It was shortly before my little guy turned two when I found a column on stretch-mark repair in one of my parenting magazines. Intrigued, I decided to purchase and test-drive a few different remedies (since I had a fairly large area to work with). I visited www.skinstore.com and selected Mederma (from Merz Pharmaceuticals) and StriVectin (from Klein-Becker).

I went about it very scientifically — I put Mederma on a few stretch marks on my right side, StriVectin on my lower left side (on the worst of my marks), and left my midsection untouched so I could really compare the differences, if any.

…but before I go into the results of my personal study, let me tell you a bit more about Mederma…

Product Description:

Mederma is advertised as “skin care for scars.” The manufacturer claims that it is the “#1 physician-recommended product for scars.” It is made from a proprietary botanical extract called “cepalin” and is supposed to help scars appear “softer and smoother”.

It comes out of the tube as a clear gel, but becomes water-like in consistency as soon as it is rubbed into the skin. The smell is pleasant (and hard to describe).

The manufacturer is careful to state that, “Nothing can make scars disappear,” but they claim Mederma can “help” scars that are the result of surgery, accidents or injuries, burns, acne, stretch marks, and existing scars (new or old). They won’t disappear, but they should become “softer and smoother”.

For Mederma to be effective, it should be rubbed into your scar 3 or 4 times a day. According to the instructions, it should work in 8 weeks for new scars, or 3-6 months on older scars. It is important to note that Mederma should not be used until the wound is fully closed.

Mederma can be used on the face (but not near the eyes), and is gentle enough to be used by anyone, including young children. There were no warnings stating that it shouldn’t be used by pregnant or nursing women, so I assume that it would be safe (in fact the magazine article I read recommended it because could be used during pregnancy and nursing).

I was able to purchase a 1.76 oz tube of Mederma online for $24.00, but have also seen it available (for a few dollars more) at my local Walgreens, Eckerd, and Target stores (I’ve heard that it is available at Wal-Mart and K-Mart too). According to the instructions, it should last approximately 3 months on an 8 to 10 inch scar.

Ingredients:
Water (purified), PEG-4, onion (allium cepa) extract, xanthan gum, allantoin, fragrance, methylparaben, sorbic acid

My Experiences:

I realize that this is a review of Mederma, but since my home-trials involved both Mederma and StriVectin I will be describing both products.

I found both products to be easy to apply. The StriVectin seemed to cover more ground, probably because it is a cream compared to Mederma’s gel.

After a couple days use, the one difference I found was that on the side where I was applying Mederma a layer of skin peeled off. I took this to mean that the Mederma was indeed having an affect on my skin, causing it to renew itself more quickly than usual. I have a skin condition that affects the way my skin renews itself (you can read my epinion on ichthyosis here), so this reaction may not be typical. My skin continued to slough off about once a week the entire time I was using Mederma. The area would be red the day after the skin peeled, but it was never uncomfortable of itchy. Although my skin was obviously feeling some effects from the gel, I still did not see a change in my stretch marks.

A few weeks later I did start seeing a difference on the side where I was using the StriVectin, but it was not the difference I was expecting. I guess in my mind’s eye I had pictured the skin-tears knitting back together, closing the rends that had been formed during my pregnancy. Instead, the difference I found was that the super-thin skin inside the stretch marks themselves started to get thicker and more like the surrounding, normal skin. As the stretched skin got thicker the marks became less and less noticeable. After about 3 months some of my smaller marks practically disappeared, and my wider marks looked significantly better.

I used both products for 3 months. Although I started seeing a difference in the StriVectin-side after a month, I never did see any difference at all on the Mederma side. I was very disappointed. I should reiterate that the instructions say Mederma should be used for 3-6 months on stretch marks, so perhaps if I had continued to use it for 3 more months I might have seen something. It just seemed silly for me to keep using the product when I was getting very good, noticeable results on my other side with the StriVectin. After 3 months I gave up on Mederma and started using the StriVectin exclusively.

I will admit that I sometimes had a hard time remembering to put the 2 medicines on so frequently. I was shooting for 4 times a day with the Mederma, but usually ended up only remembering to use it 3 times a day (when I woke up, when changing clothes after work, and before going to bed). The StriVectin is only supposed to be applied 3 times a day.

More info on the competition:

I realize that this is a Mederma review, but it feels unfair to sing the praises of the other product without providing some information on it. Those who only wanted to read about Mederma can skip to the next section…

Formulated expressly for stretch marks (not scars), StriVectin claims to decrease both the length and depth of the stretch marks, as well as increase the thickness and firmness of the skin. In my experiences, I can vouch for the better length and depth, as well as the skin-thickness, but really didn’t feel much difference in the firmness (because with my poor stretched skin I really could stand some additional skin-firmness there).

StriVectin is much more expensive than Mederma (I got mine for $108.00), but at 6oz you also get a lot more. To compare directly, you pay $18 per ounce for StriVectin, versus $13 per ounce for Mederma.

The manufacturer also markets StriVectin as an anti-wrinkle cream, but I have not used it in that capacity.

Unlike Mederma, StriVectin is not for use by children under the age of 18. It cannot be used by pregnant or nursing women. I had to discontinue my use when my husband and I decided it was time to start trying for child #2. I should add that after I stopped using the product, my skin did not revert back at all — I can still see the improvements it made to the worst of my stretch marks. I am looking forward to using it again, on ALL of my stretch marks, when we’ve finished expanding our little family. ↩