When it comes to selecting a medical grade skincare brand to stock in your clinic, how do you choose? In this Glowday series, I’m speaking to the aesthetics experts to find out which brand they use, and why - and in this episode, I catch up with Leah Armitage of Alpha Aesthetics, Dr Victoria Manning of River Aesthetics and Gaynor Hughes of Aistheta Skin Clinic, to find out why Obagi is their skincare partner of choice.
Why Obagi skincare?
With all the many skincare brands out there, I, firstly, wanted to know why Obagi was the top pick for these three aesthetic pros. Leah Armitage, who has been working with Obagi since early this year, says “I work with a few select skincare brands, and Obagi has become my most popular brand. I chose this brand because of the ability to provide skincare which is not available without clinical advice, to treat conditions such as hyperpigmentation and acne more effectively. Quite often, patients have tried a lot of high street brands, and invested a lot of money, with very little success. I know from both clinical evidence and experience within my own practice that this brand works."
Dr Victoria Manning says, “We work with both Obagi and ZO. We’ve been working with Obagi for over 7 years and ZO for two. Obviously, Obagi has a great prescriptive range to cater for the slightly older and more pigmented skin, whereas ZO is great for the younger patients starting out and using skincare as a preventative measure."
Aesthetic nurse Gaynor Hughes has been working with Obagi for several years now. She explains, “I love the products and they certainly deliver, giving noticeable results. Obagi carry out clinical research on their products and are very innovative in the way they evolve. Support and training is very good, and I am now one of Obagi’s Ambassadors, so I feel very much involved. I like the way the skin products feel and the way they make your skin feel."
What do you like most about Obagi’s products?
If you invest in medical grade skincare, you want to know it works. So, what is it for these three practitioners that they love most about the Obagi skincare range? Well, Leah Armitage says, “I love Obagi Medical because the options are varied, without being overwhelming. This means I have been able to personally trial a lot of the products and combinations, which gives a fantastic insight when advising my patients. Some brands have hundreds of products, which can be lovely, but most patients want to streamline their regime with products that work. The products are actually incredibly affordable too.
For Gaynor Hughes, it’s “the fact they are simple to use and there are no complicated regimes, which I think is important when you want your patients to understand and be able to use correctly. Even though there are specific skin care systems available you can add in other products to enhance the results. Obagi have thought of every skin concern - even for the delicate skin around the eyes.”
What’s your favourite product from this brand, and why?
Leah Armitage explains, “I have to admit I only use Obagi Medical for my own skin, but I have tried a lot of other brands for comparison. My favourite Obagi product has to be the Professional-C 15% Serum. It gives me an instant glow and I love the silky texture. It lasts for months too, which is always a bonus!"
For Dr Victoria Manning, it’s all about the CRX prescription range. She says, Spending all my free time out on the water on the South Coast, I’m susceptible to the elements, so the CRX prescription range by Obagi is the winner. As a Fitzpatrick skin type 2, I’m prone to freckles and pigmentation and a rather uneven skin tone.
After 6 weeks of using The Clarifying Serum in the morning, which contains Hydroquinone and vitamin C, and the HQ night cream, my skin looks incredible. No pigmentation and a more even, healthy skin tone. I tend to use the whole system, and then I revert back to ZO and use the Skin brightener and 0.5% retinol at night.”
That’s definitely more than one, Dr Victoria, but we’ll let you off!! They sound great!
For Gaynor Hughes, it’s tough to narrow it down to just one favourite too. She explains, “I have used so many of their products with great results, but I do love the Elastiderm which is formulated for around the eyes. The Obagi Elastiderm was one of the first products I used from their range, as I had quite crepey skin and laxity under my eyes. It worked so effectively that it is one of my go to skin products. The resilience and integrity of the skin around my eyes improved, making the appearance around my eyes more youthful.”
What do you like most about working with Obagi?
While amazing skincare products are great, it’s also good to hear about skincare brands who are a dream to work with. So, what’s Obagi like? According to Leah Armitage, their clinical support is amazing. “My local contact is Faye, and she is always on hand to give advice about new products and patients with complex needs. The training was not a sales pitch. It was comprehensive, and the trainers provide a lot of education regarding pathophysiology."
Gaynor explains, “Over the years I have got to know and understand how the products work with the support and continuous training Obagi Medical provide. I like the fact that these skincare products can be used to suit the patient’s individual needs and have protocols to reflect this. Their skincare products are suitable for all skin types and have always recognised the diversity in skin colour, which they proved by launching the Obagi Skinclusion initiative in 2019 to help promote global diversity.”
Dr Victoria Manning puts it simply, “Obagi is scientifically proven and credible, and gives our patients reproducible results every time.” You can’t argue with that, can you?
So, there you have it. Obagi medical grade skincare, the brand, the products and the pros. You can find out more about the skincare brand over on Instagram.