Reviews for Laguna Beach, CA Dermatologist Dr. Zein Obagi

Well...here I am wondering just how these products have managed to age me backwards. I first met Dr. Obagi 10 years ago, and I can’t say enough lovely things about him and his daughter Serene, who sees me now. She is very educated on skin and her programs for my pigmentation have been amazing, along with a peel and laser that basically gave me a facelift. Very kind staff, beautiful location, and the best skin line of products that exists out there. More

I believe this man is the best. He approaches skin differently than anyone I know that's out there. I usually try all sorts of products but once I saw how brilliant he was, I switched to using all of his products. He knows skin & yours, after looking at you for 3 seconds. No joke. More

Today I started my journey with Dr. Obagi's products. As I suffer from acne till this day, I am hesitant to see results and my money's worth for what I paid. I did feel a bit on edge today because I felt like I did not receive enough attention during my consultation. It felt rushed and I felt put aside and I am not too happy about that. I would not recommend anyone to seek this facility for help regarding acne. I started off with moderate almost nothing on my face (just pigmentation and scars) after using the products (long list of them almost about 10 products) my face began to break out and turn red almost purple. They follow the philosophy of worse before better; which does not coincide with my way of thinking. I stopped using the products after two months and now my face is full of scars and the redness remains.I would not recommend this place at all. Save your money, your time and your skin. Reply to Obagi:Thanks !!! Now I have severely damaged skin and it will never look the same thanks to your products. They all damaged and burned  my skin. Save your money !!! More

Using Melamix and Vitamin A including the whole regimen cleared my skin and made it flawless. Never had better skin in my life while under the regimen! Obagi is the best! Thank you More

Dr Obagi and staffI have been a loyal customer for many years because Dr Obagi is the best! He has a progressive scientific approach to skin care that yields effective results! Obagi and his awesome professional staff educates and demonstrates they are more than just a BRAND. Thank you my health and life has improved because of your genius!Javan More

I went to see Dr. Obagi earlier this year to get 2nd opinion on a bump on my face that I thought was cancer.   My original dermatologist wanted to remove it which would have left a scar.  The moment Dr. Obagi walked into the room he easily diagnosed that it was nothing but a wart (embarrassing).  If I would have went with the advice of my original dermatologist, I would have had an unnecessary scar on face!  To my surprised he diagnosed I had Rosacea and recommended an aggressive treatment that I have just started.  I found the staff incredibly knowledgable about the ZO skin line, professional, and caring.  Also, they were very helpful in walking me through how to use the products (several times).  I've already recommended Dr. Obagi to several friends and will continue to do so. More

Dr. Obagi teaches you how to approach your skin in a scientific manner. I've always read about new products and stocked up my cabinets with some of the most expensive skin care lines out there, but now I see that I was just being brainwashed by magazines. I have seen the most improvement when using his products. You can meet with him so that he can assess your skin and tell you exactly which of his products to purchase and how to use them. More

Dr. Obagi is simply the best,spectacular doctor, and an amazing staff! More

I've been to many skincare institutes in my lifetime and Obagi is top-notch. The experience and service was excellent and I would highly recommend this place to any of my friends who who care about exceptional skincare, and most importantly, results. More

I don't often give five star reviews but I feel as a regular and longtime satisfied customer I had to. The ZO Skin Centre has saved my skin ever since my days of acne and rosacea till many of my skin emergencies today. I have never been anything but satisfied by the care, products, and results. Their skin products are high quality and effective and I recommend them to everyone.I even purchase their ZO Skin products as gifts for my family members. I highly recommend coming here and Dr. Obagi More

I had a wonderful experience with Obagi today! As soon as I walked in, the atmosphere was very peaceful and zen. Abby gave me an express facial and it was just what I needed! Her calming energy helped me relax and she really made my skin glow. Thank you Obagi and Abby for making me feel beautiful! More

I gotta say, I was a little worried to come in after seeing a handful of negative reviews. But now, it's safe to say that unfavorable feedbacks should in no way stop anyone from visiting this clinic, because these guys know how to brings results.They've come up with a standard, yet very elaborate approach on how to treat problematic skin/adult acne. And it works! It not only fixes the main condition, but improves the quality of skin as well. Unlike many respected derm docs that give out prescriptions that target the acne problem solely, at Obagi there is an entire program designed to fix all possible skin complications. I can't stress enough how important this is, especially if you have sensitive skin that reacts to every slight impact on it. Also unlike many beauty spots, they didn't pretend facials would make a noticeable change and insisted on me taking more significant steps to handle the matter.Yes, the prices are high and maybe someone in the past had possible unpleasant interactions with the staff. But I honestly can say that when you've been struggling with adult acne for a long time, the results overweight everything else.  I wanna recommend this clinic to everyone with skin concerns. I've gone through my treatment without taking any medications internally and it was the most, I wanna repeat, the most effective one I've tried ... I hope they'll think about expanding to other countries, because their products are as efficient  as one can hope for. This is my first and probably last review on yelp. I just felt like someone has to do justice to this place and explain why the readers should try to oversee the negative reviews in favor of permanent results. More

My mom found Dr. Obagi in a magazine 20+ years ago and not only has he helped her immensely, he has helped me as well! I started going to Obagi for my acne when I was a young teenager after Kaiser dermatologists were no help. I got on his regimen and it helped me, but as I continued going through puberty and my acne was getting worse, I needed something more as nothing else was working. He recommended accutane for me (twice! the first time I didn't listen!) and I'm so glad he did. It was the only thing that worked and now 2 years after he prescribed it/insisted I get on it and even suggesting I go through Kaiser as it'd be cheaper there and about 6 months after finishing my course on accutane, I am acne free. He knows what he's doing and his products work. If you listen to him and do what he suggests, you'll be happy with your skin. I've also gone there for facials with Liz and she is the best! Suzy is also always friendly and welcoming. More

Dr. Obagi's products literally changed my life! I've suffered from adult acne since my early 20's and its taken a toll on my psychological state of mind; not feeling good about myself had a negative trickle down effect when it came to all areas of my life and I lacked confidence. I can say that I've tried every acne product on the market. I've been prescribed topical acne medications, organic face washes, and other expensive skin care brands and nothing has worked the way Obagi's products have. I've seen consistent progress and am beyond thrilled with the results. I feel like I can do anything now and have definitely found a new sense of confidence. I saw Nurse practitioner Anita and she was amazing. Everyone there is so warm, friendly, and accommodating. I just wish I would have found Dr. Obagi sooner. More

Commit to Obagi's aggressive regime and your skin will be transformed. What's a better investment than always putting your best face forward? More

Dr. Obagi is an absolute genius. My skin is finally on the right track to where I want it to be after constant picking and deep scars. During my consultation, he had a sense of humor and was straight to the point with my skin's problems. The institute and its staff are lovely and very high-end. I came in to buy more products again and am so excited to keep seeing results. The products are worth the price, they actually WORK. More

I have been suffering from acne since high school. Before visiting the Obagi Skin Health Institute, I have tried a lot of the over-the-counter treatments, like the Proactive, Clinique, Neutrogena, etc. All of these had worked for a while, and then stopped working. And none of them can actually reduce/control my breakouts and my acne scars that left behind.I finally decided to visit the dermatologist last year after being depressed with the OTC treatments. And I am so happy that I made the decision. To be honestly, I didn't do a lot of research on which dermatologist that I'm gonna visit. I just googled it, and Obagi popped up! I called for an appointment and the miracle has begun!My first consultation was with the well-famed Dr. Obagi. As all the negative reviews said, it was right that he didn't spend a lot of time with me, totally about 20 minutes. By then I was using all OTC products. But I convinced myself to switch to the all Obagi products after seeing how great skin Dr. Obagi himself has. I'm not gonna lie that everything was sooooooooo expensive. But the result makes me believe that you get what you pay for.Before I made my decision on whether I'm gonna start the program, Dr. Obagi warned me about the possible side effects in the first month, including severe peeling and redness. I was scared. But my skin was pretty bad at that time. So I thought I had nothing more to lose. I started the Obagi program in Feb. last year, and went out of it in Sept. I think.It was a very harsh program. My skin was peeking and extremely red with pain in the first month. Nothing actually helped with the side effects. I was a little bit afraid. But all the reviews online were saying that these were normal. And I remembered that Dr. Obagi also warned me about these. So I insisted in the program. In the meantime, my acne was already under control. I got very few breakouts. And none of them were as big as they were before. I was in the program for about 6-7 months. I walked out with natural glowing skin. Most of my acne scars were cleared out. And my breakouts were under control. During the program, I forced myself to stick with the products that Dr. Obagi prescribed except for some extremely gentle hydrating products. I also got regular facial to get off the dead skin. I was also put into the accutane program for 5 months. My insurance didn't cover it. So it was expensive. But I was very lucky that I didn't have any side effects. I don't know how well accutane worked because I was using the Obagi products in conjunction with it. But the whole program cleared me out.Starting from this year, I thought I would try out some other medical brands and stopped using all Obagi products for couple of months. And this is true. My acne went worse. It was not as bad as it was before the treatment. But it definitely went worse comparing last year. So I went back to use the complex A cream, the blender cream and the Te-pads in conjunction with other non-Obagi products. After a month of doing so, my skin was back to normal again. Even during my cycle period, I didn't get a single big breakout.Obagi program is definitely nose-bleeding expensive. And it is also a very harsh program. I don't think everybody can tolerate it. So do the research before going there. If you can't get over with the peeling and redness, then it probably is not for you. Since I started the program, I am getting so many compliments on my skin. And I even referred a friend there. And she was also getting very satisfactory results. All I want to say is that if you decide to go there, then just fully trust the doctors there; follow strictly with the program; be patient and be consistent. You will see results. And you will get what you pay for. More

I had some Cystic Acne at the age of 40!! I couldn't shave on a daily basis because my skin was very sensitive. After using different products and wasting my money, I went to see Dr. Obagi. The result: very healthy, firm skin. No more cystic acne, and I could shave without any bumps and acne!!!! I highly recommend this institute. I have been dealing with Dr. Obagi, and his registered nurse Diana. Very happy with the office staff and the result is amazing. The only downfall is that the visits are costly and they don't accept insurance, but you could submit the recite to your health insurance and they reimburse you partially. More

I guess first off I should say that I am one of those people who started getting blemishes (what a soft word) at 12 or 13, and they never went away.  Had them through my teens, 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's (really).  The sites moved around, forehead to all over to chin.  Tried Accutane in my 30's when it first came out (got a "remission" of acne for about 6 years, didn't want to take another round because I was child bearing).  Throughout my life I have battled acne and dealt with the emotional effects.  In addition to Accutane, I've used benzol peroxide, tetracycline, cleocine, retin-A, the pill, Christine Valmay, Dermatalogica, Erno Lazlo, over the counter remedies too numerous to mention or even remember, and even toothpaste and windex (courtesy of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, it worked for Aidan but not for me). OK, there are my credentials.Obagi......OMG.  The counsultation is $200, and Dr. Obagi doesn't say much (I think he says the same thing to everyone) so you could actually skip that if you want to purchase his products online instead of in his office, it is the same stuff.The products work.  That is all I can say.  I am 59 and my skin is smooth, the age spots are GONE, no blemishes (whoever tells you that acne ends after menopause is wrong),  no peeling from using the wrong stuff (you can always use less if you peel from his products, and some peeling is good), I guess the best thing I can say is that I don't spend any time worrying about my skin, and I feel great about how my skin looks. More

this is by far the best skin treatment clinic & doctor.  Although I spend about $2000/year for products and treatments, I think this is by far much less expensive than some of the "spa facials" and expensive cosmetics you buy from dept stores.  I've been a patient of Dr Obagi for over 10 years and have referred everyone I know who is interested in skin care (some of my friends have had serious problems with pigmentation spots from sun exposure).  My skin is i the best conditio since my 30's (and I'm almost 60).  Most people think I'm in my 40's.  I cannot more highly recommend a skin treatment.  Although you may have to wait to see Dr Obagi, it is worth the wait.  He is very no nonsense and direct in his diagnosis.  His daughter, Sandra, manages the San Gabriel clinic and does the facials (therapeutic, not be confused with spa facials).  She is really good and takes time to answer questions and make recommendations). More

Dr. Obagi is a well-known skin-care specialist...he even has his own clinically proven Obagi system to treat hyperpigmentation, pot-marks, etc.  Seriously...it's a MIRACLE system.During his consultation (which runs $200-350 depending on how many issues he's talking to you about...me, it was just pigmentation) he'll look you over with a fine-tooth comb (literally, checks your face and hair-line and so on) and then he'll A) diagnose B) diagram what's going on with your skin and WHY C) talk about what you've done in the past to correct it D) illustrate with pen and paper how he's going to fix it E) goes over which products will work for you and how to use them.  He's very approachable, likeable, knowledgeable...he'll answer any and all questions.  Basically he told me that I should just go hom and give all of my skin-care products to someone I don't like...cuz none of them work! lolIf you want to TRANSFORM your skin and not just MASK it...go to Dr. Obagi. More