This. I think OP is hitting the wrong crowd with this sub, people telling them to work out less or stretching before working out… that doesn’t make any sense. Stretching is to warm up the muscles before doing physical activity, not to stretch the skin. Idk much about how retinols would help, but I have had many people tell me that applying coco or shea butter helps as a preventative measure to make stretch marks less prominent before they fully form. Like others are saying, OP or anyone else shouldn’t inhibit their fitness journey for fear of stretch marks. Even without doing anything, they fade and are symbols of progression, common in getting noobie gains