Proactiv Solution : Acne Treatment System

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2.7
7173 Reviews
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Renewing Cleanser Active Ingredient: Benzoyl Peroxide (2.5%). Inactive Ingredients: Water (aqua), magnesium aluminum silicate, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, sorbitol, dimethyl isosorbide, disodium PEG-12 dimethicone sulfosuccinate, tridecyl stearate, neopentyl glycol dicaprylate/dicaprate, polyethylene, cetyl esters, anthemis nobilis flower extract, sodium hyaluronate, sodium PCA, xanthan gum, tridecyl trimellitate, propylene glycol, Imidazolidinyl urea, methylparaben, propylparaben, fragrance (parfum). Revitalizing Toner Water (aqua), glycolic acid, hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) extract, anthemis nobilis flower extract, rosa canina fruit extract, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, sodium PCA, panthenol, glycerin, propylene glycol, allantoin, polysorbate 20, hydroxyethylcellulose, sodium hydroxide, benzophenone-4, tetrasodium EDTA, imidazolidinyl urea, methylparaben, propylparaben, fragrance (parfum), blue 1 (CI 42090), yellow 5 (CI 19140). Repairing Treatment Active Ingredient: Benzoyl Peroxide (2.5%). Inactive Ingredients: Water (aqua), ethoxydiglycol, cyclotetrasiloxane, cyclopentasiloxane, cetearyl alcohol, propylene glycol, dimethicone, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, panthenol, allantoin, xanthan gum, ceteareth-20, carbomer, triethanolamine, diazolidinyl urea, methylparaben, propylparaben, fragrance (parfum).

Items marked with red have tested a 3 or above (out of 5) in comedogenic (pore-clogging) testing.

The list of ingredients above is provided for informational purposes only. Always check the actual product label in your possession for the most accurate ingredient information due to product changes or upgrades that may not yet be reflected on our web site.

5
9.9%
4
20.3%
3
23.7%
2
21.4%
1
24.7%

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December 2, 2011

Pros:

-flattened out a lot of my little bumbs
-evened my skin tone out a little
-prevented some future pimples

Cons:

-didnt flatten my big, forming pimples!
-made my skin dry, there for causing more acne
-made my face pale!!
-BURNED ME

I do think its a good product just not as great as I hoped. You have to be really dumb to walk outside with proactiv still on. Obviously you have to wash it off and you wont get a sunburn. I still get about one pimple per week including blackheads. Not to mention my acne marks and bumps that just wont go away. My face is oily! Also make sure your hands are sanitized before using proactiv. Popping a small pimple is like asking for three more too come out. Last, PROACTIV WONT CURE YOUR ACNE!! SO DONT GET YOUR HOPES UP!!
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November 30, 2011

Pros:

Quick results
Really does help with breakouts

Cons:

Over time, can be extremely dehydrating
Bleaches clothes

Proactiv reminds me a little of the double-edged sword that is chemotherapy. Yes, chemo can kill cancer, but it also almost kills you in the process. The same is true with Proactiv - the BP will kill your acne, but it will also strip your skin of many essential oils and nutrients. I used this for years, only going off of it when my skin got clear enough that I felt that constantly applying BP to good skin would be damaging. What I noticed was that as much as my breakouts were kept at bay, Proactiv ultimately made my skin more sensitive and dry, as well as rougher in texture. What scared me was the fact that after accidentally wiping a tiny bit of my shirt, the cotton bleached and eventually became thinner and thinner until it formed a hole. The idea that I was putting such a harsh chemical on my FACE every day kind of freaked me out. I think there are natural methods to improving skin that are far better than creams/lotions like Proactiv that basically kill everything.
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November 30, 2011

Pros:

It's less irritating for my skin than other programs I've tried.

Cons:

Over-drying, abrasive, has fragrance.

I keep coming back to Proactiv after trying other products because it seems to break me out the least. But it still breaks me out. It's impossible to use Proactiv while on The Regimen because the cleanser has exfoliating beads.
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November 29, 2011

Pros:

helped acne a little. face cleared up some

Cons:

dried skin out
didn't clear up all of skin
did nothing on blackheads
a hassle to do all three steps twice a day

i recommend it if you have light acne, but if moderate or worse don't get it. it will help a little bit but not enough.
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November 24, 2011

Pros:

made my skin feel clean
helped my acne a little

Cons:

expensive
strains your skin of the "good" oils you may need later in life!

honestly.... i havent really seen much of a difference in my skin after using proactiv.... i have been using it for 4 months now and it is part of my everyday routine. i have to admit my acne was not "severe" to start with and is very sparce now with only a pimple or two, or more when im on my period. it does NOT dry out my skin. It did a little the first month i used it, but you have to give it some time and be patient. Your acne will not clear up overnight! I think the people who say it dries out their skin must not be moisturising! i use neutragena sensitive skin oil-free moisturizer and i LOVE it!!! it works sooo much better than the green tea moisturizer it gives you! so i do think it works well, but i am undecided about the price.. it is pretty expensive but i havent actually paid much attention to it! haha but the one thing i have found about it is it strips your skin of ALL oil on your face and may make you age faster, but i do not know much on this but my friend who is in beauty school said it was bad for you but im not sure! i hope this helps and isnt too confusing! ahahha good luck!!
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November 21, 2011

Pros:

- makes skin smoother and pores less noticeable
- breakouts clear quickly
- prevents future breakouts
- works within a few weeks

Cons:

- super, super harsh/drying
- pretty pricey
- initial breakout

Proactiv is definitely not the miracle treatment that it's touted as by its advertisers. Having said that, it has worked pretty well for me. From the first use my skin felt a lot smoother and looked a lot brighter. In the first couple of weeks of use I had a few breakout issues which I think is caused by the exfoliation/ingredients which bring impurities to the surface. After that passed, however, it's been pretty good. The major downside with Proactive is that it is ridiculously harsh on the skin and, if you have quite sensitive skin like me, it's probably going to leave you pretty dry, especially when you first start using it. The first week I was using Proactiv, my skin felt uncomfortably tight and flaky and my eyelids became dry, red and really painful (even though I obviously wasn't applying product to my eyelids). I decided to stick with it though, got a really good moisturiser and tried to use the Step 3 Repair Lotion quite sparingly. The Proactiv oil-free moisturiser is not going to do the trick to counter the drying effect of the three step system. I'm using Dermalogica Super Rich Repair at the moment which is really great, albeit a bit pricey. High potency vitamin E cream works well also and is usually under $10 from a drug store. Basically, I would say there's a lot of things that would probably work better than Proactiv (doxycycline, for example, has been the best thing I've used) but if you invest in a really good moisturiser and aren't too liberal with the repair lotion, hopefully you'll see some good results with Proactiv.
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November 5, 2011

Pros:

May work for a while

Cons:

Dry
Oily
Expensive
Causes premature skin aging

I saw results after 2 months. Worked like a charm for a year and a half. Later it stopped working. And it left me lots' of problems (wrinkles, dry but oily skin, etc)
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November 2, 2011

Pros:

Cleared up my skin
Cleanser is a great exfoliator

Cons:

Toner stings a bit
Very expensive for the amount
Very fragrant

It did clear up my acne, but I used it in conjunction with a prescription medication, which I think did more to get rid of my acne, and proactiv helped to maintain that. I did wean myself off of both, to see how well my skin held up, and it's doing fine. I stopped using it mainly because it's expensive and I found better, cheaper and more natural products. For each of the products: the cleanser is quite abrasive, and I have tough, oily skin, so it worked for me. The toner stung, and I didn't feel like it did much, just dry out my skin even though there's no alcohol. The repairing lotion, I think, is a must. It keeps my pores clean, and that's the only thing I plan on repurchasing. I've heard a lot of people say the system stops working the instant you stop using it...thankfully not for me. Overall, this is really for people without sensitive, dry skin, who have the money, and aren't sensitive to fragrance. I would recommend this... But then again, not everyone has my skin type
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October 25, 2011

Pros:

Acne disappears for the time Proactiv is used.

Cons:

Cleanser and moisturizer runs out quickly.
Acne comes back after stopping use.

My acne just wouldn't go away, so I finally decided to try Proactiv because I heard that it worked. And it did. In a couple weeks, the acne was disappearing and after a month or two, it was gone. Because the cleanser runs out fast, I had to keep buying it. I finally decided to stop using Proactiv about a month ago. All the acne came back, twice as bad as it used to be before I started it. I'm contemplating whether to get back on Proactiv or not.
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September 18, 2011

Pros:

It makes your face feel clean, even though once you look in the mirror, it is just as bad as it was before. It doesn't increase amount of acne it just really didn't seem to do much of anything. AKA not much of an initial breakout. It does make your face dry, no oily skin anymore atleast!

Cons:

Makes face visibly more red.
No improvement.
Very dry face.
harsh chemicals, the third step will dye your sheets at night.

I think I may have over used this product, washing your face to much can simply make it worse. I think proactiv is worth a shot honestly. Because for the people it does work for it really fixes their acne for good. But if it doesn't work for you your face probably wont get much worse, just remain how it was. Give it a month or two to see if it really works for you or not. Your body needs to get use to these types of things it's not going to fix it overnight.
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