Is Profhilo (hyaluronic acid) effective for treating stretch marks on the legs of a woman of childbearing age, possibly due to pregnancy?

Profhilo for Stretch Marks on Legs

Profhilo (hyaluronic acid) is not recommended for treating stretch marks on the legs, as there is no evidence supporting its effectiveness for this indication. 1

Evidence for Stretch Mark Treatment

Hyaluronic Acid Has Weak Evidence for Prevention Only

• Hyaluronic acid has only weak evidence for preventing stretch marks during pregnancy, not for treating existing ones. 2
• The evidence for hyaluronic acid is limited to topical application during pregnancy for prevention, not injectable formulations like Profhilo for treatment of established striae. 2
• A Cochrane systematic review found no high-quality evidence to support the use of any topical preparations (including hyaluronic acid) for preventing stretch marks during pregnancy. 3

What Actually Works: PRP-Based Combination Therapy

The most recent and highest-quality guideline evidence (2025) demonstrates that autologous platelet concentrates (APCs/PRP) combined with other modalities show significant improvement for treating stretch marks. 1

Effective combination approaches include:

• PRP + CO2 laser: Most promising results with better patient satisfaction and fewer side effects compared to other combinations. 1
• PRP + microneedling: Significant subjective and objective improvement. 1
• PRP + intradermal radiofrequency (RF): Demonstrated improvement. 1
• PRP + pulsed dye laser (PDL): Effective but less so than CO2 laser combinations. 1

Histological Evidence of Improvement

When PRP is combined with energy-based devices, histopathological studies show:

• Improvement in epidermal atrophy and increased epidermal thickness. 1
• Increase in rete ridges formation. 1
• Normalized orientation of dermal collagen fibers. 1
• Decrease in perivascular inflammatory infiltrate. 1

Clinical Recommendations

For a woman of childbearing age with stretch marks on legs:

1. Initiate treatment early - earlier intervention yields better outcomes. 1
2. Use combination therapy - PRP alone is insufficient; it must be combined with energy-based devices (CO2 laser preferred, or microneedling/RF as alternatives). 1
3. Avoid further triggers - counsel on avoiding excessive weight gain/loss and chronic corticosteroid use. 1

Important Caveats

• Profhilo specifically has no published evidence for stretch mark treatment and should not be used for this indication. 1
• Stretch marks are therapeutically challenging, and even the best current modalities show only modest improvement. 1
• There is much variability in treatment outcomes, though positive results can achieve good clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction. 1
• No standardized assessment scale exists for evaluating stretch mark severity, making outcome comparison difficult. 1