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Wed Jul 18, 2007 10:00 am  |
Well, you have your say...
As for me, I have been using Obagi since approx. 5 years, and I have never look back! 
I am a believer of Obagi products because my skin was really really in very bad shape years ago!
If you want to use other products, that is your choice... I choiced to keep Obagi products...
Perhaps some people have different reaction maybe?
quote="RMB"]There seems to be a lot of talk about fading dark spots recently, maybe because it's summer. There are posts about Meloderm, Cosmelan, and a lot on Obagi. I really don't know which one is better.
Anyway, isn't the only "secret" with Obagi the idea of combining the use of hydroquinone, AHAs, and Retin-A?
I'm just looking over the Nu-Derm lineup and it's:
1. Obagi Nu-Derm Foaming Gel / Obagi Nu-Derm Gentle Cleanser (Which I think are just designed to be gentle cleansers, nothing special.)
2. Obagi Nu-Derm Toner (Which I think is just a pH-balancing toner, nothing special.)
3. Obagi Nu-Derm Clear (4% hydroquinone)
4. Obagi Nu-Derm Exfoderm® Forte (AHAs, I don't know the percentage.) / Obagi Nu-Derm Exfoderm
5. Obagi Nu-Derm Blender® (More hydroquinone to be used with Tretinoin cream.)
6. Obagi Nu-Derm Healthy Skin Protection SPF 35 / Obagi Nu-Derm Sunfader SPF 15 (4% hydroquinone) / Obagi Nu-Derm Physical UV Block SPF 32 (Which I think are just run-of-the-mill sunblocks, one with added hydroquinone.)
When I say nothing special, I'm not saying they aren't good products. I'm just saying I don't think you need to go Obagi on those. You could probably use a good cleanser from another brand that's even gentler than Obagi's and have even better results. Obagi is proabably just afraid a lot of people might be using really harsh cleansers, when that can't be good with all the exfoliation going on, so they take care of the whole routine.
It seems only the Clear, Exfoderm, and Blender with Tretinoin are key when going with Obagi. The thing is, I don't see the need to go with Obagi in the first place.
I think you pay for maybe some product "synergy", but it seems to me Obagi's idea is pretty shotgun-force to begin with, so it doesn't matter that much what products you use as long as the idea is the same. And it seems the idea is just crazy amounts of exfoliation with good ingredients like AHAs and Retin-A plus lots of hydroquinone.
I mean normally you're getting a lot of exfoliation with Tretinoin. And you wouldn't use a daily peel product on top of that or else you wouldn't be able to go to work. But Obagi is saying, yes, combine a daily peel and Retin-A and peel like crazy. And normally we would be freaked out by so much peeling, but because it's part of the "Obagi system" we stick through it.
Anyway, the point of all this is I think 6 weeks of a strong daily peel, plus Tretinoin, plus hydroquinone, plus the good cleansers, toners, and sunblocks we read on here will give you an Obagi experience without having to buy the Obagi system.
Also, I think hydroquinone works (but isn't safe) for making the skin lighter. But I don't think it does that much for existing dark spots. I think thanks go to exfoliation.[/quote] |
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