My ZO Medical Journal
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Mon Aug 26, 2013 12:35 pm

monique80 wrote:

Tomorrow I will get my kit so I will definetely keep you informed about my progress as well.

Monique80, did you start yet? I can't wait to compare notes.

I started again today, using the entire line. I am going to ease back into the Complex A slowly over this first week and see if that helps.

Good luck!

Tue Aug 27, 2013 5:12 am

Hi Ready or not!

Yes I have started, but my derm decided to start very slow and come back after three weeks after which new components will be added. My regime now is as follows:

AM:
Oilacleanse: love this suff, I feel totally clean
Scrub (only twice a week): good scrub
Ossential growth factor serum: great!
Ommerse renewal creme: optional if my skin feels dry
Oclipse sunscreen

PM:
Oilacleanse: love this suff, I feel totally clean
Ommerse overnight recovery creme: 6 mights
Brighthenex: 1 night

After 3 weeks eyecreme and tretinoine will be added (meladerm and melamix are not allowed in the Netherlands). Furthermore I will than have to build up Brighthenex to every day.

Well how do I look...actually quite ok, yesterday I applied Brightenex for the first time and expected all kinds of redness etc...well I am sitting at work and still look normal haha.

I understand that my derm wants me to start slowly, but for me it may absolutely be a little bit more harsh.

Ow and by the way: my derm explictly told me that I should stay away from the eye-area when applying Brightenex.

x Monique

Tue Aug 27, 2013 5:17 am

I said tretenoine, but of course in combination with HQ (only for 12 weeks)!

Tue Aug 27, 2013 6:24 am

Hi Ready or not!

Yes I have started, but my derm decided to start very slow and come back after three weeks after which new components will be added. My regime now is as follows:

AM:
Oilacleanse: love this suff, I feel totally clean
Scrub (only twice a week): good scrub
Ossential daily power defense: great!
Ommerse renewal creme: optional if my skin feels dry
Oclipse sunscreen

PM:
Oilacleanse: love this suff, I feel totally clean
Ommerse overnight recovery creme: 6 mights
Brighthenex: 1 night

After 3 weeks I will have to build up Brighthenex to every day. Furthermore, eyecreme, tretinoine and HQ will be added (meladerm and melamix are not allowed in the Netherlands), this will be applied maximum 12 weeks.

Well how do I look...actually quite ok, yesterday I applied Brightenex for the first time and expected all kinds of redness etc...well I am sitting at work and still look normal haha.

I understand that my derm wants me to start slowly, but for me it may absolutely be a little bit more harsh.

Ow and by the way: my derm explictly told me that I should stay away from the eye-area when applying Brightenex.

x Monique

Fri Aug 30, 2013 1:39 am

Hi,

It is now Friday, 6 days after I started ZO Medical and 4 days after the first use of Brightenex. I started flaking as of yesterday, mainly around the mouth buth also a little on the cheeks. Indeed I would also prefer to stop after the serum, because the sunscreen makes the flakes more visible. Monday I have an evening event and after that Brightenex again, then I will call to see if I can already go to 2 times a week Brightenex. How is it going for you Ready or not? I am especially interested if you already see a reduction in your brown spots?

Best of luck for the rest of your ZO medical journey!

Sat Aug 31, 2013 10:13 am

monique80: Glad the first week is going well for you!

I have been using the Complex A cream (Retin-A product) every other night this week (along with the other products) and have had much better results relating to irritation. I am still red and peeling, but my skin is not cracked and bleeding, which is a win in my book! Tonight I will start two nights back-to-back and see how I progress. I am hoping to get to every night so I can then add in the every-other morning eventually.

I did find a trick relating to peeling that I thought I would share. Are you using the Overnight Recovery cream at all? It's the last product I apply in the morning before sunscreen, and I've been adding the sunscreen after the cream has almost all soaked in, but not quite. That last little layer of overnight cream seems to help the sunscreen smooth onto my skin better, and sort of reduce the flakiness that comes with the sunscreen. Make sense?

Otherwise, Aquaphor is helping my lips & eyes not crack, so I'm happy to report I do not currently look like the Joker from Batman. Smile

I've also been using my Clarisonic on the days when I do not apply the Retin-A and it seems to help with the peelies.

Regarding seeing any progress with the brown spots, I can't say I do. But I have a mole that is considerably lighter, so something is happening!

Keep me posted on your journey!

Thu Sep 05, 2013 5:49 am

For anyone who is interested, I have an update relating to the melasma I am currently fighting.

Today I noticed an area of my face that has lightened considerably. I wasn't even looking for it, and I thought it was just the lighting, but the spots, which are just below the corner of my eye, are much lighter than when I began 3 weeks ago. Woohoo!

The rest of my face, I can't comment on, because it's all sort of pinkish and peeling, but that area was definitely more clear.

This week I'm using the Complex A cream 2 nights-on, 1 night off. Next week I'll start with 3 nights on, 1 off and progress from there.

Tue Sep 10, 2013 3:50 am

Hi readyornot, so glad for you that your melasma is fading!! I am hitting the three week mark this weekend. Then I am seeing my derm again and then I will also have to use (temporarily) a hydroquinone cream with tretenoine on the spots. My journey so far is ok. Some flakes 2 days after applying brigthenex and some redness around the eyearea. I am also seeing some reduction in the melasma, but what annoys me a little is that I also see spots that I know who weren't there before. My derm says it is completely normal, but still...Further I have a little trouble with the fact that my face is becoming so pale. My derm said I was allowed to use a tanner, but I am having trouble finding a good one. Do you face that same problem? Good luck with the rest of your journey and keep me posted!

Mon Sep 16, 2013 11:41 am

As an update, I am on Week 3 now, basically using the Complex A cream + Melamix 3 days on, 1 day off. Next week I will start using it everyday, and after I analyze my skin's response, I will start using it every other morning as well.

I am definitely seeing improvement in the melasma. The spots I mentioned last week have faded even more. I had a friend comment on how clear my skin looked, even though I feel terribly red from the Retin A.

My skin is mainly red, and a little peely, primarily on my chin & around my nose. Nothing else has peeled, which I find strange.

monique80: I am not really having a problem with pale skin since it looks red to me anyway. Maybe underneath that irritation it is slightly paler, but I can't tell! I haven't seen any new spots, but now I'll make sure and double check. Keep us posted!

Fri Nov 01, 2013 8:20 am

For anyone who cares, I thought I would provide an update of my ZO Medical journey.

I have been off of ZO for a few weeks now, primarily because of some family photos we had taken, and after, laziness. I am diving back into the regimen today, November 1.

After the peelies & redness subsided, my skin looks pretty darn good. The noticeable melasma I had around my eyes and forehead has definitely diminished. I would say my overall skin has a more even tone.

I had two individuals comment on my skin, one from a friend who just said my skin looked really good and clear. The other was from a makeup artist who commented on how even and smooth my skin was, and how healthy it appeared. That made me feel pretty good.

So, all in all, I'm pretty happy thus far with the results I've had, even if I haven't used the system in its full strength. I'll be back to it tonight, and will continue to update as needed.

free skin care · Sat May 10, 2014 4:41 am

I noticed no further updates. Why?

I want to start this line in about three months, after I finish what I have. After reading the comments, I think the introduction should be slow since this is a medical grade skin care and I hope the application is applied on lightly.

free skin care · Fri Jun 20, 2014 4:56 am

readyornot wrote:

Week 1 Summary

Well, it has begun. Red. Itchy. Dry. Flakey. Peeling. Scaly. Tight. Chapped. Cracked. Overall, I'm hideous.

I stopped the HQ & Retin-A products last night, since I have a dinner party I am throwing Friday evening. My skin is happy to have a few days off, although I am going to try not to make a habit of it.

A few thoughts:
I had to back off the eyelids and go to every night instead of morning & night. It was too much, and my eyes swelled up and wouldn't open. As my husband remarked, "It looks like you had collagen injected into your eyelids!" Thanks, babe.

The primary areas of peeling are my chin & upper lip, as well as the eyelids already mentioned. I really was just fine until Day 5. That's when the peeling got so bad I couldn't put any makeup over it, and some of my skin was cracking a bit. Which leads me to my next point,

I decided to help relieve some of the peeling to use my Clarisonic on the evening of Day 4 and I think I might have used it on Day 5 and Day 6. Does anyone think that could have added to the peeling & overall discomfort? Did I dry my face out? I will leave that question to the experts of the interwebs.

My eyes are so dry that they are constantly watering. The outside corners of my eyes are so raw from the tears that they just hurt. Working on that with Aquaphor (must buy my own since I've stolen all of it from my son!)

As mentioned, because of all of the flakiness, I cannot find a foundation to wear, which includes the Oxygenetix that RussianSunshine recommended and I loved on Day 4. I will try it again when I get back to the products, and not use the Clarisonic since my skin was doing ok at that point.

A few product thoughts from Week 1:
Oilacleanse Cleanser: Not much to say about it except I feel like it really gets my skin clean, and I like the little beads in it. I wash my face for a full minute and it definitely feels like my skin is clean and slightly exfoliated.
Polishing Scrub: LOVE this stuff. After I use this in the morning my skin feels like a baby's. So soft and exfoliated without being too harsh.
Cebatrol pads: Burns. 2% salicylic will do that to tender skin.
Melamin: smells like HQ. Nothing too much to say about it since it is what it is. However, when I was in California, it took me at least 5 minutes until this would soak into my skin. Now in Colorado, it's gone in 1 minute. At least it shortens the routine a bit.
Daily Power Defense: Can't say much about what it's doing, but it does feel good to apply. My skin soaks it up almost immediately.
Ommerse Overnight Recovery: Oh how I love this stuff. Thank goodness I can use some sort of moisture this round. I am using the full 2 pumps and it goes on thick. But it feels slightly cooling (which makes my skin happy) and it does take it about 10-15 minutes to really soak in. Love it.
Hydrafirm Eye Cream: It's ok. Since my eyes are so dry now anyway, I don't know if anything could make me happy at this point. I will continue to analyze.
Oclipse Tinted Sunscreen: I like it, with a caveat. I used it prior to start this regimen, and now that my face is peeling it actually makes my skin look worse than if I stop the process after the Eye Cream. The sunscreen sits on top of the dry flakes and makes them more obvious. Which then makes it more difficult to apply makeup.
Complex A + Melamix: obviously the HQ & Retin-A product which is making me look this way. So, I hate it.

I'm sure this is way too much information, but I thought I would share. I am going to call the Obagi Institute since I have a few questions, and I will report back with my answers.

After my wedding, I finally. Booked an appointment! I am so glad that I did.

My first week was a lot of peeling and the Daily Renewal cream help nourish and calm the redness. I'm on week two and increased Brightenex use to three times this week. Also, I am starting with daily Growth Factor used at night.

I'm so excited with this line that I wish I could speed it up.

I never had interest before to try anything related to lighten the skin when ZO came out because I didn't have those issues. Now, it is a different story. There is this person I know who've been using it for 5 years and she looks so flawless. I consider her living proof that ZO works.

free skin care · Mon Feb 23, 2015 5:55 am

Hi Ladies Have just bought the obagi zo but hadn't done my research and am a bit concerned after reading your posts as I work in a school and not sure can commit to a red peelie face. My concerns are for hyperpigmentation, pores, scarring and ageing, so while I have read good reports the inbetween phase worries me Embarassed

free skin care · Mon Feb 23, 2015 8:57 am

monalisasmiler wrote:

Hi Ladies Have just bought the obagi zo but hadn't done my research and am a bit concerned after reading your posts as I work in a school and not sure can commit to a red peelie face. My concerns are for hyperpigmentation, pores, scarring and ageing, so while I have read good reports the inbetween phase worries me Embarassed

I speak to the media on biweekly basis and being on television with bad skin is so dicouraging! I still did it and
Got great foundation (BB cream) and used the physical scrub to remove the flakes. My skin still had peels, but the foundation masked it when I was being filmed. I also took pictures of
the bad stages and some pics were good and my skin was so bad. Stick with it!

This friend I have used it for 5 years and you should see her. Her skin is so perfect now.

free skin care · Mon Feb 23, 2015 10:40 am

Thanks for the encouragement Skincare, what is your foundation as this may help once I start?

My products are

Oilacleanse morning and night, Vitascrub morning only, Cebatrol morning and night, Ossential daily power defense morning and night, Brightenex morning and night chest only, Melamin rx only morning and night face and neck, Melamix rx mixed with two lines of tretinoi and Oclipse c morning only.

free skin care · Sat Feb 28, 2015 9:51 am

monalisasmiler wrote:

Thanks for the encouragement Skincare, what is your foundation as this may help once I start?

My products are

Oilacleanse morning and night, Vitascrub morning only, Cebatrol morning and night, Ossential daily power defense morning and night, Brightenex morning and night chest only, Melamin rx only morning and night face and neck, Melamix rx mixed with two lines of tretinoi and Oclipse c morning only.

This is tricky! The peeling is so bad! But it has to be done. It also depends on your lifestyle. I started at mid-summer and I work all day, so doing a light wash with scrub to remove all the dead skin could not be done. I basically lived with it at work, but it was not pretty!
I used ZO SPF 50 which is thick and very white cast, but I used it. I really don't like the texture for under makeup, but was great to hold off on the flakies.

I was frustrated, nonetheless. So, I used ZO SPF 30 for work day, used MakeupForever Matt Velvet foundation on top using a beauty blender. I would sponge it on. For touchup of sun protection, it would be Skinscience (I can't remember the name now) SPF powder, but it does show the flakies but I didn't care. I put up with it.

I used Melanin intensly and it was really impossible for a normal daily look because of the peeling, so I slowed down after one month to going back to Britenex and I was very happy. Then I went back to Melanin and I used it once a week, for a few months, now, I bumped it up to twice a week, every other week, and I will try this week to twice a week on regular basis.

On other days, during the day, I used Offects TE-Pads Acne Pore Treatment. I love it!!! I think I will get the medical grade because I still breakout and get milia and blackheads, but when using this pad, it really keep it under control. I use Radical Retinol night serum every night and about once a month, I use Ossential Growth Factor. I find it toughen my skin and it doesn't look so delicate.

From using MakeupForever matt velvet foundation, I stopped using that and moved onto Jane Iredale BB cream in 01 (if I named the shade right but it is basically very white foundation) I used beauty blender and dabbed the bb cream on and it really kept my red face look calm during the fall/winter season. Now, I stopped using this BB cream and moved onto Laura Mercier silk cream foundation and use the Radiance primer under it. I use a sephora bronzing brush to put it on and my skin look so much better.
I've read a lot of good reviews on Dior Star foundation, and even though it is medium to heavy foundation, I think it will look great this spring. Maybe on a bad day, I'll use Laura Mercier foundation (what I have left)

The peeling still happen, but a lot less and under control. I think this is because I slowed down using Melanin. I swear by ZO Radical Retinol serum!!! Start very slow. Maybe once every three weeks and build it up. It really works!!!

I don't think C-Bright is not available in Canada, unless someone know it is, please let me know. I want to use this during the day, not on the same day as I use Melamin or Brightenex.

Sorry this post is long. Please ask me any questions or if you need me to clarify anything for you.

I found it frustrating when you don't have someone to share your experiences and seeing on EDS, how people simply gave up.

free skin care · Wed Mar 11, 2015 10:28 am

Hi all and thanks for the info Skincare. My start has not been a good one. I was advised to use all products morning and evening, however started off with the cleanser and cebatrol and daily defense and sunscreen. On an evening I used the melamin and melamix and tretinoin and brightenex, by Wednesday I had started with a red face and peeling a little. This is difficult to manage as I work in a College surrounded by teenagers Sad

Towards the end of the week I introduced melamin on the face and brightenex on the chest. by weekend I had a red angry chest area covered in itchy lumps, a red neck and bloodshot eyes Neutral

Have reduced back to my morning routine for last few days and then introduced the actives again last night . However as the day wore on my face was getting oilier this time and the makeup seemed to have gone, face getting redder. Some insensitive students advised me I was sweating which is not normal. I wear estee lauder light double wear but have been seeking alternatives, but find the estee lauder double wear light long lasting normalling and my combination t zone remains matte normally.

After reading some posts have also ordered the clarisonic aria but after today and working with teenagers don't think I am cut out to stick with this which is frustrating as it is extremely very expensive.

free skin care · Fri Mar 13, 2015 9:46 am

Just wondered how everyone was getting on if using this

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