Where to start with Obagi if you have never used medical skincare

Most people arrive at medical skincare from the same place. A drawer with eleven half used bottles in it, none of which changed anything.

The difference with a range like Obagi is not simply that it is stronger, although parts of it are. It is that it is built as a system, with an order and a timeline, and it assumes somebody is supervising it. That supervision is most of the value. Used without it, medical skincare is an efficient way to give yourself a damaged barrier and a red, sore face.

So this is a plain guide to the ranges, who each one suits, and how to begin.

What medical grade actually means

It is not a legally protected phrase, which is worth knowing before anyone uses it at you.

In practice it means three things. Higher concentrations of active ingredients than a shop bought product is permitted or willing to use. Formulations designed to get those actives into the skin rather than sit on it. And, for some products, a prescription element that has to be assessed for and prescribed by a qualified prescriber rather than bought off a shelf.

That last point is why an assessment comes first. It is also why we will not simply sell you a box.

The four things any routine has to do

Before the brand names, the boring part, because the boring part is what works.

Cleanse without stripping. Protect the barrier. Deliver an active that does something specific to your concern. And wear sunscreen every single day, which undoes or protects everything else.

If your current routine has six steps and no sunscreen, fixing that one thing will outperform anything you buy this year.

Obagi's staged pigmentation programme

This is the system most people have heard of, and it is aimed at pigmentation, sun damage, uneven tone and the general look of skin that has had a lot of daylight over a lot of years.

It is a staged programme rather than a product. There is an initial phase where the skin often gets worse before it gets better, with dryness, flaking and redness that typically peaks in the first few weeks. That phase is expected and it is manageable, but only if somebody has told you it is coming and is adjusting the frequency as you go.

Parts of this range include a prescription element, which is why it starts with an assessment and a consultation rather than an order. We will look at your skin, ask what you have used, ask about your medical history, and tell you honestly whether the programme suits you.

It is not a range to start in June, and it is not a range to start two weeks before a wedding.

Obagi Professional-C

Vitamin C, in serum form, at concentrations that actually do something.

This is the gentlest place for most people to begin. It is an antioxidant, so it works alongside sunscreen against daily ultraviolet and pollution damage rather than repairing anything dramatic. It brightens dullness, it helps a little with uneven tone, and it supports collagen.

It is used in the morning, under sunscreen. Different strengths suit different skin types, and starting at the highest available is a common and uncomfortable mistake. Sensitive skin should start lower.

If you want one product to add and you have never used anything active before, this is usually it.

Obagi ELASTIderm

Aimed at the eye area, where the skin is thinnest and where most general products are too harsh to use.

It targets elasticity and firmness around the eye rather than pigmentation. It is a slow one. Expect to judge it at three months, not three weeks.

The order to start in

Do not start everything at once. This is the single most common mistake and it is the reason people conclude that medical skincare did not agree with them.

Week one, get sunscreen and cleansing right and change nothing else. SPF 50, every day, all year, reapplied if you are outside.

Weeks two to four, add one active. For most people that is the vitamin C serum in the morning.

After a month, if your skin is calm, add the next thing, and only the next thing.

Any evening active goes on at night, and you build frequency slowly. Twice a week, then three times, then more, and you stop climbing when the skin objects.

And you keep going. Almost nothing in skincare shows its full result before twelve weeks.

When skincare is not the right first step

Sometimes the honest answer is that a routine will not get you there on its own.

Deep pigmentation and sun damage often respond faster to a course of chemical peels or light treatment, with the routine then holding the result. That combination is usually better value than either alone.

Melasma is its own problem. A careful routine and strict sunscreen matter enormously, and aggressive treatment can make it worse. There is more on that on the pigmentation treatment page.

Active acne, rosacea and a damaged barrier all need settling before anything strong is introduced.

How we do it at the clinic

A free consultation and skin assessment first. We look at the skin, ask what you have already tried and what happened, take your medical history, and then recommend the smallest routine that will move your particular concern.

Where a prescription element is appropriate, that is assessed and prescribed properly, with a plan for the first few weeks and a review to adjust it.

You will not be handed a full system on day one and left to it. Full details of the ranges we stock are on the Obagi page.

Where we are

Nova Beauty Clinic is at 260 East End Road, East Finchley, London N2 8AU. It is clinician-led, so the person who assesses your skin is the one who plans the routine and reviews it, and we see patients from East Finchley, Muswell Hill, Finchley Central and across London.

Bring the drawer of half used bottles if you like. It tells us a great deal.

Book a free skin consultation

A home routine works best from a clean starting point. Many clients begin with a hydrofacial in East Finchley and then build a clinic skincare routine with us.

Call 020 3925 1232 or book online. Nova Beauty Clinic, East Finchley, London N2 8AU.