Proactiv Solution : Refining Mask

I have adult onset hormonal acne (with PCOS) and it's very difficult to treat. For me, when acne is crazy out of control, hugely swollen and red, really painful and deep under the skin, this stuff helps me get through it. It helps severe breakouts resolve faster. It soothes the big painful blemishes, quickly reduces redness and swelling, dries pimples out, and makes blemishes come to the surface faster and heal faster. I don't think it does much to prevent acne and I wouldn't recommend it for daily use, but I use it whenever I am really fed up with my skin and it always noticeably improves my skin overnight. It isn't going to make your skin perfect all the time, but it helps when you are having a bad time. It's the best thing I've found to use for a spot treatment. When this stuff dries on your face, it's so absorbent it sucks a lot of crap right out of your face. It does pull a lot of the oils out of your skin so if your skin tends to get dry just be careful. You might not want to use it too often or leave it on too long, or you may just need to use plenty of moisturizer when you remove the mask. I see a lot of people on here complaining about the smell and I honestly have never thought that it smelled bad. I think it smells like clay or chalk. I think it's a clean soothing smell, not gross at all! It does contain sulfur so maybe some people are more sensitive to the smell of sulfur than I am? I've tried a lot of proactiv products and this mask is the only one that ever really gave me any results.

good quick fix to get rid of pimple redness and helps remove pimples fast. its difficult to wash off in the morning and can leave to irritation if you scrub it off. 4/5 cause it works as a quick fix but it doesnt prevent pimples so dont use on entire face only on pimples.

Great product. The whole proactive system didn't work for me, but i continue to use the face mask because it actually treats your acne.

came with the proactiv kit kit did not work and neither did this i used it as a spot treatment

Absolutely try this.

This is an amazing spot treatment. The instructions say to leave it on for 10 minutes. If I apply it to my entire face (I very rarely do) then I use it for about 20-30 minutes. This will help clear acne but it is very drying and usually results in a flaky face the next day. If I use it as a spot treatment, as I usually do, I will leave it on overnight and typically wake to a reduced pimple size and less redness. So, no, your blemish will not evaporate overnight, but it will be less noticeable. This is my must-have--I hate all other Proactiv products, but this one is a keeper.

i was about 13 when I noticed I was starting to break out, my acne is somewhat irregular I have it bad somedays then somedays calm and very little. When I breakout sadly my pimples are big and throughout my chin I have tiny red zits. I started proactive when I was 14 since then it really was effective. The refining mask is the only thing that i use because the rest of the case was not useful. The refining mask does not permanently disappear your acne BUT it will reduce your specific pimple and or zit you want to get rid of. Its expensive for a little bottle but its worth it. It takes a few applications for it to be effective but overall good.

I've had a problem with acne since i was 11 n i am now 18. I'd do anything to have clear skin. I've tried many products and my skin just didn't mix with it. I tried the refining mask and instantly loved it. I automatically noticed results. It reduced my pimple size greatly and continues to each day. When i run my fingers across my face, i can't really feel bumps because they are now skin deep. Although, you can still see redness. I hope to continue with such great results. About the cons, it smells weird but who cares? It works. I sleep with it on anyways. I'd rather deal with a weird scent that i know is GOING to work. It can be pricey but amazon and ebay can fix that. It can dry your skin, but i use lotion or a moisturizer anyways. I also tend to get too happy with it and use too much at a time. You really do not need a lot i am just paranoid. Lol. Also, i use it overnight. I dont see how leaving it on for 10 minutes can help, weird. I suggest overnight. Another thing, is i never have trouble getting it off. I shower in the morning mostly, but even when i don't i just use a washcloth and gently wipe it off then wash my face and body. Then i use the proactiv wash. But, anyways i cannot see why someone wouldn't try this. Don't just use it for a day, use it for a week and see if you notice results. I couldn't imagine life without it now. My skin is the best it's been. I someday hope to not need cover up. That is my goal. I'm gonna keep it up! Please use it! It's amazing!

This is the only over the counter acne product which I would recommend to acne sufferers. As someone who has struggled with an on again off again acne battle over the last five years, I can safely say this is the only product which has continuously worked for me. I put the mask on at night all over my face before I go to bed sometimes if I feel like I need to, or just on problem areas. It makes little blemishes almost disappear and bigger ones come to a head much faster. It's very very good for oily skin (which I suffer from in the T zone), and has completely destroyed the blackheads on my nose :) The mask does have a distinct odor to it, but I kind of like it, and it's not a very strong odor. The product has done so much for me that the smell just calms me down haha. Honestly it does help to take a break from using it once in a while to let your skin breathe, and so your skin doesn't get too used to having so much extra help. I find if I stop using it for an extended length of time (a few weeks altogether), my skin breaks out...and then when I start using it again after an extended length of time...I do get an initial breakout as it pulls out the gunk from deeper under my skin. So essentially...if you have developing zits...they will come out to play sooner if you use this mask. Overall I would absolutely recommend this product. It's Sulfur based (6%) and is the ONLY acne product I use. Too many topical acne products can over time make your acne much worse, and cause your skin to develop wrinkles prematurely. I can say from experience that I have tried every over-the-counter treatment for acne...they all stopped working. THIS NEVER HAS :) and my skin has had a chance to recover from all the chemicals I tried pouring on it to get rid of a problem I needed to fix internally. While it doesn't prevent hormonal acne, it sure does a great job combating the results on the surface <3 Good luck guys :)

I have been using this for over 5 months and it does work from time to time but with little to no results and sometimes it just feels like it stops working