How ZO Skin Health Changed My Skin in 28 Days

I have a skincare update for you guys and I am SO excited about it! As you know, it’s been an ongoing struggle getting my skin back on track since having Matea. For a while, I was doing OK, but these past few months have probably been my worst. From breakouts and blemishes to uneven skin tone and a dull complexion, I’ve been dealing with it all!

For the first 10 days, Dr. Bachilo put me on the ‘Getting Skin Ready‘ phase to reboot my system.  This 1st step was exactly what it sounded like – reintroducing my skin to a very simple, but effective 3-step process: cleanse, exfoliate, and tone. That’s it. Here are the products I used from their starter kit for normal/oily skin. I just finished using all my oil control pads, but still have at least half a bottle of the cleanser and scrub left over! I never use more than a pea size amount because a little goes a long way.

As you can imagine, I was pretty skeptical because I was already doing this with other products. And that was the problem. I was using the wrong stuff and way too much of it! 4 days into my routine, I was completely blown away. As someone who suffers from sensitive, acne-prone skin, I thought my skin would be so irritated and dry from the salicylic acid and exfoliating scrub, but it felt more moisturized than ever!  And guess what – this 3-step process didn’t even require me to use any sort of moisturizer.  Crazy, right?  I went all day without feeling oily and my skin was SO soft.  By Day 10, I noticed the clogged pores around my cheeks were 90% gone and I wasn’t breaking out anymore.

Starting on Day 11, we introduced Step 2 & 3 of my skincare regiment: Prevent + Correct & Protect. She recommended the anti-aging program for me in addition to a couple other products to get my skin in even better condition. In addition the cleanser, scrub, and oil control pads I was already using, we added the following products to my skincare routine:

DAILY POWER DEFENSE: powerful antioxidant serum that supports skin’s DNA and helps restore skin’s health, diminish fine lines and wrinkles, and address future damage (for day and night)

BRIGHTALIVE SKIN BRIGHTENER: formulated to even skin tone, reduce dark spots, restore hydration and calm irritated skin (for day only)

ROZATROL: reduces excess surface oil to normalize skin and help with redness (for day and night)

SUNSCREEN + PRIMER SPF 30: dual action sunscreen that protects against UVA/UVB, IR-A rays, and HEV light; doubles as makeup primer for smooth matte finish (for day only)

GROWTH FACTOR SERUM: enhances skin production of collagen and hyaluronic acid and protects again future signs of aging; has a small amount of retinol (for night only)

So, what exactly did I learn from Dr. Bachilo about skincare maintenance and why she recommends ZO Skin Health to all her patients? Here’s a quick rundown.

First off, skincare is an investment and should be seen as that. Ideally, no one wants to go under the knife so making sure you invest in the right skincare products is a must. In her experience, she’s seen 2 types of consumers – those that purchase drugstore brands and others who only buy luxury products at department stores. But here’s the thing – if you look really close those products, a lot of times they’re made from the exact same ingredients.  The only difference is the packaging, marketing, and price points. No matter how good a department store product may be, it will never compare to a medical grade skincare product which leads me to fact #2.

Not all skincare products are created equally.  In fact, there is a huge difference between a department store product and physician grade one. Over-the-counter brands cater to a large population and therefore, the concentration of active ingredients tends to be much lower. Medical grade products, on the other hand, are much more potent and can only be purchased through a physician such as Dr. Bachilo.  The level of active ingredients are much higher in medical grade products and this, in turn yields better results (possibly in a shorter amount of time as well).  These products are formulated with the purest forms of ingredients to really penetrate beneath the skin where as OTC products just sit on the surface of your skin.  As you can see from my photos, it obviously worked wonders for my overall complexion.

Is your sunscreen giving you comprehensive sun protection? Chances are they’re not. All ZO Skin Health sunscreen products provide triple-spectrum protection against UVA/UVB, high-energy visible (HEV) light, and IR-A (infrared) rays. I had no idea that HEV lights transmitted through things such a your smartphone and laptop could be harmful to your skin as well! Additionally, using an SPF 30 vs. an SPF 100 won’t make a difference if you aren’t reapplying as needed throughout the day.

Lastly, I had to ask why Dr. Obagi isn’t a fan of moisturizers. Simply put, the world-renowned skincare expert believes it makes your skin lazy and tricks it into thinking it’s hydrated when it fact it is not. Instead, he focuses on using specific products to address your skin concerns. Skincare isn’t a one-size fits all solution and therefore, meeting with a qualified specialist or physician to discuss the right products is a must.

I will be going back to Dr. Bachilo for a few other skin treatments and can’t wait to share my thoughts and results with you guys.  Make sure to subscribe to my blog or follow along on Instagram to get updates. If you have any questions at all, I’m happy to answer them below in the comments!

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With that being said, Dr. Bachilo has been so kind to offer one of my readers a chance to win a ‘Getting Skin Ready’ Package which includes a cleanser, scrub, and oil control pads.  The giveaway will run until Monday May 20th at 11pm EST  and one winner will be drawn at random within 48 hours.  Entry is super easy so head over to my INSTAGRAM POST for all the details. I promise – once you start using these products, you are going to be hooked!