Weddingbee Blog

In the year leading up to my wedding, I tried to take really good care of my skin. I got regular facials, and used them as a “reward” for going to the gym. If I went to the gym at least 4 times in a week, I’d treat myself to a facial. It was a good system, albeit pricey, but it got me feeling good for our wedding day. I’d check out the micro dermabrasion specials they’d occasionally run with longing eyes, wishing I could afford a series of treatments. But between paying vendors, and buying up every craft product known to man, I couldn’t really afford to plunk down the $1K for a series of sessions. Honestly, the facials were great and relaxing, the expensive products I would often buy were luxurious, but they both really didn’t DO much for my skin.  I’m sure I got less acne, but past damage to my skin from sun and acne wasn’t really being corrected.  To get that, I needed something deeper, but couldn’t justify the expense.

Even after the wedding, long after all the debts have been paid, I still wanted to try micro derm, but still couldn’t pull the trigger. A year of long work hours had left me a little haggard, and I finally thought it was time to treat my face to something… anything. I talked to my esthetician, and she said that I’d be a great candidate for micro dermabrasion, but that they carried a skincare line called Obagi Nu-Derm that a few women in her family had been using with amazing, longer lasting results. I told her my main goal was to be able to not wear foundation, and instead just use a light dusting of Colorescience Suncanny foundation, which I love, but doesn’t provide enough coverage for my uneven skin.

My issues: I don’t have “bad” skin. But I have far, far, far from “good” skin. I’m not prone to breakouts, but my skin is all-around uneven. I take decent care of my skin, wash with good products, and always use  daytime products with SPF. Rather than just describe my skin to you, here’s a picture of me, raw-faced, 2 weeks ago on day 1, prior to any treatment (yes, crazy of me to post my face like this… but I’m seeing results, and am really excited about sharing it with you!).

Wow. I just totally posted a picture of my shiny-ass non made-up face. Wow.

So, prior to starting Obagi, you can see that I’ve got red little pocks from acne of a younger day, lots of redness, and my cheeks have this “bleached out” pink look. I’m in the early early stages of getting fine lines, as well. For an Asian woman, my skin is pretty horrible.

I will warn you, right off the bat, that Obagi Nu-Derm isn’t cheap. I paid around $500 for the starter kit and the tube of prescription medication that comes along with it (Tretinoin, a acid form of Vitamin A… you’ll most commonly hear it called Retin-A). I’ve found the system online for cheaper (here for $340), but it does not include the Tretinoin cream, which is available by prescription only (and makes for a decent portion of the cost of the product). That being said, it’s still cheaper than an effective round of micro dermabrasion, and results are said to last longer than micro dermabrasion. The downside of the comparison is that being on Obagi, especially in the first few weeks, is much more painful (I like to use the word “uncomfortable, because I haven’t really felt any “pain”) than micro dermabrasion.

Here is Obagi Nu-Derm’s promise, from their website:

I was planning on being a month into the system before posting about it, but I’ve just completed two weeks and I’m actually really impressed by the improvement I’m already seeing. Stay tuned to follow my journey!

Has anyone out there used Obagi, or had a friend that has used it? Were you/they happy with the results? If there are any skincare experts out there, I’d love to hear an Obagi vs micro dermabrasion debate, as well!