Proactive

[BeautifulMadness]

Has anyone actually used this stuff in australia lol cause im thinking of trying it i see the afters and their skin is sooooo clear and flawless...bu i dunno if they are just tricking me

[Kristin27]

Hi there,

I've used Proactiv and can honestly say it works wonders! I never ever believe that info-mercial crap, but I was desperate, and it cleared my skin up beautifully. The only time it didn't work was when I was pregnant and had a break out, but my hormones were so out of control nothing would have worked, plus I didn't really use it for long.

The cleanser is lovely, it has little exfoliating beads and makes your face feel really clean.

One little bit of advice is to use an old towel for your face, I ruined a couple of my Country Road towels with this stuff because it contains some bleaching agents! Doh!

Good luck, I know how awful it is to have pimples....

[Chocaholic]

Works wonders for me also. Except during pregnancy but all other times it is fantastic. Definitely use an old towel to wipe your face and hands after you use it but otherwise, no complaints at all.

[BeautifulMadness]

Cool, i just wasnt sure cause you never know with them ads lol

i might seriously consider it...thank you

[Jaycee]

I've used it as well, and it is great!
One thing though, it is not recommended whilst pregnant...

[Serendypyty]

I have just started using it, it's my third day, so I'm hoping that it works!
It took me a while to cave to Pro Activ because I too wasn't sure if I should believe the infomercials. But nothing else works so I decided late one night when I was trying to get bub to settle that I should give it a go. I'll let you know if anything has changed in a week or so

[Lilly-Pilly]

Proactive is actually really really bad for your skin. Like its mentioned, it contains bleaching products, which is why it dries up the acne and pimples, but the ingredients are really awful for your skin.

Its not recommended during pregnancy because your skin absorbs anything you put on it, therefore you are absorbing some pretty nasty chemicals with the pro active.

You are much better off with a really good quality face care range like clinique or pevonia and cleanse, tone and moisurise your face twice daily.

[Victoria Tsoleridis]

Proactive is great because it contains benzoyl peroxide. This ingredient is 'bleaching' as Dee has mentioned, however it's mechanism of action is that it acts to increase oxygen to the acne bacteria. Acne HATES oxygen. thus, acne dies. It doesn't whiten the pimples, it just increases oxygen to the area. All the research I have read suggests that there's not much difference between 2.5%, 5% and 10% concentrations on the effects of acne. So I would suggest 2.5% is enough, and much milder on the skin. be sure to apply a good antioxidant cream (vitamin A&C) afterwards and keep up the antioxidants in your diet.

There's a wide variety of much cheaper products with 2.5% BP like proactive on the market. ...let me know if you need more help.

[sofia]

Its not recommended during pregnancy

I have queried this with my doc, and he advised me that it was okay to use in pregnancy. I guess to be safe, just use it every other day or not use it at all...it depends how comfortable you are with it.

I have used it pre-pregnancy and it worked wonders on me. I stopped using it until about 2 weeks ago (i"m 32 weeks pregnant now) and use it every other day.

[Jaycee]

When I was using it the booklet that you get with it said that it's actually not recommended to use whilst pregnant.
Not sure if it says so now though, it was a couple of years ago...

[Sair]

In the booklet it says it is safe, it does mention in the booklet that some pill is unsafe. I got confused when I read it at first and thought that the Proactive is unsafe.

I bought mine before I knew I was pregnant because I suddenly broke out in those cyst like acnes really bad (I wonder why ) It didn't do anything then so I stopped using it and now that I am in my second trimester my face has cleared up (glad I am not subscibed to receive it every 2 months now) It does bleach your towels and pillowcases. It is the repairing lotion (step 3) that has the bleaching agent so don't use it at night to avoid bleaching your pillowcases.

My sister suffers from really bad acne and swears by the stuff but I am not a long enough user of it to be able to give a definate opinion.

You could always try taking zinc tablets and using tea tree products provided you are not pregnant.

[Serendypyty]

I'm still using it and it seems to be doing the trick. I find that I just need to make sure that I'm following the routine strictly. The good thing is that you can use the moisturiser as a spot treatment if you want to during the day to help clear it all up faster!
It hasn't cleared up everything yet but I'm starting to wonder if perhaps I have some scars

Just make sure that you wash your hands and face thoroughly after use or you could end up with bleach marks on your towels

[BeautifulMadness]

Proactive is actually really really bad for your skin. Like its mentioned, it contains bleaching products, which is why it dries up the acne and pimples, but the ingredients are really awful for your skin.

Its not recommended during pregnancy because your skin absorbs anything you put on it, therefore you are absorbing some pretty nasty chemicals with the pro active.

You are much better off with a really good quality face care range like clinique or pevonia and cleanse, tone and moisurise your face twice daily.

thank you. i dont think ill spending $60 every 2 mths for a product that doesnt sound to great

so what do u reccomend? and any tips to get the same results

[Sair]

Ella Bache has a really good product called Problem Skin Lotion. It worked really well for me when I had it. You just get a makeup remover pad and wet it, then you wring out the water and apply the lotion and dab on your face. The reason for wetting the makeup pad is to avoid using so much of the product because it is quite costly.

Taking zinc tablets also helps. There is some other tablets you can get as well, they are chewable tissue salts the name escapes me at the moment but they are only $6 a bottle.

[Bathsheba]

Um... someone has just bought this for me... the starter kit... I received it in the mail today. It wasn't my DH... it's a mystery... when I find out who it was I guess I'll start trying it. Although my skincare philosophy is to kinda stick to very natural products (a combination of MooGoo and MiEssence has constituted my skincare routine for the past year). I do get the occassional breakout on my jawline and neck... it will be interesting to see what happens.

I'll post more when the mystery is solved!

[Inanna]

The chemicals in this product freak me out! I would be careful...

[Bathsheba]

It's really strange... I can't think who would buy this for me... especially given that it has an ongoing cost. I rang the company but they can't tell me. At least it seems that my credit card won't be debited...

I'll give it a go... but I can't see myself using it for the long term. From what I can gather there is bleach in the product... well, given that I use body bleach to deal with unwanted hair (had no adverse reaction) I guess it should be ok... but I only use that every few months, not daily.... and I dye my hair once a month (no adverse reaction) so I guess that's another form of chemical use.... I wouldn't want it to get too 'cumulative' though...

I feel a bit awkward... it's obviously a lovely gesture... but most people who know me know that I have a preference for natural skincare products... it may have been my mother... but she's gone "natural" as well...

[Inanna]

The peroxide is the bleaching agent - it's been used for eons to control acne - it's not a new concept by far...

What concerns me is the damage long term... Bath I would stick to miessence or L'occitane or some other natural product. Maybe send it back if you aren't okay with using it. Or give it away to someone who is okay with it?

It is the culmative affet of all of the chemicals not just one off use that should concern us. For example SLS is in almost every foaming product (uless you make conscious choices not to use it).