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Proactiv Solution Reviews
People have asked me about Proactiv® so much that I decided to try it so I could give my feedback. I found it to be surprisingly irritating and utterly ineffective. However, Proactiv is on the right track in recommending benzoyl peroxide, and specifically recommending it in 2.5% strength.
Where I think Proactiv veers off track:
- Cleanser: The Proactiv Cleanser contains scrubbing beads, and Proactiv recommends washing for 1-2 minutes with this cleanser. I am quite stunned at both of these oversights. It is absolutely vital to avoid irritation when treating acne, especially inflammatory acne—the kind most of us have. Scrubbing beads, and washing for this amount of time introduces unnecessary and damaging irritation, perpetuating the acne cycle.
- Toner: I think the Proactiv toner is fine, albeit unnecessary to achieve clear skin.
- Treatment: Over my 20+ years of benzoyl peroxide research and experience, I have found that for benzoyl peroxide to completely clear acne, people must apply it generously. “Use a lot!,” is my simple mantra. It is amazing what this simple act will do toward achieving completely clear skin. Unfortunately, Proactiv packages its treatment in a 1oz. container. The small size of Proactiv ’s treatment bottle leaves people skimping and often disappointed in results. Next, Proactiv combines their benzoyl peroxide treatment with moisturizer. One of the main reasons benzoyl peroxide works so well is because it is a drying and peeling agent, which helps prevent clogged pores. For this reason, it is a good idea to apply benzoyl peroxide without moisturizer, and let the benzoyl peroxide do its thing for a few minutes (5-15) before introducing moisture. Unfortunately, you don’t have that choice with the Proactiv treatment. Lastly, the treatment is heavily scented. I personally avoid scented products because they must be applied right under the nose, and tend to linger and leave me feeling a little nauseated throughout the day.
My suggestion: To completely clear acne, it will prove far more beneficial to buy a gentle cleanser without scrubbing beads, a large, unscented 2.5% benzoyl peroxide medication, and a non-comedogenic moisturizer. Then follow these steps precisely to achieve completely clear skin.
If you currently own Proactiv Solution products, don't throw out the Repairing Treatment. If you can handle the smell, it should work in a pinch, as long as you are generous with it. I would not recommend using the Proactiv cleanser. I would also forgo the toner until you’re completely clear. Then feel free to add it in if you’d like and see how things go.
As a final note, I am thankful that Proactiv hires celebrities to talk about acne. This helps reduce stigma, so thumbs up on that!
Total results: 5,960 Viewing page: 5 of 596
Anna
January 22, 2012
| Pros | Sort of cleared skin |
|---|---|
| Cons | Left skin SUPER DRY!!! |
| Bottom line | My skin got extremely flaky and dry! I couldn't even put cover up on. It looked so bad and SO FLAKY!!! I stopped using Proavtiv after about 4 days use. Bottom line? Do not use this product. Even a moisturizer has not helped me very much. |
| Recommended | No |
| Price paid | $60.00 |
| Acne severity | moderate |
Em from California
January 21, 2012
| Pros | At first it looks like it works. Makes your skin soft at first and shrinks pores. |
|---|---|
| Cons | Makes your skin TERRIBLY dry. Skin will start getting itchy, red, and peel |
| Bottom line | Ok, the first day I used it, it was amazing! It shrank my pores, and my skin was looking great. On about the third day, I started noticing red, itchy dryness on my skin, I thought it might be okay if I just used it less often and used the moisturizer..sadly mistaken. My whole face is all peely and gross. I'm very unhappy and disaapointed with this product. :( This doesn't mean it won't work on your skin, but it definitely did not work on mine.. |
| Recommended | No |
| Price paid | $19.99 |
| Acne severity | very light |
Aimee from Melbourne, Australia
January 20, 2012
| Pros | Redness in my skin went away |
|---|---|
| Cons | doubled the amount of pimples dry skin |
| Bottom line | this product is OK, ive been on it for 2-3 weeks now and im not sure how i feel about it, i will probably get another shipment delivered, as i have a very red face ( cheeks and nose) this took that away. i dont have ALOT of pimples but i did get a few and then a few more around that time of month, but from when i started using proactive ive had 10 more pimples ontop of the original ones. im hoping after another 2-3 weeks it might subside if not then i wont be continuing to use this product my skin is dryer but im guessing because my face is " getting use to" the product and its sucking up all the bad stuff on my face. you have to SLAP on the mouisterizer. over all GREAT! on reducing redness AWFUL! so far on reducing pimples. |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Price paid | $50.00 |
| Acne severity | light |
Kait from Rochester, NY
January 19, 2012
| Pros | -Smells fresh |
|---|---|
| Cons | -Little supply -Expensive -Caused me to have bumps all over my face -Bad customer service |
| Bottom line | Proactiv worked for me for the first two days, but after that it began to burn and now my face is all bumpy. Customer service sucks so I don't know how to handle it. |
| Recommended | No |
| Price paid | $40.00 |
| Acne severity | light |
Anonymous from Lancaster, PA
January 19, 2012
| Pros | clears up ski |
|---|---|
| Cons | Expensive, the company will rip you of your money and will scam you. Also, they will send you packages once you have canceled your account. I have had to call back 4 times now to get my orders properly canceled. You will not receive your money back for packages for a month or so. Do not buy this product through the company. YOU WILL REGRET IT. Packages you did not order must be sent back shipping paid by you.Buy it in a store, a stand at the mall, or elsewhere. Dealing with this company=nightmar |
| Bottom line | good product, terrible company. Rating the customer service of the company would be a 1 out of 10.. And I am being generous with the 1. |
| Recommended | No |
| Acne severity | light |
Anonymous from Austin Texas
January 19, 2012
| Pros | are none except it makes your skin soft |
|---|---|
| Cons | this product does NOT work! Has anyone ever noticed how many times a day that stupid commercial comes on? maaaybee it's because they are dessperate to sell it. However, it seems like it'll clear up one pimple but then 2 more will pop up! So frustrating! I can not stand this product it's just as bad as over the counter sh*t you buy at CVS or Walgreens. If you have acne go see a pro about it dont get this. |
| Bottom line | This product is over rated and people should know about it. Go see a doctor if you have bad acne and want to get it cleared up or get a chemical peel or something done. |
| Recommended | No |
| Price paid | $60.00 |
| Acne severity | moderate |
Deon from Wichita, KS
January 18, 2012
| Pros | Works fast Easy to get |
|---|---|
| Cons | None Yet |
| Bottom line | On my second week of using proactiv and so far I can say its great. I never really had bad acne i would just have a couple pimples on my face at a time very light. I tried a lot of products to try to get rid of it but none worked. Before proactiv I tried a product called exposed skin care. It made my acne very severe and I used it for about 5 weeks before I stopped and it never got better I just tried it because of all the good reviews and they guaranteed your money back. After I stopped that I felt I had no choice but to try proactiv. I see a lot on negative reviews about this product so I've been ducking it but now I wish I would have tried it earlier! |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Price paid | $32.00 |
| Acne severity | moderately severe |
SexySadie from Los Angeles
January 18, 2012
| Pros | *Does clear acne *Makes face smooth and soft *Gets rid of scarring/uneven skin tone over time |
|---|---|
| Cons | *If you miss even a SINGLE day you will get at least one nasty pimple soon after. *Expensive/Overpriced *Made my face lighter or not tan the same as rest of body? *Over use will make skin peel (only use once a day, and less than that when starting out, skin must slowly get used to it) |
| Bottom line | I've used this product for several years since I was a younger teenager, I’m now 20. I can say that it does work, but only IF you use it every single day! I can vouch that it works, but I would also NOT recommend it. After all the years of using this product, I have finally decided to stop using it for good. Now that I'm 20 I shouldn’t have nearly as much acne as I did when I was a teenager. Yet still for some reason if I missed even one day, I would break out! The active ingredient, Benzoyl peroxide, works by killing all the bacteria on your face. The problem is that your face becomes dependent on it, so it can’t fight any bacteria off by itself anymore. So if you stop using it for even for just a day sometimes, you break out. I was able to slowly taper my skin off of using it, and now you know what!? My skin is exactly the same as it was while I was using it. I get pimples just as often as I did while using it. My skin is still “nice”. This product is way overpriced for what its worth, even with perfect use you will still get some acne. Once you’ve used it for a while you will notice that you will break out when you stop using it. After a while it feels like you’re being forced to buy more and more, like you cant quit or you'll get acne! It is possible to stop using it without breaking out by slowly tapering off of it. That’s what I did. I would just recommend avoiding this product if you can, I’m sure there’s cheaper and more efficient ways to deal with acne. |
| Recommended | No |
| Price paid | $60.00 |
| Acne severity | light |
Mallory from Iowa
January 18, 2012
| Pros | - Reduces acne/oil - Softens skin - Relatively quick |
|---|---|
| Cons | - Can burn - Can overdry the skin - Expensive in relation to its size |
| Bottom line | I have had severe hormonal/stress-based acne on and off since the 7th grade. I have tried absolutely everything (Accutaine, prescription creams, microdermabrasion, etc.) and nothing seemed to work longterm, or if it did it was far too expensive for my tight budget to continue doing regularly which only led me to have to stop the treatment and break out all over again. I am now 23 and still facing the problem of annoying and relatively severe acne and, being a broke recent college grad, was searching for a budget-friendly solution. I figured I had nothing to lose and gave Proactiv a try. Surprisingly, Proactiv seems to be the solution to clear up my skin. Yes, it is a bit expensive for the amount they give you, but a very little bit goes a very long way. I saw results within a couple of days. With continued use it keeps my skin soft, my acne under control, and my face far less oily. As with any product it depends on the individual, but I have found this to work for me and am willing to pay the $19.99/mo for clear skin. The lotion can leave skin dry, especially in the harsh Iowa winters, so I try to only use it at night and use a normal moisturizer during the day (I use Olay Total Effects). The cleanser slaughs on any dry skin that happened to accumulate overnight and pairing it with a different moisturizer in the morning has not hindered its results for me. |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Price paid | $19.99 |
| Acne severity | moderately severe |
Freya-Dillila from LA
January 18, 2012
| Pros | - Well advertised - Came as a kit - Easy peasy instructions |
|---|---|
| Cons | - Smells like a Rat died in it - Stupidly over priced - Bleaches towels and pillow cases |
| Bottom line | It made my face feel like it was melting, it stung SO much my face was red and slightly puffy around my eyes, it was mortifying to go to school, this happened a week after using it so naturally I stopped using it. It's a scam; we were cheated out of so much more money than it said on the ad! I cancelled my Subscription after winning World War III with Costumer Services and then next thing I know, another batch at my door step my Mom, God. I have never seen her so angry she was apocalyptically cross. Then after two months we FINALLY got it out of our lives. |
| Recommended | No |
| Price paid | $231.15 |
| Acne severity | very light |
Total results: 5,960 Viewing page: 5 of 596
