This is going to be a lengthy review and if you're reading this, you're probably in search of a solution for your acne. With that said, I think there are a lot of factors in play that affect how severe someone's acne is, so take my review with a grain of salt because everyone's situation and body is different.
I'm not going to strictly say, "didn't work! don't buy!" because for some people, it does really work. and with things like diet, age, skin type (sometimes related to ethnicity), usage of other supplements/medications/makeup, type of acne, routine, etc., it's really hard to pinpoint the cause and effect of a single factor. I find helpful reviews to be very detailed, so I hope you can compare my symptoms and experience to yours effectively. To make things easier to compare, I'll list the things that I do to prevent acne and the things that I don't do. Mind you, I don't do many things to prevent acne other than cleansing/moisturizing...
My background: female, 26 years old, Asian, have had adult acne for about a year now. It's on both sides of my face from my cheekbones down to my chin. They're mostly small bumps that occasionally form a whitehead, with some sporadic deep-rooted pimples that get red/darker in color without forming a whitehead and stick around for a while. My skin is prone to scarring where a pimple leaves a long-lasting dark area.
Things I could improve doing to prevent acne:
- diet: I eat quite unhealthy (good amount of sweets, fried foods, and alcohol/cigarettes, heh...)
- exercise: I don't exercise much
- water: I drink slightly less than the recommended daily water intake
- touching/popping pimples: I try my best to refrain from touching my face but still can't help popping whiteheads and blackheads out when it gets realllllly bad
- other irritants: I wear my long hair down almost everyday, and I wear makeup about 2-3 days a week
Things I currently do to prevent acne:
- cleanse: I make sure to wash my hands and keep my nails short, and follow the directions and wash my face (at least) twice a day
- tone: I use a fresh cotton pad to wipe my face with toner after cleansing
- moisturize: I use another cotton pad to apply moisturizer, as to prevent any germs and dirt I might have missed being rubbed onto my skin
- other supplements: about once a week, I apply a clay mask. I use a AHA and BHA gel everyday.
- irritants: I remove makeup as soon as possible, I keep my hair out of my face when I'm at home (which is the majority of my time), I keep my hands/fingers clean, and I touch my face less than I used to.
My results:
- I did not ease into using the product; I jumped right into using it and did not experience any surprise breakouts
- I did not experience any dryness or redness. the repairing lotion is enough to moisturize my skin, except a small area at the corner of my mouth.
- I felt that I noticed my small, non-whitehead bumps were a little bit smaller within the first 1-2 weeks, but now they've come back...
- I still get the periodic deep and painful pimple every 1-2 weeks or so (maybe 1 or 2 on each cheek), which is an improvement, but I was expecting it to be less frequent than that.
- Scars are still there and may even be accumulating, meaning that the rate of pimple-production is much faster than rate of pimple-prevention/healing
- sun protection: I use an SPF product everyday
So yeah, it's been 30 days, which might not be enough time to really see true results, but I haven't seen much improvement. If anything, it's kept my acne at bay, and for a price that's over $30, I'm willing to try a different product that may be faster-acting, longer-lasting (30 days is not that much to give real results, whether good or bad), and maybe even a little harsher in treatment. If your habits are similar to mine but you haven't tried all your resources, I would suggest trying another product. Unfortunately I can't recommend anything, but I've usually never been steered too far from amazon's suggestions/best sellers. The only reason I tried Proactiv was because a friend highly suggested it to me, saying that he once had acne in his early 20s that was similar to mine, and it was cured after a month of using it. I guess he just got lucky that he found what worked for him... Also, it's slightly embarrassing, but take pictures and record your results. I don't vividly remember what my skin looked like 30 days ago, and I realize now that a before and after would be very useful, even if there wasn't much change.
I still have some of the proactiv cleanser and moisturizer, so I'll continue to use that (along with a different brand of toner) and perhaps things will change. I'll update my review in a few weeks.
UPDATE: It's now April and I unfortunately still haven't found an effective regime for my skin. I still stand by my rating and review of Proactiv but I would also like to add some information that I've learned in the past few months that may help you find what you need. There will be some scientific terms I'm going to discuss but I'll try my best to explain and connect it to skin care/acne treatment.
First point - pH
Naturally, your skin is relatively acidic, which sounds awful but is actually completely normal and harmless. To describe it in terms of pH, which is a scale from 0-14 to measure the acidity or basicity/alkalinity of something - the lower the value, the more acidic it is [think lemon juice], and the higher the value, the more basic it is [think laundry detergent]. Your face is typically at a 4 or 5. Water, which is neutral, is a 7. As with many other biological functions in your body, your skin will function and be healthiest at its ideal natural range. Unfortunately, many face washes are basic (pH +8) and said information is often left out of product descriptions. I honestly don't know the pH of Proactiv, but if you're on the market for effective acne treatment, search for a cleanser that has a lower pH than higher.
Second point - hydrophobic and hydrophilic products
Many people, myself included, attribute their acne to having oily skin, thus cleanse as thoroughly and often as possible to reduce oil. Adding any sort of oil would sound like the worst idea possible, but it's actually quite the contrary. First, over-cleansing can cause even more production of oil as your skin tries to compensate for the oil that was just washed away. Second, many pore-clogging products like sunscreen and makeup are more effectively removed from your skin with oil-based products than makeup wipes and cleansers (even if you wash your face 3x over). Here is a brief chemistry lesson: polarity describes how symmetrically or unsymmetrically charged a compound or molecule's electrical distribution is. Something that is polar has an uneven distribution throughout it, and something that is non polar does not. Water is non polar, whereas oils are polar. How easily something dissolves or evenly mixes together depends on matching polarities - polar molecules/compounds will dissolve with other polar molecules/compounds and vice versa. For example: a bottle of vinegar and oil salad dressing - when left undisturbed, separate into two different layers. That kind of separation wouldn't occur if you mixed a glass of milk and a glass of orange juice (a very horrifying example, sorry). That's because milk and OJ are of similar polar properties. Because we're here to find solutions for our wretched faces, we can describe polarity related to water. Molecules/compounds that are non polar like water can be called hydrophilic, meaning they'll be attracted and mix well with one another. The opposite is hydrophobic, which will repel and want to stay far away from water, like oil. So to effectively yet gently clean your face of oils accumulated from throughout the day or makeup, which are hydrophobic materials, you'll want to use a hydrophobic/oil-based substance. There are products called "cleansing balms" or "cleansing oils" that are specific for this job. However, you don't want to have all your face cleaning products to be like this - just the one for removing things like sunscreen and makeup.
Third point - hydration/moisturizing with toners and creams/gels/etc.
Oil-lacking and dried skin can be more susceptible to being reactive and unhappy. Even when it's not visibly cracked or flaked, your skin can be dehydrated. Personally I don't like the feeling of having anything on my face, even makeup - so thinking about using a hydrating toner and/or even more moisturizer was unappealing at first. I looked into various blogs and websites for recommended toners/moisturizers/gels/creams/serums for acne-prone skin before I picked a couple to try out. It adds another couple of steps to your routine and despite how it felt as I was going about through my day, my skin became less rigid and angry. However, due to how moisturizers will be left on your skin for the majority of the day or night, it's really important to make sure you look into the ingredients to avoid potential reactions.
It's all trial and error though, to be honest. But I hope this gives you a better idea on what to look for in regards for treatment. Like I said before though, every person is different. You might not even have that much acne, or maybe you have a different type than me. I would highly suggest looking into Asian cosmetics, many of which are sold on Amazon. A great part is that many popular products are still very affordable - $10 or so for a bottle that's three times the size as these proactiv ones. Don't be discouraged if you try something and it doesn't seem to work and continue doing your research and eventually you'll find it.
Similar item to consider
What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
From the manufacturer
Proactiv Solution 3-Step System Products
Cleanse: Renewing Cleanser |
Tone: Revitalizing Toner |
Treat: Repairing Treatment |
|---|---|---|
Exfoliate
|
Balance
|
Attack Acne
|
Cleanse
|
Tone
|
Treat
|
Treat
|
Hydrate
|
Repair
|
Compare with similar items
Customer Questions & Answers
Customer reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Many factors at play but personally, I don't think it's worth the price and results - see update for finding the right treatment
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2017Size: 30 dayVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2018
Size: 30 day
Made my acne worse!
By Brittney Faith Glor on January 21, 2018
This product was a waste of money and almost a year of my life. As a 16 year old girl I have struggled with acne since 5th grade. I started proactiv about a year and a half ago, I did it for the 6 months it said and I saw absolutely no improvement, in the beginning I even saw an increase in inflammation and cystic acne which I hadn’t had prior to going on proactiv. I went off of it for a while and my skin cleared up a bit but then became really oily and broke out a bunch so I decided to give proactiv a second chance in case maybe I had missed something the first time. After almost 8 months with no improvements I was done. My skin since has not gotten better and Is in fact really dry and flakey in some areas with oil in others. I do not recomend this product to anyone, but that being said I’m sure it’s worked for some people and maybe it will work for you as well. Also make sure you use white towels if you decide to try this because it will bleach ever last one if you don’t. Oh and if any of you have acne tips please let me know I’ve tried everything and my parents can’t afford a dermatologist.
By Brittney Faith Glor on January 21, 2018
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2016
Size: 30 day
Bad Reaction & Overpriced!
By Melissa Mawm on April 6, 2016
The size of the bottles is tiny for the price you pay. Active ingredient in the cleanser is benzoyl peroxide. Check and make sure you're not allergic. I have a red, burning, itching rash on my face from the cleanser. It didn't burn when applied, but less than 24 hours later my face was on fire. I would say I definitely DON'T have sensitive skin, so I'm really surprised this reacted with my skin this way. Perhaps I am just allergic. However, this definitively didn't work for me and the price per ounce is ridiculous.
By Melissa Mawm on April 6, 2016
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2015
Size: 60 dayVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2017
Size: 30 dayVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2017
Size: 30 dayVerified Purchase
Rip off!!!
By L. Nichols on May 17, 2017
Absolutely a rip off!!!!!! 2oz of toner and cleanser and 1 oz of repair!!!????? Are you kidding me?????This purchase goes down in history!!
By L. Nichols on May 17, 2017
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2016
Size: 30 dayVerified Purchase
I have purchased proactive many times. It looks as ...
By TiffaniCalderon on March 25, 2016
I have purchased proactive many times. It looks as though someone placed a 30 day trial in a 60 day trial box.
By TiffaniCalderon on March 25, 2016
Images in this review
More items to explore
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
