My Stretch Marks Journey with The Clifford Clinic

A common and annoying side effect of motherhood leftover from pregnancy are stretch marks. My tummy was stretched so much during pregnancy that I started seeing stretch marks from as early as 28 weeks. My skin has always been on the thinner and dry side, and I was so affected that at the end of my pregnancy, the skin below my belly button was filled with thick, dark lines of stretch marks.

Thankfully, Dr Gerard Ee from The Clifford Clinic managed to help me get back my clear skin with their stretch marks removal treatments that I can be confident in! Read on to see how!

First, let me show you a "before" picture of my stretch marks. This was taken when I was about 3 months postpartum.

And this was taken when I was 9 months pregnant, due at 40 weeks. My baby was born few days after. So this was my biggest baby bump! Don't you think these stretch marks made my belly look like a watermelon? Hahaha!

I have to say that after EVERY SINGLE treatment, the improvement is very obvious. The top picture was taken during my first visit and the bottom picture was taken during my second visit. Just one treatment and results can already be seen! Super fast!

So what are the treatments I have done? Firstly, I did a Fraxel Dual laser, a skin resurfacing laser designed to renew and rejuvenate aging or damaged skin which is exceptionally effective at addressing stretch marks. Unlike most other lasers, which tend to affect the entire targeted area, Fraxel laser works by delivering laser energy in microscopic columns to the treatment area. The laser energy stimulates collagen production and remodelling in the treatment zones to level out the indentations and uneven skin. The resurfacing effects of the laser also clears out most discolouration that the stretch marks may have.

Now after hearing about this laser treatment, many have asked me, is this painful? Well I can tell you happily that it's not! My pain tolerance is pretty low so I was initially also afraid of the pain. However, two layers of numbing cream will be applied on your treatment area and left to sit for around 30-40 minutes before the treatment itself, and it works wonders!

Additionally, the laser treatment itself is very fast and efficient. It only takes about one minute for the whole treatment to be over! Afterwards, it's time to let the skin heal on its own. The healing is also a fuss-free process because the skin area will be red for only the next 24 hours or so, and that's the only indication that you've done anything to it. After the skin has sufficiently recovered over several weeks, the next Fraxel Laser session can commence. The cycle can be repeated until the stretch marks have faded! 

This was taken after three treatment sessions. Can you see the major difference? I'm so happy! Don't have to shun away from wearing bikini my whole life!

Oh and to target the red and brown pigmentation of my stretch marks, I did the Q-Switch Laser and the VBeam Laser as well.

Q-Switch Laser treatment is used to remove unwanted spots and marks on the affected area effectively. It generates a non-invasive high-energy laser pulse at a specific wavelength on the targeted area. The pigments are broken down in smaller fragments to be absorbed by the skin, before being naturally cleared away by the body. 

As for the Vbeam Laser Treatment, it is a pulsed-dye laser with an intense but gentle burst of light in long pulses onto the skin. The longer pulse delivers laser energy to selectively targeted blood vessels without adversely affecting the surrounding tissue. The resultant effect is a gentle heating effect and uniform coagulation. The treated blood vessels are gradually absorbed by the body during the natural healing process.

Now are you ready to see my tummy after ONLY five treatment sessions?

TADA~~~

Can you feel my happiness radiating off the screen?! Thank you so much to Dr Gerard Ee and The Clifford Clinic for the great job done!

Stretch marks are a very common problem, especially amongst us women during or after pregnancy. However, we should not let them mar our lives, especially since they can be easily addressed with modern laser treatments! Phew, so thankful we are living in this era where such treatments are readily available.

Contact The Clifford Clinic at +65 6532 2400 to book a consultation! Also feel free to drop me an email at chengkaiting@gmail.com or a dm on Instagram @kaitinghearts if you have any questions about my postpartum journey.

xoxo, kaitinghearts