Avent Indulgent Body Cream

Philips AVENT Indulgent Body Cream is designed to combat stretchmarks in pregnancy – and even if there’s no guarantee it can do this, you skin will still feel soft, not greasy and itch-free.

Philips AVENT are better known for their feeding bottles, monitors and steriliser units, but they also make skincare products including the Philips AVENT Indulgent Body Cream, a massage cream aimed at mums-to-be. It’s designed to moisturise, tone and fight stretchmarks. I was actually recommended this cream by a friend who swore by it, and who didn’t get any of those telltale purple marks herself.

Philips AVENT Indulgent Body Cream is hypoallergenic and the ingredients include shea butter and almond oil to moisturise and soften skin, marine extracts to improve skin elasticity, and papaya oil, which decongests tissues.

What we love

While pregnant, I found Philips AVENT Indulgent Body Cream absorbed easily without being greasy, or feeling uncomfortable under clothes, and it left my skin lovely and soft. It had a nice, fresh aroma without being too overly perfumed, like some body creams.

While it’s a fairly light cream, it does feel luxurious when you massage it in, and its formula is meant to improve your skin’s elasticity as you become bigger. I used this cream fairly regularly while pregnant and I didn’t get any stretchmarks at all, so it’s possible it did have some effect. I didn’t suffer from ‘itchy’ tummy either, another condition it’s said to counter.

I also liked the price – when you’re a mum-to-be it’s easy to be pressured into spending a fortune on expensive products that may not work any better than cheap ones.

Philips AVENT Indulgent Body Cream is dermatologically approved for use both before and after birth, though you’re advised not to use it on the nipple area when breastfeeding.

What to watch out for

As with all stretchmark creams, you need to remember to use regularly, such as every day. Of course, it’s impossible to know for sure if a cream really has worked, but we pregnant women feel obliged to smother ourselves just in case. Well, I certainly did.

While Philips AVENT Indulgent Body Cream is pocket-friendly at a only a few pounds per tube, you will have to buy several over the course of nine months, if you want to use it in the morning and before bed all over your tummy, thighs, buttocks and breasts, as is recommended.

While my skin felt fairly moisturised during pregnancy, after I had my baby it became quite dry, and I switched to an oil which I found gave me extra moisture.

The tube’s packaging is perhaps not the most appealing and pretty, if that’s important to you.

Who is Philips AVENT Indulgent Body Cream best for?

Mums-to-be on a budget attempting to prevent stretchmarks.

skin’s outer layers to improve moisture levels and ensure suppleness.