I feel your pain! I have reddish/purplish stretch marks, mostly on my stomach. I even have them above and below my belly button, I've never had a kid, but have the stretch marks of somebody who has been pregnant with twins!!!
I think color and severity depend on skin type maybe? I'm very fair skinned and prone to hyper pigmentation.
I'm going to try the vitamin E oil! I actually have a bottle of it handy, I use it on my ears. Does anybody know how long it takes to see results?