Obagi Nu-Derm Regimen
Since the Obagi Nu-Derm system is the most popular skin care line made by Obagi, I made a seperate page detailing the Obagi Nu-Derm regimen. This is the basice regimen... If you go through a dermatologist or plastic surgeon or spa, then please follow your professional's instructions. By the way, I found an online skin store where you can not only buy Obagi products for a really good price, but where the customer service reps are licensed aestheticians themselves. That was a huge advantage for me, because I could ask them any personal skin related question (that was relevant to my skin) and they answered it.... a real anxiety buster for me... They also helped me choose the product that was best for my skin type. It's a professional online skin care store called SkincareRx. Another advantage they have is that they're headed by a doctor, so you can get a tretinoin cream (like Retin-a) from them without a prescription from your derm. If you want you can link to them here.
(Here's the Obagi skin care products again... just in case you want a second look!)
Okay, so here's the Obagi Nu-Derm regimen:
Morning:
Cleanser - Apply to wet face, rinse with lukewarm water and gently pat dry. Don't rub your skin with a towel. (This prepares your skin and makes it more receptive to the Obagi Nu-Derm process.)
Toner - Apply to entire face with a cotton ball or cotton square, avoiding the eye area. (Again, it prepares your skin and makes it more receptive to the Obagi Nu-Derm process.)
Clear - Apply Clear evenly on the entire face, extending to the hairline, over the ears and ending with a feathering motion. (Applying the Clear and the Exfoderm [below] repairs the skin's surface, improving hyperpigmentation (sun and age spots) and uneven skin tone while smoothing skin roughness)
Exfoderm or Exfoderm Forte - Apply evenly over entire face, avoiding the eye area. Wait until the cream is absorbed. (Exfoderm is an exfoliant, with Exfoderm Forte being much stronger than Exfoderm.) Since the Exfoderm is an exfoliant, it sort of accelerates the peeling... Applying Exfoderm is kind of optional; not everyone does it.
Healthy Skin Protection SPF 35, Sunfader, or Physical UV Block SPF 35 - This prevents further damage from harmful UVA and UVB rays. Note: Prolonged sun exposure should be avoided for the first month. (For your information: lots of people don't like the Sunfader; they like the Healthy Skin Protection better)
Night:
Cleanser - Apply to wet face, rinse with lukewarm water and gently pat dry. Don't rub your skin with a towel. (This prepares your skin and makes it more receptive to the Obagi Nu-Derm process.)
Toner - Apply to entire face with a cotton ball or cotton square, avoiding the eye area. (Again, it prepares your skin and makes it more receptive to the Obagi Nu-Derm process.)
Clear - Apply Clear evenly on the entire face, extending to the hairline, over the ears and ending with a feathering motion.
Blender & Tretinoin - Mix tretinoin (ex. Retin-A) and Blender equally in your palm into a combined mixture and apply evenly on the entire face, extending to the hairline, over the ears and ending with a feathering motion. You can start with .05 tretinoin to see how your skin tolerates it. When you're comfortable with .05 you can continue to .1 tretinoin. If .05 is too strong, you can start with .025 and increase it when your skin can tolerate it. As mentioned above, I found a trusted online skin care store where you can get tretinoin without a prescription, because it's headed by a doctor. You can check it out here.
If your eye area feels very dry, you can apply the Obagi Eye Cream.
You can apply the Action cream sparingly, only when your skin is uncomfortably dry from peeling or flaking.
You can apply Tolereen (a low dose hydrocortisone lotion) when you experience itching, burning or redness.
Maintenance:
Okay, your skin is glowing and smooth. Here are a few ways that you can maintain your Obagi Nu-Derm results (you worked hard for it; enjoy it!):
1) Use your Cleanser and Toner on a daily basis and apply a Sunblock (any of the 3) during the day. Clear, Blender and the tretinoin cream twice a week. Do the complete Obagi Nu-Derm system for 4 weeks every 2-3 months.
2) Use Clear 3 times a week. Blender and tretinoin 3-5 times a week, depending on your pigmentation issues. Play around with the Blender/tretinoin combination to see the minimum times that you have to apply and still maintain your Obagi Nu-Derm results.
3) Cleanser, Toner, and Sunblock every day and the full Obagi Nu-Derm system Mondays and Thursdays.
Play around and see for yourself which Obagi products you need to apply so that your pigmentation issues (or whatever) doesn't come back and you stay with the fantastic results you so painstakingly worked for!!
