A doctor has shared advice for anyone who wishes to improve the appearance of stretch marks.The advice was shared by Dr Noman Mohamed, MBBS BSc MRCGP, who describes himself as a London-based aesthetics doctor with a keen interest in cosmetic dermatology. He also has thousands of social media followers, where he often shares skincare advice.

On TikTok, where Dr Mohamed has over 400k followers as @Drnomzzy, he recently shared a video for people trying to improve their stretch marks. Addressing viewers, Dr Mohamed claimed that three commonly used remedies probably won't make a difference to stretch marks, before sharing the ingredients he recommends using instead.

Dr Mohamed told social media users: "This is crucial to know if you're going to stand any chance at improving your stretch marks, because a stretch mark is basically a type of scar. It happens due to the destruction of collagen and elastin in the skin due to rapid stretching of the skin. Now, they are completely normal.

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"However, if you want to improve their appearance, then that is also completely normal. So here are three things that actually work because that vitamin E oil, shea butter, and cocoa butter, they're probably not gonna work."

He continued: "So the first thing is hyaluronic acid serum or moisturiser daily. Massage it in. The second thing is tretinoin, again, daily. You can't use tretinoin if you're pregnant. And the last thing is anything with centella in there.

"For example, the La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume is a great example of that. Now, the most important thing for you to realise is that you can only do something about them with skincare alone once they are red. Once they turn white, it's game over. So then you need to think about microneedling (...) or even chemical peels."

According to the NHS, stretch marks are very common. The advice page explains: "They're harmless and often get less visible over time." People may be more likely to get stretch marks if they are pregnant, they lose or gain weight quickly, or they have a family member with stretch marks.

The advice continues: "Stretch marks usually fade over time but may not disappear completely. Many creams and lotions claim to prevent, reduce or remove stretch marks.

"But there's very little evidence these work. There are some treatments that may help make stretch marks look better, but they will not get rid of them."

The NHS said treatments that may help to improve the appearance of stretch marks include microdermabrasion, laser treatments, retinoid (often called tretinoin) creams, or hyaluronic acid. However, these treatments are not available on the NHS.

More information about stretch marks is available on the NHS website.