Week 1 - Red, hot, itchy and flaky!

I started using Obagi this week after a visit to Dr Sarah Shah as I wanted to address my pigmentation and sunspots as well as large pores and blackheads. I'm in my 30's and have been fairly lucky as I never had much spots or acne, only the occasional hormonal or stress related breakouts.

In the past I have tried glycolic acid products and mild salicylic peels from Bravura London and also Retriderm retinol serum. I also had a TCA peel 18 months ago, as such I am no stranger to strong skincare products. However, Obagi is prescription only so different to any of the other things I've used. I'm scheduled in to meet with Dr Sarah Shah again in two weeks time for a follow up consultation. She's also said I can get in touch in the meantime, if I have any questions or concerns.

I'm also fortunate enough to have a few weeks off in between jobs so it seemed like the ideal time to start a skincare regime like Obagi. Especially since I was told I will be peeling and very red for the first three to four weeks. I guess my social life will suffer a little depending on the severity...

I'm using the oily to normal Obagi Nu Derm kit with the 0.1% Tretinoin cream. It's an investment as the kit isn't exactly cheap but from the reviews I've read it's worth it. The kit contains a lot of different products, some used only in the morning and others in the evening. Either way it's simple enough as they are numbered and have am and pm written on them. Dr Sarah said I would need 15 minutes morning and evening to apply the entire regime. Ideally I should also use a clarisonic face brush for the face wash and wash for 3-4 minutes.

Here's me before...

Day 1 - Washed my face for 3 minutes with the face wash and went through all the steps as directed by Dr Sarah. I started in the evening so applied the Tretinoin cream with the blender.

Day 2 - Woke up and my face felt a little warm and was slightly pink. Nothing much changed throughout the day except for feeling a bit tight.

Day 3 - When I looked in the mirror after waking up the peeling had started overnight, especially around my eyes and mouth. I was also very red around the eyes. I had to go to the hairdresser so I applied some mineral powder around the eyes to try and cover up the redness. It worked ok, but the flakiness still showed through. After the evening regime I was completely red, the skin was itchy, felt very tight and now most of my face was peeling with the exception of the area below the cheek bones.

Day 4 - I woke up with a snake face....almost felt like I had dandruff as I kept seeing flakes coming off my face. The good news is that the red / pinkness is more even across the face. Bad news is my laughter lines are so dry I look about 20 years older. I expected this to happen so I guess I'll put some Vaseline on it to soothe as it's very, very dry. The pores on my nose and chin appear smaller already which is the second piece of good news! I went to the gym and met my trainer, he said it looked like I had a sunburn. Maybe I don't look as bad as I think?! The flakiness is bad though and gets worse as the day goes on....

Day 4

Day 4

Day 5 - My face isn't feeling so hot anymore. My lips however are SO dry and I don't even apply any cream there so it may just be the cold weather. After I applied the moisturiser to my very dry under eye area and eyelids last night it is feeling much better! I find that my face is much redder just after the cleansing and application of creams and it calms down within the half hour.

Day 5 AM

Day 5 AM This is crazy peeling...

Dr Sarah said to leave the stuff on for at least three hours before washing my face again if I go to the gym, or use the products after gym if I go in the morning. I decided against going to the gym today after seeing the crazy peeling on my chin.

Day 6 - I'm continuing to peel A LOT and my face is feeling a little tight and itchy. A couple of friends told me I look like Samantha in SATC after her chemical peel....I can only agree.

I did some YouTube watching for Obagi Nu Derm and also found this website which outlines the phases. I have it in my kit as hardcopy but here's an online version with some before and after pics. I am staying indoors again today but tomorrow is gym time!

Day 7 - Last night after applying all the creams I was redder than before (if that was even possible) and this morning I'm also extremely red. My entire face is peeling now too and my neck is itchy. It did sting to apply the creams and my face feels hot again. I'm going at this the hardcore style using the Retinoin cream every night. Since the flaking is worse in the afternoon I'm braving the gym before lunchtime. I'll let you know what my trainer says about my stoplight red face. :(

Day 7 PM  peeling is very bad