Apothederm Stretch Mark Cream || Recap - Was It Worth The Money?

Apothederm is a luxury skincare brand that relies more on the synthetic than the natural but when it comes to problematic skin and body issues most consumers are willing to try anything to avoid surgery. After having three babies and having pre-eclampsia (which Kim Kardashian did in her first pregnancy, do you remember how big she got? well the same happened to me) this made my body double in size from 7.5 stone to 15 stone. It's fair to say I have some hefty stretch marks.

My stretch marks range from very fine and silvery lines behind my knees, on one arm and are on my stomach - the marks lower down my stomach actually look like burn scars and are so thin and scar-like that they use to upset me. I've always been someone who's had stretch marks even from being a teenager so I knew I would be rocking some major tiger stripes after having my bambinos I just didn't realise how bad they could become. Looking back to when I was pregnant and seeing what body changes I have now after having my three sons I honestly wouldn't change a thing.

About a year and a bit ago I decided to try and do something about them because I wasn't always so comfortable in my own skin, it's definitely a recent change but it lead me to purchase Apothederm Stretch Mark Cream which had amazing reviews but cost £63.99 - a lot of money but given the reviews I was willing to give it a go. In my original review, over on the old blog, I had discussed the cream but never did a recap at twelve weeks so figured I'd recap you on this blog.

The cream is 160g and boasts that 90% of users see visible results within twelve weeks, the cream contains Shea butter, cocoa butter and olive oil which work at moisturising the skin and are ingredients found in many skin care products. The scientific big hitters in the blend are heptapeptide-7 and resveratrol.

✓Heptapeptide-7 | This ingredient helps to defend against deterioration of cells that cause aging and works to boost the keratinocytes which promote tight, radiant and youthful skin.

✓Resveratrol | This ingredient has been majorly hyped by brands and bloggers across the board but what many don't realise is that it's become a fad ingredient. Hype doesn't necessarily equal effective and resveratrol unfortunately isn't effective - *pop* bubble burst.

It's mostly found in the skins of red grapes and it works as an antioxidant benefitting many diseases including skin disease. It prevents against oxidative stress and cutaneous damage which increases the signs of ageing which in an ideal world makes it a great contender for the anti-ageing market - the only problem with resveratrol is while it's fantastic these awesome benefits don't translate to the human body due to a lack of bioavailability.

When we consume anything or put things onto the body they're metabolised meaning they're used by the body either for better or worse. The issue with resveratrol is that they can't get it to metabolise slow enough for it to actually benefit our body (although they've tried and continue to try) and they've found it's usually fully metabolised within thirty minutes after taking a supplement, as you can imagine that means that direct application fairs even worse. Most brands fail to inform their consumers that while it's an utterly amazing ingredient it doesn't actually transfer it's greatness to our body so you're really having a placebo effect.

So was the cream any good?

I found that the cream did an excellent job at moisturising, it absorbs really well and didn't feel greasy. Would I have paid over £60 for a cream that just hydrated? absolutely not but then I've definitely learnt a lesson. I applied this twice a day, every single day until the bottle was done and saw no difference in my stretch marks - they didn't fade, they didn't improve and none became less visible. At the time of purchase I wasn't aware of how effective the ingredients would be as I had only begun my postgraduate degree (I'm aiming to become a doctor) and I suppose I was drawn in by the 'hype' and the amazing reviews. I do feel a little bit silly at spending so much on a placebo effect standard moisturiser but I can assure you any more purchases will be fully reviewed ahead of clicking 'buy' and of course I'll update you with anything that genuinely helps the skin.

Do you have any recommendations for skin care?