Proactive - Have you used it?
 

http://www.proactiv.com/

Have you used it before? Does it really work? Heard any bad stories by people who have used it?
I don't have bad skin or something, but I get zits on almost the same places (too often).
Does anybody know if this is the kind of product that you have to buy continously or your bad skin will come back?


Some people may be allergic to this product and can therefore not use it.

I thought about buying some, but it's just too expensive. But when you see a whole bunch of celebrities talking about how well it worked, it's hard not to want to use it.

Alicia Keys really did use to have bad acne.

I never used over-the-counter acne products. Instead I went to a dermatologist during highschool, back when I had acne really bad. He proscribed a pill, Minocycline, which helped a lot. So, my recomendation would be to see a dermatoligst fist, if it's serious enough - it's their job to know these things anyways.

I can tell you that it does in fact work. For a short period of time. Your skin builds up a tolerance for it after a month or so and you go right back to having acne.

I don't speak from personal experience, though. My best friend Sarah had a wicked acne problem and she's used Proactiv. She's the one who told me her skin built up tolerance.

Also, my semi-step-sister used it and complained of the same thing.

Since, both have been on tricyclen birth control pills and that seems to have fixed everything up for both of them. Doxycycline works as well.

Proactiv contains benzoyl peroxide, but it's a very low percentage. My brother had better results with a product that was basically "homemade" by his dermatologist that contained a higher concentration of benzoyl peroxide.

People will react differently to any one type of product. From my experience it worked really well with my brother, and I use it once in a long while if I feel like my face is about to act up and I think it keeps it under control. That or maybe my eating/sleeping habits change or maybe it's other factors that are helping too. If I notice a pimple coming on, I'll use it and it goes away the next day.

I'd still check out a dermatologist first, but I've heard more good stories than bad ones in regards to Proactiv though. It is a bit pricey ($20 for 2 small bottles), but you can also spend a lot of money on products that don't really work. It wouldn't hurt to try, if it doesn't work then don't use it again.

I've thought about using it too. But I did go to a dermatologist first, and she didn't mention it (nor did I ask about it). She instead prescribed a myriad stuff for my body and face, which works if I consistently use. My face is troublesome though. I haven't found the right balance of ointment/cream usage yet as my face goes from extremely dry to extremely oily and back. :/

It's hard to face the problem when the problem is your face.

I know a couple of people who use it, or used it. It isn't the miracle product it's advertised as. I think the reason why it's so popular and why it's so effective is that it puts all the steps of skin care into one tidy package....most people don't use facewash, with moisurizer and toner. If the cause of a person's acne is simply because you're not removing all the dirt and unclogging pores then it should work well. If it's something more than that, then it probably won't work as well and it'd be better to go to a dermatologist.

If you only have a few pimples here and there, clinque skincare products are really good. If you're male that might be weird for you to go to a clinique counter and ask for it, lol...but just sayin'.

I believe Clinique now offers a men's line of facial care products.

And I agree Clinique rocks for skin care.

Clinique? Hell, rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball, just before bed, works fine for me.

Are you being sarcastic?

I use a variety of Neutrogena and Nivea products and they've been working great recently. The line-up includes lotion, facial wash, astringent, shaving gel, and aftershave. Good stuff.

Rubbing alcohol? O_o That's powerful stuff. The astringent does it for me, and I only use it sometimes.

Um...no? why?

I can semi-confirm that it works, I used it for 3 days and I could tell there was a difference, the redness in my face went down, but I stopped using it because the face wash overdryed my skin, I have pretty sensitive skin so this may not happen to you. Right now I've been using an over the counter salicilic acid face wash, but these rarely work on me, what HAS worked (remarkably well) is an over the counter pasty stuff called Dermoxyde (this is the commercial name, I need to go check what the active ingredient is), smells horrible but it WORKS (and it costs less than 2 dollars). I've been using the Proactiv products to treat acne on my forearms though (ewww), but I haven't been very consistent with it so I have yet to see results (acne tends to be tougher to treat on this area though).

I got a whole 5 product kit for like 15 dollars because someone at my father´s PO BOX service hadn't picked it up in like a month, and he got it real cheap :P (the kit usually costs close to 60 bucks I think)

People with bad complexion should generally avoid using skin-care products that contain alcohol. Actually rubbing pure alcohol on the face is insane. I don't know, maybe it somehow works for you, but for most people it would only make it worse.

I would also like to say that I have used it for a couple of months, only to find that my skin built a tolerance for it. I've switched to different things since I have oily skin (and it's a pain to maintain).

The only thing that I have found to help is to shave regularly, and to just stop touching my face unnecessarily. Other than that, I think every other product I've used has given me that same results.

I have it and have used it. It seems better then some stuff i've tried and definitely cleaned my face well. However, these days i've been liking those pads that when you add water have soap come out of them... they also have the rough brisels. I really feel like i have a clean face after using one of those.

I've used it and it works good for me and prolly would work better if i used it daily but i'm lazy. My skin is getting better on it's own though. I've not had as near an many pimples this summer than usual. Surprisinly... I guess I'm growing out of it?