Obagi Nu Derm - please help
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Sun May 21, 2017 6:34 am

Hi guys, I'm a 32 year old female. Acne since age 10 has left me with scarring, large pores and post inflammatory hyperpigmentation and just gross skin really. I've started obagi nu derm around 3.5 weeks ago. I use the blender with 0.1% retin a. I'm feeling really down as my face is BRIGHT RED, tight, sore and no major peeling is happening, just lots of little flaking here and there. The colour and texture is simply awful. I haven't went out of the house for the past few days at all. I can see a lightening of my hyperpigmentation i think - it's hard to tell as the skin is so red!!!! My face looks so dreadful, wrinkly and crepe like texture. I don't know whether i should reduce the retin a and exfoderm to a few times a week instead of daily to try and decrease the redness, stinging and tight feeling on face or whether to quit altogether. I have a presentation to do tomorrow in front of 300 people and i just feek like they will be staring at the mess that is my face. I'm not normally a quitter, but the system is exacerbating all the negative and self conscious feelings i already have about my skin and i look in the mirror and want to cry. I knew to expect all these things, I just didn't realise that i'd be such a baby about it all. Is it worth persevering? Anyone who can offer any advice, I'd be so grateful.

Sun May 21, 2017 4:44 pm

Hi - I feel so bad for you! I've done the Obagi Nu-derm system several times and can relate to what you are going through.

First, did you buy the products from a doctor or dermo? If this is your first time on the system, you really should be consulting with a licensed professional about how often to use each step. It's probably one of the strongest (if not THE strongest) skincare line you could use.

From my personal experience, I used a much gentler strength of retin A (.025% and worked my way up to .05% over 2 years). There's no way I would ever try the .1%. I would look like a tomato!

Also, I didn't use the retin A/Blender every night. I used it every other. In addition, I used step 4 (the exfoliator) every other morning as well. I still got wonderful results (all my melasma went away - temporary).

I eventually went off of Obagi because even with this modified system, my face was still chronically red, dry and irritated. As soon as I stopped, all my melasma came back and probably 100x worse.

I would try to back off of the more harsh steps and see how your face responds.

Sun May 21, 2017 5:01 pm

Hi! Thanks so much for your reply. I'm in the UK so the nu derm system system isn't available here, and hydroquinone is banned. So I ordered mine on the internet. I know I shouldn't do it this way, but I feel I have no choice! I hate my skin!!! I will definitely take your advice and reduce steps 4 and 5 to a few times a week. I've also ordered retin-a 0.05% so I think I'll switch to it when it arrives to see if my face tolerates it better. In your opinion, do you think obagi was worth it? You said your melasma returned? Did you notice an improvement in texture or pores of your skin? At what stage/week in the process of the 18 weeks did your face start to look normal again? I see so many posts from ladies on the internet saying their skin was so good they didn't have to wear any makeup. I cannot see this happening to my face any time soon, it's just a red horrible mess!! I'm very grateful you have replied, thanks again

Sun May 21, 2017 7:03 pm

Everybody's skin is different so my experience might not reflect what happens to you, so please take it with a grain of salt.

I was on Obagi Nuderm for 2 years alternating between the routine I mentioned above, and a maintenance program my nurse put me on.

The first 6-8 weeks my skin was red, dry, irritated and was constantly peeling. After about 8 weeks, my skin started to look really good, still a little red and dry, but not nearly as bad as the first month or two. (It never stopped peeling. Even after two years.)

Once I went on my maintenance program my melasma came back, much darker and in places I had never had it before. So after 4 months of maintenance, I went back on the full program again. Again, my face got better and then went back on maintenance. I did this for two years. Each time I saw less and less improvement.

By the end of two years, my skin was a mess. My skin went from looking pretty good, to extremely tender, thin looking and feeling (it felt like tissue paper), my pores looked bigger and was very sensitive. I don't know if it was the constant exfoliation, or if my skin had just had enough of the retin A and hydroquinone. I had to stop. My skin was almost painful to the touch.

I went from Obagi to Skinmedica (which did nothing for me). I tried SkinCeuticals, Mybody, Paula's Choice and everything in between. My skin today looks 100x worse then before I started obagi.

I have mixed feelings about the program because on one hand, it does work, but on the other, if not used properly, I personally think it's too strong for your skin in the long run.

I'm now using Hydropeptide and just ordered The Ordinary's Alpha Arbutin. If this doesn't work, I might go on a VERY modified version of Obagi. I might try the exfoliator for dry skin 1-2x a week and Differin (a very gentle form of Retin A) and #3 a couple times a week.

All I can say is pay attention to your skin. If your skin is inflamed, you're doing too much. You'll still see results if you back off a bit. And always wear sunscreen! ALWAYS.

free skin care · Thu May 03, 2018 10:02 am

Yes, I have been with Nuderm on and off for a several years. While I was using Obagi, my dark spot and freckles were disappeared. But When I got off Nuderm, my freckles and dark spots came back so I started Nuderm system again for another 12 weeks. This was a 6th times already. But as you said my skin got so sensitive and thin.
I shouldn't use that chemical anyway but it works for me for my dark spot and freckles. I don't know what to do.

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