Has Proactiv Solution Worked For You?
POSTED BY Andrea at INO, Jul 3, 2008 AT 06:50 pm
I'm totally serious here--there are a few people who have asked me about Proactiv Solution, and I know it's been around a while, but I haven't actually tried it, so I'm reluctant to base my opinion on what I've read. I'd much rather base it on user credibility--and one thing I love about INO Beauty & Shopping readers is that you are honest about products!!!
Now celebrity credibility and endorsements--we all know it's got plenty of that (I have to say that Alicia Keys' skin is looking great these days, but is that just due to serious air-brushing and high-priced make-up artists??). Here's what I have heard about Ms. Keys' experience:
Before she appeared in an infomercial for Proactiv Solution, Alicia Keys used the anti-acne system for over a month and saw minimal results."
Apparently, the musician kept calling the company because her skin still had problems. A doctor told her to "stick with it," and, voila!:
...Within two months, her blemishes diminished."
Sounds pretty magical, and I've heard many other testimonials like this one!! So it works, then! I mean, the company swears by the product so much that it urges you to see a dermatologist if it does not work after 60 days!Â
Okay, I hate to be the devil's advocate here, but I also read this:
Jessica Simpson, the biggest celebrity endorser of all, was once plagued by acne, but what exactly helped her clear up her face?:
According to Simpson herself (in Jane magazine and E! TV), the answer was the strong prescription medicine Accutane. A form of vitamin A, dermatologists have long seen the beneficial effects of Accutane to normalize pores and shrink oil glands, improving the skin of millions of patients."
Okay, help! Well, I guess maybe it's one of those things that work on a case-by-case basis?  If you've got an opinion on it, or you've tried it, comment about your experience!! That way, at least we'll know how to make sense of all that's been written about this very popular product!!
(Some content courtesy of Allure Magazine and skinema.com; Wenn; Bauer-Griffin)
26 Comments
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never worked for me
I bought the whole system and used it faithfully for 2 weeks. It cleared things up ok I guess but it was so dying that I had patches of severely hard dry skin...and I was only using it once daily. I now use it once a week or so and I think it helps a bit. DON'T use the mask - it has such a strong sulphur odour that your face will smell like it for 2 days - really gross!!
proactive did work for me. but if you don't use it for 2 days or more the acne starts coming back.
I used Proactiv for almost two years and it worked well (I still had bad pimples a few times a month). Then, it stopped working and starting my skin out really badly. Now I use Murad Acne Complex and it's alright. I think I have really tough skin to satisfy. It gets very dry depending on the weather, but I also get very bad pimples often. It's a never ending battle.
I tried the Murad system and it was too harsh, my friend uses their combination skin kit (she has super oily and acne prone skin) and she says it is less harsh and works better than their acne kit. Â I haven't used Proactiv, but I do now use a mask every couple of days or so and it helps...it's by Freeman (sold at Wal Mart and Target I think- I get mine online it's only like $5) and it's their cucumber peel off mask. Â Works like nothin' else I've found! Â Other than that I just use water to take my make up off. Â All the other stuff was making my skin WORSE. Â I do know that Origins for combination skin works well...when my skin flares up... but you have to use it for a couple of weeks to see any difference. Â
From my experience, Proactiv really does work well. I had issues with pimples under the skin around my chin that never seemed to go away no matter what. Within a week of using Proactiv, these pimples disappeared. It is a bit drying, so I only use the lotion at night. While I still get a pimple here or there at any place on my face, it is usually a small one and goes away within a day or two. I highly recommend it! Worth the price!
proactiv has never worked for me...
I never did Proactiv cause I'm on the pill so my skin has always pretty much been under control luckily! I had a bit of acne for a few months though before I went on the pill and I HATED it. It was when I was 18. I don't believe in the salicylic acid or the benzoyl peroxide treatments that you buy over the counter. Those are just too hard on your skin and does not get to the root of them problem, which is always your hormones - overactive androgens. I would recommend the pill to any woman who has acne. Guaranteed to work if you find the right one! Acne cannot be cured by topical solutions or silly acne pills!
Calling Accutance a 'silly acne pill' is ridiculous - this pill has helped people with serious acne finally get clear skin! My skin only had moderate breakouts that wouldn't ever go away, even on the pill (if all you ever needed was the pill be thankful but it doesn't work for everyone) and Accutance changed the way my skin worked. My skin has always been very oily, but on Accutance my skin never got oily, and it finally cleared completely. (It even kept my hair cleaner for longer!) There can be some serious side effects and it's very expensive, but for people who just want clear skin it can be totally worth it. My skin still breaks out a little, and the pill does help calm it down some, but it will never go back to how it was. I find that Salycitic Acid works great to get rid of those little bumps, but when I tried Proactiv I hated it - all it did was make my skin SUPER dry, and with oily skin that's quite difficult. But, NOTHING can be guaranteed to work! Acne comes from more than just hormones - genetics, sensitivity, oil glands, and pore size all have a great effect. And just saying that proves that you probably haven't battled your skin - you got lucky.
WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I did not say one thing about Accutane. When I said "silly acne pills" i was referring to the antibacterial ones such as tertracylines, which I HAVE been on before I got on the wonderfull BC pill. I don't know anything about Accutane since I have never been on it, so I didn't comment! But I have done topical solutions such as salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide which did not work but are very hard on the skin and DO NOT get to the root of the problem. And the tetracyclines do not either. They're only temporary. One thing I WILL say about Accutane, is that it is so harsh that it may cause birth defects on your baby if you're pregnant, so obviously it is very hard on your body!!! READDDDDDD before you snap like that, okay???
The root of acne problems is not due to hormones. I had terrible acne and went on accutane and it really cleared up my skin for the first time ever (I'd tried everything else- accutane is usually a last resort). I had issues with side effects (a stress fracture that wouldn't heal). I use the acne-free system(3 step skin care), birth control pills and retin-A to keep my skin under control but it will never be as good as it could have been if I were able to finish my course of accutane. I tried proactive, it didn't work for me, but that was before my accutane treatment, I don't think its capable of handling severe acne. For severe acne, accutane is the best medicine possible, it is really difficult to get through the treatment, but it actually changes the amount of oil your skin produces and clears acne for life.
I have used Proactiv for 3 months now and it is amazing! I used to have the worst acne that make-up couldn't even hide. My skin isn't perfect now, but it is soooo much better!
I have been using Proactiv for years and I can assure you that it has worked for me.
I used it and it seemed to work overall but not during my PMS days. And once you stop acne comes back full force. It is also very very very drying. I actually had to stop because my derm said it was peeling off my skin. Now I use the Clinque system in the morning and at night do a tree tea mask which is expensive as hell but works awesome.
Proactiv seems like a lot of work. I always see my dermatologist when I have breakouts. I had acne when I was younger and she prescribed me an oral medication (sorry, can't remember the name right now) that got to the root of the problem. It worked, now I don't take anything and only rarely have breakouts. I also eat differently nowadays so that may be part of it.
I started using Proactive about 3 yrs ago and it has worked very well for me. When I first started, I was using the whole package (wash, toner, moisturizer,etc), but after about 1/2 a year went by, I just started using the facial wash/scrub only with my own moisturizer every night. Granted, I never had BAD acne, but it was bad enough for me to want to try something I heard was good. I always recommend it to all my friends. Just stick with it and don't give up on it-it takes a little time to work it's magic! Hope this helps you!!
I've used proactive for about 5 years and it has worked really well for me, and everyone in my family. Sometimes you really don't feel like taking the time to do the three steps but when I actually do take the time my skin feels amazing. It's definitely worth trying, if it doesn't work you can just return it.
Both my sister and I tried it and it irritated our skin and didn't do much else. After using it for a few days I developed many small bumps, it didn't look good to say the least. I've heard that both proactiv and murad have potential to help people with oily skin that isn't very sensitive, but I have combination skin that is, as does my sister, and thus it seems to make us worse.
I have bad skin, not extremely bad but I constantly get breakouts and huge pimples. I used Proactiv for about 6 months. It worked really well at first, but then towards the end my skin got used to it and it didn't work as well. I've also tried Murad, and the same thing happened. Now I use a couple different products and the best thing I use right now is Differin Gel. I really think that everyone skin is different and just because one person has excellent results doesn't mean everyone will. You just have to try stuff till you find what works the best for you. It can be expensive and time consuming but in the end it will pay off :)
I stared using proactiv after my baby was born. My skin was totally freaking out and i didn't want to use anything harsh or full of chemicals b/c I did not want it to ever toug the baby. It worked really well, and there is definaely less clogged pores on my face. Unfortunately with it being summer, my face gets super oily and proactiv does nothing for oil control.
i used proactive and hated it... it didnt help my skin at all and even gave me red, irritated, swollen bumps on the side of my face (a place we sometimes forget to rinse as thoroughly as the rest of our faces). having super sensative skin, i found the best thing that worked for me was totally organic skin care products and my facialist told me AWLAYS keep your face moisturized. thats the only thing that has worked for me so far and i have literally tried every product under the sun ranging from drug store products to the really expensive stuff.
I've never used it personally, but my neice has. She has a very olive skin tone with a dark complexion. My mother (her grandmother) started noticing that was having pale greyish areas on her face. So she took her to her facialist and she was advised to quit using it immediately. The reason is because Proactive has a bleaching agent in it that can really be bad for dark-skinned people. We all use Dermalogica and love it. Oh, and I used Accutane as a teenager and it was a god-send!
did not work, tried it several times for weeks to months each time and it did nothing for my acne but sure did dry my skin out...I ended up getting red bump pimples that turned purple and left scars
I know that Alicia took Accutane also.
It actually worked for me. I tried accutane (BAD), makes your hair fall out and depression. Google it, very bad. So I had tried every single doctor prescribed antibiotic and gels and creams and proactiv actually did work. I didn't think it would because it is a tv product, but I swear by it.
I used Proactiv for two months without seeing any results, except dry skin. My acne was never BAD but Proactiv did nothing to keep my blemishes away, especially during that time of the month. However, my older brother had SEVERE acne issues (on his face as well as his back) and Proactiv did wonders for him. Maybe it's the severity of the acne? I don't know, but either way now I just use a self-heating Tea Tree Mask from BeautiControl for my skin and Olay Daily Facial Cloths for Comb/Oily skin, and it seems to be working alright.
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