & Oils Review

Just reached my 8^th month pregnancy milestone today, and thought I’d give a quick review of the stretch mark creams/oils I’ve been using since the 3^rd month of my pregnancy.

Sebamed Anti-Stretch Mark Cream (200ml)

First up, this is the first cream I used during pregnancy. Its Unique Triple Soft Formula is said to:

1. Help prevent stretch mark
2. Help reduce existing stretch marks
3. Help restore the connective tissue

Pros:

+ Easy to apply and easily absorbed after 2-3 minutes of massaging

+ Suitable for sensitive skin and has a balanced PH value of 5.5

+ Thick creamy texture does not stain clothing

+ Great moisturizer. Although Sebamed recommended the cream be used twice daily, I actually skimped on this during my 3rd and 4th month of pregnancy, using it mainly at night after shower since my tummy was still pretty small then.

+ Soft, silky, and slightly greasy upon application, but not an issue once absorbed

+ Slight powdery and delicate floral scent. Not too overwhelming. Love it!

+ Effective. Eases dryness of skin, leaving skin much smoother just after 4 days

+ This bottle lasted me for over 4 months when I used it once daily, every day

+ Assuring. Can be used even after birth and while breast feeding

Cons:

- Considered a light cream, application twice daily as per their recommendation would be needed as you progress through pregnancy with a growing tummy. However, it is advised to wash off the remnants of the first layer before applying the second layer or it would feel sticky and greasy

- Not found in your usual Guardian/Watson’s pharmacy. I got this last bottle at Caring

- Can be pricy, with it being normally priced at RM89.90

- Did not ease the itchiness when I developed a skin rash (PUPP) during pregnancy

Creamy, thick texture. The amount i tend to use for each application.

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Soothing Oil (150ml)

I got this oil next when my PUPP got worse and the itchiness was becoming very unbearable. Compared to other Palmer stretch mark products, I chose this specifically for its Lechitin ingredient, which is said to be a trademark ingredient of Palmer’s but is surprisingly not found in many of its other similar ranged products. And also because I’m not a fan of mineral oil based products.

Pros:

+ Easily applied as it came in a spray bottle. Normally 2-3 pumps is enough

+ Absorbs well after application, leaving skin feeling moisturised, soft and smooth

+ Worked perfectly against my PUPP, giving me instant relief after 20 minutes of application and has since worked to prevent PUPP from re-occurring

+ Heard that many people use it for other parts of their body and face too, though I’ve not tried

+ More easily found in general pharmacies around town

+ Very affordable. Normally priced at RM39.80, I got mine at 20% discount at RM31.90

+ Cost Effective. Started using this in my 5th month of pregnancy once every morning and its barely even 1/10th used

+ Paraben & Phtalate free

+ Non-staining formula, which evens out skin tone on regular use

Cons:

- Strong chocolaty scent from its cocoa butter ingredient like all Palmer's products. Can be overwhelming.

- Contains fragrance ingredients that could irritate sensitive skin

- Can be messy, oil will leak from packaging if bottle is not maintained upright

- Contains canola oil which makes it greasier and slower to absorb after application. Best to give it about 3-4 minutes to dry

- Not for those who already have oily skin

Bud’s Stretch Mark Prevention Cream (150ml)

Switched to this recently when my Sebamed ran out, since I got it at a 20% discount price (RM59.30) and it is natural and organic certified, with:

1. Parfum made from essential oils

2. 99.6% of total ingredients are of natural origin

3. 32.7% of total ingredients are from organic farming

4. 99.9% of the plant ingredients are from organic farming

Pros:

+ Light and watery-lotion like texture that makes for fast application and quick absorption.

+ Just as moisturising as Sebamed, but I find that I actually need to use this abit lesser than the amount I pump out for Sebamed on each application due to its watery/slightly oily texture.

+ Non-greasy once absorbed, and does not stain

+ 1 time application works well for maximum half a day only

+ Has a pretty strong floral scent

Cons:

- Can be pricy, normal price ranged at RM74.10

Slightly more watery texture

Note: Am currently using Bud's Stretch Mark Prevention Cream twice daily, with the morning application dosage being half of the amount as pictured above as i will mix in 1-2 pumps of Palmer's as well. Thus far, works this combo works well for me and there has not been a recurrence of PUPP.

On a side note, I also recently purchased Bud’s Nurturing Nursing Cream (15ml) to use once week, or as and when necessary as I noticed that with my growing breasts, the areola area was starting to feel abit dry/flaky at times. I’m sure it will come in handy later when I start breastfeeding but for now, sparingly used to dab once in a while helps to ease my worry and reduce any itchiness that may arise from the dryness. Priced normally around RM34.90, I got this at promotion price of RM29.90 for a 15ml bottle. Just like the stretch mark cream, it is natural and organic certified, with:

1. Parfum made from essential oils

2. 100.0% of total ingredients are of natural origin

3. 32.0% of total ingredients are from organic farming

4. 95.1% of the plant ingredients are from organic farming

As this is my first pregnancy, I’m not sure how fully effective the creams/oils are against the stretch marks that will come with this pregnancy, but what I can say with certainty is that while I have at time felt like the skin of my tummy stretch and “tear”, I have not seen any lines physically appear and have been able to keep the itchiness at bay. In addition, any new spider marks that may show up as a result of my growing tummy usually disappear after a week’s use of the stretch mark cream/oils above.

Word of advice to all, stretch marks and spider marks can appear even on your sides of the body and even breast so don't just focus on that bulging tummy and be on the lookout for those signs of a potential stretch mark problem and apply those prevention cream/oils!

Another point to note is that it is medically confirmed that stretch marks cannot be 100% prevented/ stopped during a pregnancy, but with frequent and diligent usage of these creams/oils I believe it will help to minimise its after-effects post-partum, as well as help make your pregnancy journey an easier and less irritable one.

Poise Organic Wellness Studio (OKR branch) Pre-Natal Massage & Bitter Melon Honey Scrub review

Recently, Groupon Malaysia posted the following 2 massage deals that caught my attention at Poise Organic Wellness Studio:

1. Up to 1.5-Hr Pre-Natal or Post-Natal Massage (https://www.groupon.my/deals/klang-valley-kuala-lumpur/poise-organic-wellness-studio-7/96379188)
2. 2 Hrs Bitter Melon Honey Scrub + Massage (https://www.groupon.my/deals/klang-valley-kuala-lumpur/poise-organic-wellness-studio-6/721322140)

It has been about 5 years since my last visit with my friend at the Old Klang Road (OKR) outlet where although location was nearby, parking can be a hassle at times. And now with my growing 31 weeks belly, it felt like a good time to give this pre-natal massage a try.

Before going for the pre-natal massage at this outlet, I’ve googled 2 other blogs online that gave pretty good reviews on their pre-natal massage at this OKR outlet in 2012 and 2013, and since my previous experience there was good, I thought why not give it a try?

Calling in to ask about their pre-natal massage process (since it was not mentioned in the Groupon page unlike the other massage promotion), I was greeted by the manager Ms. Gillian (pronounced Jillian) where she informed me that the pre-natal massage would be carried out on our sides, with the massage covering the soles of your feet, to your legs, hips, back and shoulder. No essential oil would be used, instead they would use coconut oil, and that the massage would not done on the abdominal/ tummy area of the mother, nor be carried out involving the pregnant mother lying on their backs. In addition, their masseur was experienced as they would normally have customers coming in anywhere between 5-months pregnant right up to 1 week before their due date.

This was very assuring for me for a number of reasons:

1. Essential oils may sometimes cause irritation on the pregnant mother’s skin due to the hormonal changes and although they were using organic products, I was fine minimising this possible complication.
2. Hitting my 3^rd trimester and being a rather petite build, I have found it rather impossible to lie on my back for more than 5-10 minutes at a time without feeling dizzy or short of breath due to the weight of my growing baby, which at that time already measured 1.6kg.
3. My body was feeling very heavy and tensed up and swelling was picking up around my hips and thigh, even climbing the stairs was beginning to feel like a warm up for an exercise.
4. The massage would not involve touching anywhere near my tummy/abdominal area. I am not doing a massage to “re-position” my baby and did not want anyone touching my tummy. So, perfect!
5. That experienced a masseur? Personally I wouldn’t want to go for a massage anywhere after my 36 weeks if possible, but if they have handled women up till 1 week before birth, my case should be a pinch right?

So after the call, I asked my mom and my hubby if they were interested to try out the other massage on promotion, since my mom loved everything organic and hubby well, he’s not been to any massage for a long time and I think he deserves to untie a knot or two before the baby arrives.

Anyways, all 3 of us decided to give the massages a try and I bought 1 groupon promo for 1 hr Pre-Natal Massage and 2 groupon promos for 2hrs of the Bitter Melon Honey Scrub + Massage and called back Gillian to give the 3 voucher security codes and booked us 3 under my name for the massage on Friday, 2 September 2016, with my mom’s slot at 7.30pm, and me and hubby’s slot at 8.00pm.

So here’s where my review begins. It will be lengthy and if you would prefer, I have listed a summary below instead for quick reading at the end of the post.

Same problem like what I had 5 years ago, when using waze/ google map to reach the outlet, once we passed Pearl Point, GPS signal went haywire and redirected us to another location. I didn’t listen to the apps after that as I knew it was just straight ahead and guided my mom (whom I was carpooling with at the time) to the place and we parked inside. The location on Google map showed that Poise was located at “205, Jalan Sepakat 8, Taman United”. Well, the lot number was correct but am unsure why the road name was different from their branch address provided of Jalan Sepadu instead.

When we entered, we were greeted by a lady at the counter named Siti who immediately informed me that unfortunately, their masseur was busy and hence, asked if my mom’s slot could be shifted to 8.00pm instead. This irked me and my mom abit because on Thursday night 7.56pm, Siti sent us a reminder that the appointment would be tomorrow at 7.30pm. I don’t see now what the point of that reminder is if Poise could not commit to our 7.30pm slot the very next day?

Well, mom and I agreed it would be fine since then it would mean all 3 of us would finishing our massage at the same time at 10.00pm (with the initial exception of me finishing earlier since my massage was only 1 hr). Then I proceeded with the registration and asked Siti if she needed to see my 3 vouchers to verify my booking. That was when she looked shocked and asked if I was using all 3 vouchers at once. This immediately made me uncomfortable and I explained to her how I made all 3 bookings with Gillian and her manager even wrote down the voucher security code to secure my bookings.

That was when things got a little hectic and Siti started calling one of their masseurs to come back as they actually had a 3^rd customer to service. Luckily she left not long ago and could turn around and head back and Siti then apologised for this confusion as she was uncertain about this arrangement since the booking was made by Gillian. I asked her how can that be, since their record showed 3 differing voucher codes she should have known or at least checked with her manager rather than jumping the gun and confidently “cancelling” 1 of my appointments?

To be honest I didn’t want to cause too much of a scene at that time since our massage hadn’t even started and I didn’t want to make things uncomfortable, so I thought since matters were sorted out, apology accepted, let’s move on right?

Next up, Siti asked if I wanted to consider extending my massage from 1 hr to 2 hrs since my mom and hubby’s massage time was 2 hrs, so I thought, why not? I asked Siti again about how the massage would be carried out and what did that additional 1 hr entail. She reiterated the same thing as Gillian and that with the 1 hr extension, the massage time carried out sideways would just be longer, coconut oil would be used throughout the whole time too.

When I agreed to it, then she showed me the top-up bill would be a whopping RM119 + 6% GST. When I saw the price I questioned her thinking it was an error and that the price included the earlier paid amount of RM69 from the groupon voucher. Apparently the top-up would be calculated based on their normal one-off massage service price and not the groupon promo price. Great, wished she had told me ahead before I agreed to it.

Anyways, kept my finger crossed and paid it, and went back to the lounge area as my hubby had already arrived and mom had started her herbal foot soak. Both mom and hubby commented that the water was lukewarm when they put their feet in so after 15 minutes of soaking, water was cold. In addition, all 3 of us were served lukewarm pandan water to drink. Not a good way to start out their massage.

Since mom started abit earlier, she went up for her massage first. Meantime I accompanied hubby until his full 15 minutes of feet soaking was up before we were both lead upstairs to the massage room.

When we arrived in the room, we were provided bathrobes and disposable head caps, disposable panties for me and boxers for hubby. One nagging bit I had in my head was since I had topped up for an additional hour of massage, shouldn’t I have actually started earlier since the 2 hr massage for mom and hubby actually included their time for the foot soak? Well, I thought let’s just see how it goes.

Massage was overall pleasant for the first hour, with 2 support pillows provided to keep my legs and arm apart. I had a lot of wind in my legs and shoulder that needed to be pushed out, whilst hubby had a few knots to loosen in his legs as well. The room was dimly lit and rather relaxing, to the extent that I felt like I could doze off any moment if not for the pain that came occasionally from the kneading.

Once the side massage ended, the lady masseur then requested I lie on my back and covered me with towels before leaving the room for a while. That was when I started feeling uncomfortable. I thought I should not be asked to lie on my back? When she returned around 5 minutes later, I asked her why am I lying on my back because I am feeling uncomfortable and will have shortness of breath. She replied that the next phase of the massage would involve massaging my 4 limbs, shoulder, and if I wanted, my breast and face, for the next half hour.

Half hour?! I thought I shouldn’t even be in this position to begin with? Ok so maybe the time extension for the massage wasn’t a good idea now, but since they are “experienced” in doing pre-natal massages, I should be fine right? Mind you at the start of the massage I already told her I was almost 8 months pregnant so she should be fully aware that as a third trimester mom, I should not be lying on my back. Well, I spent the next half hour talking non-stop with the masseur in hopes of distracting myself because the moment she stopped massaging me or I stopped talking, I honestly felt like I may pass out at any moment. This is considering that I already finished an early dinner more than 3 hours ago.

When the massage ended, hubby had just begun his rain shower and so I got up slowly to check my phone and saw that my massage had ended at 9.50pm. Feeling somewhat dizzy, it hadn’t occurred to me back then that my massage had ended much earlier than promised for a full 2 hrs massage. I was more relieved to be off my back at that time and started dressing back up whilst waiting for hubby to be done with his shower.

Once ready, hubby and I headed downstairs to find mom chatting with a Chinese lady named “Madam” in the lounge area. She poured ginger tea for mom and hubby and lukewarm pandan water for me (again?! And here I was hoping for a nice warm cuppa to heat me up after that massage) and proceeded to chat with us about how professional their masseurs are that many customers have returned time and again because of their great pre-natal and post-natal massages. It was comfortable talking to her, and she shared with us their latest promotional 20-hours or 40-hours package plan for all 17 listed massages therein. I informed her I would call back another day to ask Gillian for further details about the package and after that we all left.

Latest promotion package, whereby anniversary offer reduced each package amount by RM100/-

2 days after the massage, I sought feedback from mom and hubby on their massage experience and how they felt about it. Both mom and hubby commented that the body scrub was really good and their skin felt so soft and clean immediately after the massage. Hubby had a few sore spots on his leg from the massage which eased out by the second day and he felt much more energised as well. As for me, I actually felt much lighter immediately after the massage and felt like I could actually bounce up and down the stairs without even feeling the weight of my protruding belly, which was pretty refreshing, if not for the fact that my dizziness after that massage persisted for a full hour before wearing off.

So I called back on Monday and since Gillian was not around, spoke to Siti about the package and was informed that in line with their anniversary promotion that just started on the same day, the latest promotional 20-hours or 40-hours package plan would now each cost RM100/- less to sign up, i.e. at RM1,388 and RM2,588 respectively, with all other terms remaining the same. Just as I started to tell her about my experience of the pre-natal massage and that I had to actually lie on my back, apparently a customer just walked in and needed to be served and Siti apologised saying she would call me back on my handphone later.

Well, I never got that call even 2 days later, so hence, here’s the summary review of the overall experience:

1. I agree with many other comments that the place looks abit rundown, as the room and front entrance has not changed one bit since 5 years ago, but I believe that they are trying to go for a rustic ambience. The renovated lounge area is much spacious and roomy though.
2. GPS location can be abit confusing, best to zoom in on google map to find it, or type “205, Jalan Sepakat 8, Taman United” into your app to find the place.
3. Staff are generally very warm and welcoming, and it’s easy to fall back into a relaxed ambience when talking with them. Service on the other hand, leaves much to be desired. Poor management of my booking, seeming lack of communication between the front desk management team and masseurs, lack of clarity on the exact services provided and poor timing management of massage slots.
4. Eventhough I was assured by Gillian and Siti I would not have to lie on my back during the massage and that the masseurs are experienced in pre-natal massages, yet I had to endure a full half hour lying on my back eventhough I had told the masseur that I was uncomfortable and had difficulty breathing in that position.
5. This massage experience IMO is not for the shy. As you are expected to go almost naked when your massage starts, since no bra top will be provided for the ladies and if you do ask for a breast massage, no tissue or towel will be provided for to cover your nipples. For the gents, well I saw the masseur pulling down my hubby’s boxers to rub the body scrub all over both his buttocks. So guys (and girls too), if you would feel offended by this, better tell your masseur in advance!
6. Thinking back, the fact that my massage started 15 minutes later, and ended 10 minutes earlier than my hubby’s surmised that my massage session lasted only around 1.5 hrs eventhough I topped up for a full 2 hours, with the balance 1 hour being charged a full normal rate + 6% GST. 
7. Topping up another hour generally did not yield any additional benefit. I read in other blog posts that some customers were provided a cool aromatherapy eye pillow before the massage, an option of choosing which non-scented oil to use in their massage, and a hot ginger tea before and after (or at least after) the massage. Nope, I got none of those during my session, and even the pandan water served to me was lukewarm before and after the massage and not decided by my choice. Coupled with point (6) above, was really not worth it.
8. The website mentioned that they had therapists with more than 8 years of experience. Well, my masseur informed me that she only had 3 and previously worked in the nail parlor industry. Makes me feel somewhat uncomfortable? Definitely.
9. Personally, I felt somewhat cheated. Don’t get me wrong the massage was actually good and you could feel the effects thereafter, but everything else just frustrated me. Especially the fact that when I called back to enquire more about their package and highlight my uncomfortable experience, Siti cut me off halfway saying she had to service another incoming client and never called me back like she said she would even 2 days later.

Taking into account everything that happened, my experience at this Poise OKR outlet would be a rating of 2.0/5.0. 

Overall, I would safely say going for the Bitter Melon Honey Scrub promotion is a “Yeay!” and I would rate it 4.0/5.0, whilst the pre-natal massage for me is a "Nay!", should be done only if you are in your second trimester, and you should NEVER ask for an extension of more than 30 minutes of the massage. I don’t know if another masseur would have done it differently, especially if they have serviced moms who were supposedly a week due from delivery, with the extra half hour being done sideways instead of lying on the back but surmised from above, I’d rate this massage only a 3.0/5.0.