Does Proactive work?
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » Skin Care and Makeup Forum

Fri Aug 11, 2006 9:28 am

I am currently using proactive. Does it work?
Also, if it doesnt, what else can I try to get rid of acne scars, blackheads, and pimples?

free skin care · Fri Aug 11, 2006 11:08 am

I used Proactive for about a year and had good results...then the bad stuff started. I started peeling and my face actually hurt! Shock

I devloped a bad reaction to the benzol peroxide, and it made my face uber sensitive and red. I do think it may work for the time being, I think that its not a perment soultion.
Plus I think the company is a bit shady, they sent me 4 kits in one month and refused to refund me after I sent the product back. Mad

If you decide to use it I suggest a sronger sunscreen than whats in their moisturizer, as the peroxide makes you very sensitive to the sun.

My advice would be to find a very gentle cleanser: I use Aveeno Ultra Calming another good one is Olay Sensitive Skin with Aloe, its soap, dye, and fragence free. They are both under 5$USD.

I also use Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar as a toner, you can find it at any health food store. I combine it with strong Chamomile tea.
Thats really the only thing that has EVER completly cleared up my face. I also use Retin-A at night.

My Routine that cleared up my face:
AM: Wash with gentle cleanser
ACV toner on face and neck
Apply a drop of Jojoba oil for moisture
Sunscreen(if Im leaving the house)
Make up

PM: Wash with gentle cleanser
ACV on face and neck
Drop of Jojoba oil
Wait 30 mins and apply Retin-A

Weekly treatment:
Fresh Umberian Clay mask, to absorb excess oil and purg pores.

Recipe for ACV toner:
8oz plastic bottle
4oz of ACV
4oz of very strong Chammoil tea
Boil 4oz of water and add about 6 or 8 tea bags, steep for 30 mins., let tea cool completly then add to your plastic bottle, combine ACV, shake well.
This mixture DOES need to be refriderated.
If the smell bothers you, you can add essential oils to cut the smell. I hear Ylang Ylang is good for that. Carekate or Wildflower are both good resources for info on that, they are both on this forum, and always willing to help people! Wink

Or you can search this forum for info yourself.

Since I have been doing this for 3 months my skin has completly cleared up(a first for me!).
I saw results within the first 2 weeks. Hope this helps! Very Happy

free skin care · Fri Aug 11, 2006 11:16 am

Oh, I almost forgot, The ACV toner will help fade old scars. Here is Carekates notepad on MUA
she has another recipe for AVC toner and tons of other useful info.

http://www.makeupalley.com/user/notepad/carekate/

I hope this link works!

Also, the ACV toner will dry up any blackheads you have, so I suggest after a month of usage getting a facial for extrations.

Good Luck! Very Happy

free skin care · Fri Aug 11, 2006 11:58 am

There is a new line Rodan+Fields that seems to be better than Proactiv.

free skin care · Fri Aug 11, 2006 12:09 pm

ProActiv does work for some but for many it is too drying.

My teen son has tried almost everything out there and is now using a regime set up by the President of Ice Elements and their resident Esthetician.

The following is what he uses:

AM
Gel Cleanser
Anti-Aging Serum
Normal to Oily Moisturizer

PM
Radiance Cleanser
Acne Serum
Radiance Souffle
Anti-Aging Serum

3 X a week 2 Minute Miracle Exfoliation Gel

I have a review of it here:

http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=15222

This is working for him better than anything else. The results so far have been amazing for him and he actually recently got his hair cut, which was a really big deal for him as his largest problem area is his forehead.

His skin is not clear, however, if you could see a before and after you would see that the results are amazing.

He has been using the Ice Elements products for just about a month... although he adding in the Radiance products, the acne serum and the 2 minute miracle gel about a week and a half ago.

Good luck!
Bosoxy.

Fri Aug 11, 2006 12:34 pm

I don't like ProActiv because I don't believe anyone should use BP all over their face. As a spot treatment, yes...but not everywhere. And it's in basically all their products. I think it strips your skin and produces more oil.

free skin care · Fri Aug 11, 2006 12:51 pm

i used proactiv for half a year and it did clear up my acne.. but it was really drying and made me get lines (wrinkles?!) in my face. as soon as i stopped using proactiv the acne came back even worse.. when i went back on proactiv to get rid of the new breakouts it didnt work anymore. friends told me that proactiv only works if you continue useing it.. so if you want to only stick to 1 line for the rest of ur life to keep acne away.

Fri Aug 11, 2006 1:09 pm

Ive been using it, and so far it hasnt really dont anything except make my face look more oily. Ever since I have been using it, my face seems like it cant stop producing more oil.
It works for a little while, but then I think your body becomes immune to it.

free skin care · Fri Aug 11, 2006 1:41 pm

I tried Proactiv years ago and it didn't help with my acne at all. It made my skin even oilier than it already was. Sad

free skin care · Fri Aug 11, 2006 1:42 pm

ahau wrote:

There is a new line Rodan+Fields that seems to be better than Proactiv.

Rodan & Fields are the two doctors that created Proactiv.

free skin care · Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:37 pm

Yen wrote:

ahau wrote:

There is a new line Rodan+Fields that seems to be better than Proactiv.

Rodan & Fields are the two doctors that created Proactiv.

They have a higher end line that I've seen at Marshall Fields...or should I say Macy's now Crying or Very sad

. I don't know if the ingredients are similar to Proactiv's.

free skin care · Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:41 pm

Proactive acutally made my skin worse. I broke out more than before. Once I stopped using it I was fine.

free skin care · Fri Aug 11, 2006 7:06 pm

I've used Proactiv for years and it still works. I've had no problem with the product or the company-- my shipment always comes as scheduled... I know people seem to hate this stuff, but for me, and my sister it really, really works. I have dry skin, she has oily skin, and we have the same results. I use other things with my proactiv such as a different day moisturizer (Murad right now) and I've been using a Juice beauty toner. I only use the Lotion stuff at night, which is what they advise you to do if you're experiencing dryness. THis usually means that I have bottles of it piling up, which I then pass on to my sister because she uses it twice a day and goes through it quickly. It's just different for everybody. I only have good things to say about it.

free skin care · Fri Aug 11, 2006 8:23 pm

NEVER BUY PROACTIVE!! Awfull stuff! I tried it for my acne and it made me so red and did nothing but make my skin worse. My advice is to spend the money and see a skin specialist. I now use Vivier hexim wash, clindoxl gel and retin A creme to control things.

free skin care · Mon Aug 14, 2006 8:14 pm

for a 120 ml clenser, my husband can use for almost a year,
after finishing a bottle, his ance problem arise again, so he needed to purchase a new bottle,
so i think it works on him

free skin care · Tue Aug 15, 2006 3:33 pm

I tried Pro-Activ two different times in my life. Once when I was about 24 years old, stayed on it for over a year...with results that were HORRIBLE!!! dry cracked, burning, tight and red face with zits ALL OVER IT. It never got better. I stopped using it and decided to try again when I was 35. Well among the same exact results I remembered I hated the whole ordering process, you run out of certain products, wait for shipments, rude customer service and more and more ZITS TO BOOT. No thanks. Anyone asks my opinion I say : "Stay away from that crap!"

free skin care · Wed Aug 16, 2006 1:18 am

A little over a year ago, I used Proactiv for about a couple of months but didn't see any significant results so I decided to stop using it. Then a few months ago, I had a terrible break out so I decided to try Proactiv again, this time the result was bad. My break outs got worse so I stopped using it. It didn't work for me but I know that it has done some wonders for other people. When I called Proactiv to cancel my membership, their representative, who was very nice and helpful, told me that they a much more stronger version for severe acne problems.

Wed Aug 16, 2006 10:58 am

I've always had super oily, acne prone skin and the only thing that controlled it was Diane. However, after 5 years on it, I decided it was time to quit. Ugh! My acne came back worse than before. It was horrible. I had tried prescription strength benzoyl peroxide products with no luck, so I was very skeptical about using Proactiv. To my surprise, I found it actually did help. I think it has to do with the formulation and delivery process. Currently, I am only using the cleanser and lotion (and, occasionally the mask). I can't say my skin is 100% clear - I still get hormonal breakouts etc, but it's better. I have added Obagi Clear and Exfoderm and find that these have helped fade the scars significantly.

free skin care · Wed Aug 16, 2006 11:13 am

Vonstella,

I've made that homemade ACV Toner, it DOES have to be refridgerated? All this time I've just left it out!

Why does it, none of the ingredients doesn't need to be Question

free skin care · Wed Aug 16, 2006 11:24 pm

I used Proactiv with weird results. At first my skin was fairly good (for a few weeks after 2 months of using) then my skin got worse and worse. Not only that, I also had red and raw skin all of the time. My skin doesn't tolerate BP very well I have discovered. I stuck with it for around 8-9 months until I had had it. At the time I was also using Clarins products which I do not use anymore. About 9 months after using Proactiv I started using Benzaclin (Rx BP and topical antibiotic combo) for about a year then stopped using it b/c, again, my skin was too red and irritated.

Proactiv can work for certain people. How long have you been using it? What have the results been? Maybe it will work for you (fingers crossed).

About scars... I have found that the aspirin mask has helped a lot. I also have been using Tazorac for a little over a year now and am very pleased. It has taken awhile and even though the results aren't perfect (I still have blackheads and some clogged pores) I still see a huge difference. My skin's texture is also a lot smoother as well.

Have you considered trying Dr Hauschka's cleansing cream? (I use the homemade version). I found very good results with that as well.

For existing zits and ones that you want to heal I found a difference with Cellex-C hydra 5 B complex (basically HA and B5). Helps with the healing and to calm inflammation. I want to try PSF's O2 serum. I've heard it really helps speed up healing.

Sat Sep 16, 2006 2:58 pm

I have used Proactiv for over two years now....I have had horrible skin since I was 12 and Proactiv really did help. I can't say that it completely cleared my skin but it helped more than anything I had tried before. Right now, I have been trying some new skincare lines like Decleor and IS Clinical and i still use the repairing cream from Proactiv every morning because I'm afraid that if I stop using it, my skin will get worse again.

For the people who said they had problems with dry and raw skin, I think it's important to be careful about how much you are using the repair cream and make sure to moisturize....of course if you are using too many drying products and don't moisturize, your skin will start to crack and acne can also get worse due to dry skin. So, Proactiv may not work for everybody but it definitely helps some. Oh and I DO hate their shipping policy of the automatic shipments, that is a little shady I think. I would would like to be able to order the specific products I want when I want without them automatically sending it to me and I end up with too much of one thing and not enough of another.

free skin care · Sat Sep 16, 2006 3:18 pm

Try the acne kit from Earth to Body. I've been using it for over a month with amazing results. I started off with just the Emu-Neem soap and the Clay-Neem Treatment. My skin started to heal so I got the acne kit as well.
I love it! www.earthtobody.ca It's all natural too.

Sun Sep 17, 2006 10:32 am

Thanks for the info Yen! Their acne treatment is pretty cheap so I may have to try that, I was thinking about Proheal but I've heard mixed results and this is definitely easier on the wallet. It also looks different from anything I've tried before, using just a combination of oils to treat the acne.

Sun Sep 17, 2006 1:14 pm

I tried it. I reminded me of sea breeze or stridex.

free skin care · Sun Sep 17, 2006 5:53 pm

Pro active worked for me very well initially....but using BP consistently was not letting my post-acne red marks fade for much longer than usual....so while breakouts were fewer the appearance was worse so I moved on...

another reason to ditch proactive was the itching that followed for 20-30 minutes after the repairing lotion....

Automatic Message

If this is your first visit to the EDS Forums please take the time to register. Registration is required for you to post on the forums. Registration will also give you the ability to track messages of interest, send private messages to other users, participate in Gift Certificates draws and enjoy automatic discounts for shopping at our online store. Registration is free and takes just a few seconds to complete.

Click Here to join our community.

If you are already a registered member on the forums, please login to gain full access to the site.