First topic message reminder :

Some of you may know that I am currently using ambi(hq2%) daily, with retin A maybe once or twice a week and azelaic acid daily. I am really ahppy with how my dark marks have faded and I would say that I have lightened a bit as well. Please don't ask me how much as I have no idea.


I have decided I want to up the routine a bit and have been researching obagi and have decided to purchase some to try out. Hopefully it should be with me next week!!!! Now because I am in the UK I had to have an online consultation followed by a phone call by one of the Obagi reprsentatives. I told her that I wanted to try the Clear (4% hq)one as opposed to the Blender because I really find retin A to be a bit of a pain when it comes to the peeling. Maybe when I have lightened a bit more I will be able to go make up free and can happily use retin a nightly!!! Anyway I asked her how long products like this with hq should be used and she siad she has been using her's for 4 and 1/2 years but is now on a maintenance programme where she only uses it 3 times a week. Now it is good for me to hear that they see no reason why hq cannot be used long term especially with so much conflicting info on the net.

She said the results are not instant but many clients get really great results using it but if there is not much change that I could try out the blender later on.I am really excited and hope to see how it works out. I know members like Enticing have seen great results with plain old ADC HQ 4% and retin a but I do believe that this is because he has been really consistent with the retin A


BTW if you do not know already this stuff does not come cheap so I am hoping it does work well for me

KIM wrote:Not quite to the month but I have had to resort to cutting the very hard tube open to get the last of the Obagi out. Nothing would come out whilst squeezing the tube and I know from other similar type conatiners that there had to be some left. I have put the cut container inside a plastic bag and then placed it in a dark drawer to prevent oxidisation.Not sure about how much is left as I did not completely cut it open in order to protect the contents. They really need to rethink their packaging beacuse otherwise it becoames a waste of the contents if you don't do what I did and that is a hella of a lot of money being thrown away

They probably do that on purpose so that some people end up buying more products before they really need to. However I have had a few tubes that split on me and the contents started spilling out so had to tape it up to save it so maybe that is it as well

Well my ambi split very easily before I had finished using it so I understand Obagi trying to protect the cream but their tube is on a totally different level and could not be physically squeezed in order to get to the contents, well at least I could not!! It has been at least 6 days since I opened the tube and I still have some cream left which means that at least a weeks worth of cream would have been lost if I had not done what I did. It also shows that just using it ONLY on the face means it should last you more than a month. I will let you know when it does finish.


On another note I think I am definitely seeing lightening. I have a friend who is lighter than me and I noticed that I am not so much darker than her as I usually am. So Yay for Obagi!!!!!!! However sometimes it does feel a bit up and down when I feel darker again. I am not sure if this is just part of the exfoliation process as the skin begins to shed. Will keep the updates coming

quiamontana wrote:Kim so do you still have any left? I am also trying to see how long this product would last. I really want to see if it would give me any lightening

As per my post above I do still have some left and I think I am yielding results.

KIM wrote:Well my ambi split very easily before I had finished using it so I understand Obagi trying to protect the cream but their tube is on a totally different level and could not be physically squeezed in order to get to the contents, well at least I could not!! It has been at least 6 days since I opened the tube and I still have some cream left which means that at least a weeks worth of cream would have been lost if I had not done what I did. It also shows that just using it ONLY on the face means it should last you more than a month. I will let you know when it does finish.


On another note I think I am definitely seeing lightening. I have a friend who is lighter than me and I noticed that I am not so much darker than her as I usually am. So Yay for Obagi!!!!!!! However sometimes it does feel a bit up and down when I feel darker again. I am not sure if this is just part of the exfoliation process as the skin begins to shed. Will keep the updates coming

Great news !!! You are getting me tempted to add this to my never ending collection of creams, serums and lotions. I have exactly the same thing where there are days when I am sure I look darker and then lighter. Sometimes it can be because I am hot or when like you say I am about to go through the whole exfoliation process

ok then at least it lasts longer than a month. I found this seller who has really cheap prices on Obagi poducts. I hope she is legit because it seems too good to be true. She also ships worldwide


[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Wow great find quiamontana. I may try them when my next one runs out. Hopefully they will still have that great price. Just another update. I still have product left. I can't believe how much was stuck in the tube. More importantly I think I am definitely seeing more lightening. My skin is looking so good. I understand why people rave about it now.

Not sure if it was the sun that got to me but I ended up buying from that link you gave quiamontana. Thank you so much again. I have checked with my card issuer and I have only been charged £45 including shipping I just hope this seller is legit but that price is fantastic considering I got my last 2 for £75 each in the UK. That is nearly twice as much. So BIG BIG thanks !!!!!!!!!!

lol must be good if you are stocking up

KIM wrote:Not sure if it was the sun that got to me but I ended up buying from that link you gave quiamontana. Thank you so much again. I have checked with my card issuer and I have only been charged £45 including shipping I just hope this seller is legit but that price is fantastic considering I got my last 2 for £75 each in the UK. That is nearly twice as much. So BIG BIG thanks !!!!!!!!!!

Your very welcome. As you mentioned that it seemed to be working for you I decided to research where to buy. I hope it is ok. Make sure you let me know. When I am done with my supply of hydroquinine this is my next try if the other bits do not work

yogi wrote:lol must be good if you are stocking up

I am happy so far, especially as it has lasted more than a month now and I do see a difference in my skin tone.

quiamontana wrote:

KIM wrote:Not sure if it was the sun that got to me but I ended up buying from that link you gave quiamontana. Thank you so much again. I have checked with my card issuer and I have only been charged £45 including shipping I just hope this seller is legit but that price is fantastic considering I got my last 2 for £75 each in the UK. That is nearly twice as much. So BIG BIG thanks !!!!!!!!!!

Your very welcome. As you mentioned that it seemed to be working for you I decided to research where to buy. I hope it is ok. Make sure you let me know. When I am done with my supply of hydroquinine this is my next try if the other bits do not work

Well I have not received it yet but I did only just ordered it and it has to be shipped to me from the US. It would be an even better deal for those in the US as they would avoid the shipping pice I had to pay. I will let you know when it arrives. My postman is gonna be a busy fella !!!!!

I had to check my diary so I could be more precise in my calculations and I can confirm that the Obagi lasted me 5 weeks and 3 days using it just on my face. This is for anyone who wants to know if this is a product worth trying in view of the price and the quantity you get. I must say I am still pleased with what I am seeing so far and I am looking forward to receiving from my new supplier which should make it more affordable.

Well £45 is much better than £75 for just over a months supply so may be more worth a try. Tell me how long it takes to arrive in the UK and whether it is the same as what you got over here. I am considering my next options as to what I use next

KIM wrote:I had to check my diary so I could be more precise in my calculations and I can confirm that the Obagi lasted me 5 weeks and 3 days using it just on my face. This is for anyone who wants to know if this is a product worth trying in view of the price and the quantity you get. I must say I am still pleased with what I am seeing so far and I am looking forward to receiving from my new supplier which should make it more affordable.

5 weeks does not seem that long & you are not even using it on the neck. Man these places just love ripping peeps off!!! So maybe it would be less than a month if you did the neck as well. What are you using on your neck? you don't want any tell tale darker shade

Yeah I was thinking it would be about a month if I used it on my neck as well. As soon as I saw how small the tube was I thought just go easy and use it sparingly. I have been using neostrata 2% gel on my neck. It looks like it has kinda kept up with the Obagi though I can see a slight differnce but I can live with that for now

Gosh I agree not long at all. Good job it looks like it is working for you.

Well so far so good. I just wanted to mention that the obagi that I ordered from the link quiamontana supplied arrived today. It is exactly the same as what I have already and expires 2014, so no old stock. It took about a week and half to get to me and that was even with the 3 bank holidays we have had. So I am ecstatic that I have a much cheaper alternative source.

Great review KIM. Pleased to see you are responding well to it

I have been speaking to someone who says they have tried several versions of hq and think that obagi is one of the best they have tried, though like you, are not in love with the price

Thanks for that guys. I am feeling really confident with this product and it is always great too hear that others agree

I keep thinking that maybe the hq from ADC is not really 4%. I still don't think that I have achieved much and I have been consistent with my routine. I have quite a few tubes left so don't want to just throw them away but I may just switch to something else like the obagi or even nadinola. The only thing that makes me think that I should continue a while longer is Enticing's results with it. He lightened significantly. I know he did use other things in between but at least the hq lightened and maintained his results for him. not sure what to do

I hope you are wrong because I have some tubes myself. I have not started using them yet because I had some nadinola left to still use. I don't know if I am seeing any lightening but for some reason I feel like I am getting more attention. Could be my imagination but I know that others have said that they felt that lightening from a darker complexion allowed for the features to be more obvious. I hope that this is what I am experiencing. I can't say that I can see it myself

Often we are the last to realise and sometimes we suddenly hear someone say that you look different. It has happened to me and I thought I looked exactly the same.

I have not tried nadinola or all day chemist hq so cannot compare the results but I am hoping that the price means that it should work well in general. I know that this is not always the case but I can only hope

What I meant to say was that because Obagi is priced so highly that maybe the results should be better than some other similar products which are much cheaper like adc