Obagi Update Part I

I started the Obagi Nu-Derm line last Thursday (October 25th) evening, right after coming home from the local medi-spa's Open House. I'd spoken to the Obagi representative there -- tall, blond, leggy...you get the picture -- and was dazzled by her confidence in the product and in its ability to give me the perfect skin I've long desired.

(Yeah, I know, she's the damn salesperson. She's supposed to be confident in the product and in its ability to work miracles. What can I say? I said I was dazzled.)

Anyhoo. So I started using the products as outlined in the instruction sheet provided for me by the dermatologist I consulted with at Belo Medical Clinic in Manila. The kit included:

• 1 full-sized bottle of the Foaming Gel cleanser for Normal/Oily Skin
• 1 full-sized bottle of Toner
• 2 full-sized tubes of Clear, a 4% hydroquinone cream
  
• 1 full-sized tube of Exfoderm for Normal/Dry Skin, an exfoliant
• 1 full-sized tube of Blender, also a hydroquinone cream and intended to be mixed with Tretinoin
• 1 small tube of Healthy Skin Protection SPF 35 sunblock (active ingredients: Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide)
• 1 small tube of Physical UV Block SPF 32 (active ingredient: 18% [!] zinc oxide)
• 1 pot Belo house brand Age Defying Cream with .1% Tretinoin
• 1 small bottle Belo house brand Acne Astringent with the antibiotic Clindamyacin
• 1 glass bottle MD Therapy Triseryl "intensive eye zone serum" (not a Belo brand)

Yes, this was going to be a complicated system.

The routine I was provided was thus:

MORNING
Wash face with gel cleanser
Apply acne astringent with cotton pad
Apply 1 gm (about the size from the tip of your pinky finger to the 1st joint) of Clear, massage into skin
Apply 1 gm of Exforderm, massage into skin
Pat Triseryl gently around eyes
Apply Healthy Skin SPF 35

EVENING
Wash face with gel cleanser
Apply toner with cotton pad
Apply acne astringent with cotton pad
Apply 1 gm of Clear, massage into skin
Apply 1 gm mixed with 1/2 gm (pea-sized) of Age Defying Cream, massage into skin
Pat Triseryl gently around eyes

If you include waiting a minute or two (or more, depending on the product just applied) between each step to let the skin absorb each product, the whole regimen took at least 15 minutes each morning and evening. Believe it or not, I actually didn't mind, as I'm of the belief that if something works for you, it's worth the effort. In addition, I've always been such a beauty junkie that the whole process felt quite, well, European. Very pampering.

Tomorrow I'll post about my first round on the Obagi treatment, in Manila, about 3-4 weeks ago.