Pro-activ?

[Parkers_girl]

I was just wondering how many, if any, users on here have used, are using, or know someone who has used Pro-activ. Did it work? Did you have any side effects(dry skin, redness etc)? How long before you saw improvments? I would really appreciate any feedback I can get on this product!! Thanks!!

 

[Parkers_girl]

bump

 

[luvwinnie]

It is the ONLY thing that pretty much cured my acne!! I highly recommend it. I only used the cleanser though...if I used all the "steps" I'd get too dry.

 

[Jeannie]

My DD got pretty bad acne when she was a college freshman. She has had great luck with Proactiv (and no side effects.) She's been using it for three years now and only has occasional isolated 'pims'! We get automated deliveries from QVC.

 

[NMAmy]

When I suddenly developed acne at 42, it made me crazy. Here I'd cruised through my whole life with only the occasional light break out and suddenly I was zit girl. Or, I guess it would be zit woman, at my age.

I used Proactiv and it helped a lot. However, I can only use it occasionally because it does dry my skin--but just that little bit is enough to take care of the zit situation for me. DD uses it, as well, and she's had no problems with it at all. So, between the two of us, we can justify the cost.

 

[luvdzne]

I tried to use it several times. It did nothing for me. My skin is very sensitive and I had to be careful what I used with it as my face would turn bright red and burn.

My face has never been clear. My doctor put me on differin (a prescription cream) and my face has not had any break outs since.
They have a website and I think they have a one time rebate.
You do have to be careful to wear sunscreen with differin or you will burn very easily.

 

[magicmirror]

A couple of my daughter's friends have used it, and it really worked for them.

 

[Laura]

It did nothing for me; I continued to get zits. In fact I think it made it worse because it dried out my skin, which put the oil production from overdrive into hyper-overdrive.

 

[Keggy]

I just started using it. I am in my late twenties and have never had a problem with acne. Then all of a sudden I started breaking out. My dermatologist had me try a lot of different prescriptions and nothing worked. I tried Differin - nope, didn't help me. So, I have been using Proactive for about a month. It worked pretty quickly. I use the three step system. I really need to do it twice a day. I stopped doing it at night and broke out again, so I went back to twice a day and have cleared back up. I figure for as much as I spend on cleansers, astrignents, and prescriptions - that I am saving money with the proactive. My face has really gotten softer too.

I was worried about going out in the sun, since it says to wear sunscreen if you do - and I went to the pool on saturday and was fine, I didn't burn.

But - everyone is different!

Kelly

 

[Pdowning98]

Unfortunately it did nothing for me. I continued to get breakouts and if I used the whole system it would dry my skin out. Good luck if you decide to try it!

 

[bettyann29]

My son who is 12 is getting acne pretty bad and we have tried all kinds of stuff that you buy at the store.. a few of my coworkers use Proactive with great results and swear by it so I decided to give it a try.. There was a difference in days.. Its just now been about 2 weeks and his faced is almost cleared up.. I did the 30 day trial and since its working for him I will definitely invest in a 60 days supply.. I wanted to see how it worked before I put more money into it.. so it was $20 up front..

 

[HOGFAN]

DS has used it for about a year. BIG DIFFERENCE. There was some initial redness, but it went away. It has really helped his self esteem. He is not so self conscious anymore.

 

[SueM in MN]

My DD had occastional breakouts and wanted to try Proactive to prevent them. She used it for about a year with fairly good results. Then, all of a sudden, she developed dry, red, itchy, painful patches on her face. She called the Proactive company and asked if they had anything more gentle, since Proactive seemed to be too strong for her. They told her she should be careful to use all the steps of the program every time (their assessment was apparently that she was not moisturizing enough).
She continued to use it for a while, but her face hurt too much to keep using it. She had actually developed a sensitivity to the active ingredient. When she called to discontinue her automatic program, they gave her kind of a hard time about and told her to just decrease the frequency of using the product. When she said she had already done that and her skin was no better, they tried to talk us into using their new product for sensitive skin (now they had one).
Anyway, she feels that Proactive ruined her skin. She went from occasional mild breakouts before trying it to having breakouts all the time - and being extremely sensitive to most of the available products after using it.
I would not recommend it to anyone, and if you do choose to use it, stop right away at the first signs of any problems.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

One warning: it will bleach!! Do NOT sleep on colored linens or use colored towels!!

 

[SueM in MN]

One warning: it will bleach!! Do NOT sleep on colored linens or use colored towels!!

Oh, yes
Almost forgot that. My DD ruined a lot of colored towels.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Oh, yes
Almost forgot that. My DD ruined a lot of colored towels.

I bleached a brand new pillowcase with it. I couldn't figure out what had happened and then it hit me: peroxide. DUH!!!

 

[SDFgirl]

I used it for quite a while and loved it. It worked very well for me initially. Saw improvements within a week or so. I know a lot of people who Proactiv worked very well for.

After using Proactiv for several years though, it seemed to lose its effectiveness. Don't know why - maybe I slacked off on the 3 step system.

What finally worked for me was antibiotics (Doryx) and a face cream called Duac Gel. The cream contains both benzol peroxide (same product in Proactiv) plus an antibiotic. I had to stay on the antibiotic for 7 months and it made my skin very senstiive to the sun, but it worked!! Now I might get the occasional pimple but I don't break out.

I say go for the Proactiv, and if it doesn't work - try antibiotics.

 

[Parkers_girl]

Thanks for all the replies. I don't have major acne..but enough to annoy the living daylights out of me! And I always see the infomercials..so I figured, why not? I just ordered it online. Soo wish me luck! I was on accutane some years back when I was playing soccer, because my face tended to break out pretty bad from all the sweat and dirt. It worked wonders!! But it only lasts so long before you have to start taking them again. It's the only thing that's ever worked, but it's too expensive and you have to get blood drawn every month..Thanks again for all the replies!!

 

[WendyDarling]

I used this through two bottles of the cleanser (to show I gave it a good try!). It cleared up some of my typical red bump acne. But, it did nothing for my blackheads. It also made my oily skin much more oily and created many of those under the skin pimples that really hurt. I usually only get one of those like right before that time of the month, so I knew that getting 4 or 5 of those a week was not a good thing. I quit using it, of course.

I currently am trying some SkinMedica products and the Obage moisturizer with sunscreen and like everything I have tried so far. They are really good at keeping the red splotches out of my skin.

 

[KLAIT]

Another really good system that I have had even better success with is the Serious Skin Care line of products that are available on HSN....They continuously clear line is fantastic!