The BEST Homemade Belly Butter for Fighting Stretch Marks

After I graduated from high school and entered college I gained a lot of weight really fast and then lost it quickly. (Freshmen 15? More like Freshmen 25!) Unfortunately there was something else I gained in the process while my weight went up - lots of stretch marks - mostly on my hips and thighs. So when I found out I was pregnant, I vowed to try as hard as possible to prevent the little red suckers from showing up anywhere on my body while I was gaining a healthy weight for the baby. I remember there was a homemade belly butter created by Lori Bregman mentioned in Molly Sims' book (below, it's a great read!), which I had come upon a while ago that caught my eye.

I loved that the recipe involved all-natural products and that I could make it at home myself. Here's how you can do that, too. You will need:

- 1 jar of coconut oil (even smaller than the one I used, I only used half of it)
- 1 jar of pure, organic shea butter
- 1 jar of pure, organic cocoa butter
- 1 small bottle of 400 IU or higher of Vitamin E
*I purchased all of these products (except the coconut oil which I picked up from the grocery store) from Life-Flo on Amazon.

Boil all of the ingredients in a pot, in their separate jars, EXCEPT the Vitamin E so that they melt. Once melted, pour everything into a large bowl, add the Vitamin E and mix together. Then pour all the ingredients into a large jar and put it in the fridge so it sets. It will look like this when it's ready to apply:

Store in a cool place, like underneath your sink with the lid on of course. This belly butter smells amazing and feels SO good on your skin! This concoction isn't just for pregnant women either, it's great for anyone who wants to keep their skin moisturized, hydrated, soft and free of stretch marks. Rub it on your belly, hips, thighs, chest and butt and/or anywhere else your heart desires, once or twice a day ; ). I've been using this for about four months now, I'm only halfway through the jar and so far, so good!