This month’s star client is Shalu Sudra. Shalu suffered from acne since being a teenager and had tried multiple medications to cure it, which frustratingly didn’t work. A friend put her in touch with Brigstock Skin and Laser Centre and we suggested she tried Obagi Nu Derm which significantly helped her acne and scarring. Read her full story below.

BSL: Do you want to start off by telling us a little bit about yourself?

SS: My name is Shalu Sudra. I’m 38. I’ve suffered with acne since I was a teenager. I’ve used lots and lots of different medications. When I was 30 I was put on Roacutane by the doctors. This was a medication that really affected my health; very bad mood swings and although it cleared the acne up, there was a lot of dry skin and a lot of bad side effects which I think in hindsight if I’d have known about I definitely wouldn’t have used that medicine. Now as I’ve got older the spots haven’t stopped. Okay they’re not as aggressive, but they’re still there and I’ve got a lot of scarring.

I’m quite an outgoing person so I do like going out. I tend to cover up quite well with lots of makeup. In 2014 I decided I really wanted to do something about it, especially the scarring, because the spots had eased off. Somebody put me in touch with a different clinic to Brigstock. I went to see them and they suggested Obagi Nu Derm. So they put me on Nu Derm and I started it and initially I had some really great results. Then the middle of last year I started getting stops again quite aggressively. They started to really affect me, because my skin had really improved and it’s just gone back down to square one again.

Then somebody at work suggested I come to see you guys, so I came down to your clinic and met with Shehla who’s been absolutely fantastic and supportive. She explained that I was on the wrong package and put me on Obagi Clenziderm because I had active spots. So, I started that and within the first week I could see results already. The skin was drying out, but it was like the spots were being killed off. I carried on with the Clenziderm and it’s been over a month now since I’ve stopped using Clenziderm and I’m back to using Nu Derm again to get rid of the scars.

So yeah that’s my journey and luckily I haven’t had any spots. There’s not a great amount of scaring now, but when people come up to me now, they’re like “Oh my god your skin – It’s amazing”. And I’m not wearing makeup to be honest with you, so I’m feeling quite confident about that now. I 100% tell everybody who’s got bad skin “You should really try this. You should really try this”. Not everybody listens. “Oh no. It’s just a fad” they say. I know it’s expensive, but I think that sometimes you have to. If I counted up all the amount of money I’ve spent on products throughout the years I don’t think this comes near to that amount. I’m happy to spend money on this. Of course I don’t want to spend money but this is an investment; an investment in my skin; especially as you grow older, you haven’t got youth on your side any more.  I’d definitely recommend this treatment.

BSL: Thanks for that Shalu. You know you’ve covered a lot of my questions in that answer but do you want to tell us a little more about you and who you are?

SS: Well I live in Croydon. I’m in the IT field and I’m into my meditation, reiki and alternative therapies as well. I’ve done my reiki level 2.

BSL: Do you want to tell us a little about reiki?

SS: It’s a type of healing that uses the body’s chakras. What else? Oh yeah. I love eating. I love food.

BSL: Really! Do you get the Brigstock recipes through on your email? Are you on our mailing list?

SS: No. No I’m not.

BSL: Well you should sign up for that. Every month we release about two or three recipes all focused on healthy eating and specifically skin health.

SS: Oh really I didn’t know that. OK. Yeah I definitely like eating and I love cooking. I’m doing a lot of prepping for the week now. Trying to get myself organised for the week and get a bit more efficient. I love chilli and put it in everything.

BSL: Well chilli’s got lots of vitamin C in it hasn’t it? You probably kill it off when you cook it but we can kid ourselves can’t we?

SS: What else can I tell you. Oh yes. I love Johnny Depp (laughs). I’ve travelled a lot too. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been able to travel, and yeah that’s it really.

BSL: How did you come across Brigstock Skin and Laser then? You said previously you were introduced by a friend.

SS: So a girl I work with came up to me and said “what’s happened to your skin”. Then somebody else at work was saying I need to try something else and everybody kept commenting about my skin that day because it had really flared up. So I just asked my friend and she gave me the details and I just rang up and made an appointment. Now I’d never seen my friend’s before skin, but she said you do Obagi there. Obviously because I’d already been on the Obagi through the previous clinic, I thought ok at least they’ll know about the products, so at least I can take my products and show them what I’m using. Obviously I was just on the wrong type for the aggressive spots at that time.

BSL: Did you know anything about the clinic before you came along or was it just a simple recommendation from your friend?

SS: No. It was just a recommendation from my friend.

BSL: What have you found to be the most effective treatment, because you’ve had a few now haven’t you? You’ve had the Nu Derm, the Clenziderm and the Blue Peel Radiance. Which one have you found to have the greatest effect with?

SS: Clenziderm. 100% Clenziderm. I could almost feel my skin tightening when I had the treatment. It was almost like a facelift at the same time. And everybody says I don’t look my age which is fantastic.

BSL: That’s nice isn’t it? Are you looking forward to any future treatments?

SS: Yes. I’d like to concentrate on my blackheads because I’ve got a lot of them at the moment. My scaring isn’t so bad anymore to be fair, so I’d like to carry on with the Nu Derm for the scarring and if the acne comes back again then maybe it’s going to be a case of once a year I go through the Clenziderm. Maybe with age it might go, but who knows with spots. I also wouldn’t mind doing something for under my eyes. I don’t know what you do for that, but is something that I would look at if you have a treatment for dark circles.

BSL: Well actually there is an Obagi treatment for that.

SS: Oh Really!

BSL: Yes! You’re in very good hands with Shehla. She’s the official Obagi ambassador at the clinic which means she’s had advanced training in the Obagi range of skin treatments.

SS: I guess I’d also like to do more peels in the future too.

BSL: If your were to describe the clinic to somebody who doesn’t know it, what would you say?

SS: I’d say that you’re concerned for the patient’s wellbeing. I felt confident to trust my technician and it was good value for money. I can say it is value for money comparing it to other clinics I’ve used. And I’m grateful I guess. I just feel grateful to the clinic. I felt that the clinic was trustworthy and I felt confident that I was going to get some good answers. I just felt happy; happy that someone was listening to me and could understand what I was going through as well.

BSL: Thank you very much. That’s fantastic.