Beauty that is skin deep

MANILA, Philippines –Pricking and pinching, layering and peeling, slathering and steaming — we’ve all heard the “tricks” and “quick fixes” to control our wild breakouts or cover up our fine lines, and most of us have met it with failure. And this is not surprising, says Aimee DeMarais, pronounced “de meh-ray,” international education and training manager of Obagi Medical Inc., as these products, may they be topical lotions and ointment creams, only solve the problem superficially. Obagi, on the other hand, takes a revolutionary turn, inspiring the trend in skin health care today by introducing a milder, less risky therapeutic approach to skin-aging by going beyond the skin’s surface and actually treating living tissue.

“Obagi is perfect for Filipino skin because it’s specifically formulated for Asian and Mediterranean skin,” says DeMarais. Having educated and trained Obagi professionals, doctors and distributors for over three years and having seen the results of Obagi medical skincare first hand, DeMarais stands by the brand exclaiming that “it had truly taken off years from my face.” And with her beautiful sun-kissed glow and the fresh youthful glance of a young 20-year-old (she is 34), one does not have to think twice. (She uses the Obagi Nu Derm system in her daily skin regimen.)

With her hectic schedule, traveling for assignments that allow her only to stay a few days at a time in each country, the strawberry blonde bombshell says that looking picture perfect is never as tedious as it was before. With her healthy skin, all she needs is just a whip of lip gloss and a pat of color on her eyes and she’s done!

She traveled recently to the Philippines for Obagi’s 11th anniversary to educate the market on the new hot products of the Obagi skin care line. She shared her company’s exciting innovations to the excitement of dermatologists and patients in attendance.

The Elastiderm eye treatment and the Elastiderm décolletage system are two of the most anticipated products as they target the next concerns of skin-aging — the sagging skin and wrinkles under the eyes, face and neck. By using a revolutionary bi-mineral complex called Copper Zinc Malonate, the Elastiderm eye treatment works to help restore the elasticity around your eyes and reduce visible fine lines and wrinkles in as little as two weeks. As we age, the elastin and the collagen which are responsible for our skin’s tensile strength no longer produce at the same rate so our skin becomes weaker and starts to show the unsightly lines. The Elastiderm system replenishes both skin components by stimulating cells to produce them faster, giving the eye area the ability to bounce back so that skin looks, feels and acts younger. Say goodbye to paralyzing botox! 

Another product that is a welcoming relief to a population of patients is the Rosaclear system, which is the only complete therapeutic system specifically tailored for rosacea patients. Though rosacea is a harmless cosmetic condition which causes facial eurythema (redness), it can be quite uncomfortable for the patient. It is more common among Caucasians but it could also affect people of ethnicities with it being three times more common in women. The Obagi Rosaclear system effectively treats the redness through the use of calming and anti-inflammatory agents, minimizing the signs of rosacea resulting in a clearer, calmer and smoother complexion.

One of the other treatments that is a must mention is the Obagi Blue Peel, which is the first controllable chemical peel engineered by Dr. Zein Obagi himself. Named after its patented blue base, the Obagi Blue Peel has received much acclaim for its new, far milder, multi-staged skin resurfacing system which has become the alternative to much riskier, harsher skin peels on the market. The chemical peel works by removing the topmost layers of the skin revealing fresh, younger looking skin. Used in conjunction with the Obagi Nu-Derm System, the Obagi Blue Peel uses trichloroacetic acid (TCA) which is the active ingredient used by thousands of doctors to treat acne, rosacea, wrinkles, fine lines, age spots and photo damage. Though it will leave a slight bluish tint on your face for up to a day and the peeling process days after may become a bit unsightly, the visible results will however outweigh the inconveniences.

Obagi systems can and will show results, may your skin condition be a minor or major problem, because they treat the damage at the cellular level and the systems are tailored specifically to suit each patient’s needs. While Obagi seems to be the solution to all our skin problems, Obagi systems are not quick fixes, DeMarais says. She stresses, “It’s a rejuvenation process. It’s a type of maintenance (therapy) that takes commitment on the part of the patient.”