What skin care products do you use? Neutrogena, Oil of Olay (if you’re a little older)? If you’ve found one that works well for you then there’s no need to change. But if you are indeed looking for a change, or curious what else may be out there, Obagi is one to consider. Obagi has been around for many years and continues to lead a loyal following. Obagi has several different skin care lines but the most common is the daily-use NuDerm system.
From cleansing the face of impurities to treating fine lines and blemishes, Obagi’s NuDerm system has everything you need on a daily basis. While there are several steps that may appear daunting at first, they are clearly numbered (as seen above) and labeled as to which should be used in the morning, the evening or both.
Step 1
The Gentle Cleanser is used in the shower as a straightforward facial wash that won’t dry out your skin. This is used morning and night.
Step 2
The Toner is to further cleanse the skin of impurities after you get out of the shower but more importantly, or at least, as important, it brings your skin to a more balanced pH which simply means you will better absorb the skin care products that come after Toner.
Step 3
Clear is a pharmaceutical-grade product that lightens the skin, particularly dark age spots and blemishes. The active ingredient in Clear is hydroquinone which can’t be bought over the counter. While there are many non-pharmaceutical alternatives, they don’t work as well.
Step 4
Exfoderm/Exfoderm Forte is basically a very light at-home chemical peel. It’s not as aggressive as your aesthetician’s chemical peel but it does help with everyday exfoliation as the name suggests.
Step 5
Here’s a little secret. Blender is the same as Clear. It’s hydroquinone, the pharmaceutical-grade bleaching cream as found in step 3. The only difference here is that you combine Blender with Retin A, another pharmaceutical-grade product that helps with skin health, cell turnover and fine lines (sold separately because there are 3 different strengths to choose from). I guess it was too confusing to tell the consumer to use Retin A as the 5th step in combination with the 3rd step so they just repeated step 3 as step 5! That’s all fine but remember, when you run out of Blender (step 5), you can use Clear (step 3) in combination with your Retin A.
Step 6
Hydrate is probably the most popularly sold Obagi product. It’s a moisturizer that feels like silk! Use it at least twice daily or more if you like the way it feels.
Step 7
And finally, top it all off with a daily sunscreen, the Obagi Matte, with SPF 50. After all of this, your makeup is ready for application.
I know it sounds like a lot but an additional 3 minutes in the morning and less at night will lead to smoother, more youthful looking skin that your friends and family will be the envy of! Also, click here to see what Obagi NuDerm products Dr. Kaplan sells online. Just look for the BuyNow button under the list of Products, purchase and Dr. Kaplan’s office will mail the products to your doorstep!
Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Jonathan Kaplan for BuildMyBod.
