The Skinny on Skin Care

Oprah has her weight; I have my skin. The bane of my existence, oily glands, large pores and overall acne-prone skin love to make me think I've got them under control. But, the moment I make that silly mistake, they show up out of nowhere and slam a pie in my face. I can almost see them high-fiving each other and doing those ridiculous NFL end zone dances each time they fool me. "And she thought her 30s would be the death of us!"

Unlike Oprah's weight issues, my skin problems don't have an obvious solution. A two-treatment Accutane survivor, I've tried just about everything. The medicine always works. Until it doesn't. Casino tables have brought me better luck than any cosmetic product. And diet changes? I could do pizza and chocolate for a week or organic fruits and vegetables. Both would Chris Brown my pores.

It's not an outside force, it's the genes.

That's what I've been telling myself for close to a decade now and I did the same when the ZO Skin Health by Zein Obagi MD line made its way onto my desk two months ago. As I pushed it to the side, I wondered how much longer my current oil-reducing prescription would continue to work. Who cares if it makes me dizzy and so what if Dr. Obagi has built a reputation as one of the most accomplished dermatologists in the world? This job has afforded me the opportunity of sitting across from a plethora of others with gold star-covered resumes. Their products didn't work.

When it came time to actually meet Obagi, however, something was different. I immediately took note of the fact that his public relations team didn't bother unrolling the Beverly Hills-based doctor's list of celebrity patients for me. There was no drum roll prior to our meeting. Just an urgency to sit down with him. So I did. And my skin hasn't been the same since.

We met on the opening day of Vdara Health & Beauty at CityCenter. The Syrian native shook my hand and then led me to a quiet conference room. No pretty product table. No assistant urging me to "feel the difference." Obagi sat across from me, pulled his chair up close, propped his elbows on the table and stared at me with intense eyes as he explained his skin care philosophy. If I didn't know any better, I'd suspect a good scolding was in store. But it wasn't me he was mad at, it was the cosmetic industry.

"In my clinic, seven out of 10 women will tell me their skin is either sensitive or dry. Seven out of 10," he says. "No man tells me that. No child tells me that. Why is that?"

He answered his own question and stormed into a diatribe about how cosmetic companies target and exploit women with marketing campaigns that only create "addiction." Women gobble up the messages and slab moisturizer after anti-aging cream after lifting serum onto their faces, only to condition their skin to need the products. According to Obagi, far more harm than good is done. Like that, a skin junkie is created.

I was in awe. Isn't he part of the cover-up? I'm thinking the guy's gone rogue, but that's because I don't know yet that if Obagi could accomplish just one more thing it would be to make cosmetic companies stay true to their promises.

He didn't spend years studying pathology to understand diseases of the skin for nothing. He didn't then move into dermatology so he could help people like his sister, who suffered from second and third degree burn scarring, to be compared to the very system he's fighting. No, he's actually different.

And, that's why I owe Obagi an apology. When introduced to his products a few years ago, I rolled my eyes at the thought of spending car payment money on his system (see sidebar). As a woman scorned one too many times, I thought all nonprescription skin care lines were the same lying, deceiving, good-for-nothing heartbreakers. But this time I was face to face with Obagi and his passion for skin. The man promised results after two weeks. I saw them after two minutes. (He has medical-grade products and products available to the public. I rolled the dice on the latter.)

For years, dermatologists have insisted I use nothing but Cetaphil to wash my face. For years, I've been staining white towels with makeup and dirt. When I rinsed the ZO Skin Health Offects Exfoliating Cleanser ($45) off my face the first time, I felt squeaky clean. I checked the mirror for those starlike symbols cartoons use to show something's sparkling. My pores shrunk and my skin was all the same color, no red blotches. And, there was a tightness to it, like my face discovered its own personal elliptical machine. All in two minutes. Then I took the real test and put the white towel to my face. Not a trace of unclean left behind.

I've had skin care products feel good before. But this time it felt good because it felt so immaculately clean. That I've never had, which is the result of Obagi's approach to skin care.

"What you see on the surface is the result of something not working well deep into the skin," he says. "So I said we have to go beyond the skin surface to the cells that make the skin."

And my skin cells thank him. Cleansing the skin is only the first step. Scrubbing it, strengthening it, awakening it and protecting it are all required, too. I followed his marching orders with Exfoliating Polish ($75); TE Pads Acne Pore Treatment ($45); Daily Power Defense ($175); and Oclipse Sunscreen + Primer SPF 30 ($65).

It's been six weeks. I only stopped getting excited to wash my face last week. I use less foundation now. My makeup no longer does the slippery slide off my face. And, I haven't had any eruptions since becoming an Obagi convert. But the best part is the feeling of really believing I've found the solution this time.

I'm pretty sure I can deliver the eulogy for the same oily glands, large pores and overall acne-prone skin who used to do the happy dance every time they sucker-punched me with a surprise return. May they roll over in their graves every time I exfoliate.