ProActive Girls

I know it has been discussed on the board a few times, but has it worked for you? What kind of acne do you have (when do you break out) and where do you get it? How long does it last?

I guess - give me the low down please. I've been to the derm. I've tried prescription stuff, Murad, Aveda...my face breaks out all the time. I rarely have a "good" week. It started after I had my girls, so part is hormonal & part is stress. It seems that salyiac acid does zip for me & benzoyl peroxide really helps me out, thus why I might try ProActive.

TIA!

I've just finished with the dermatologist, but my skin is really just 'ok'. Unfortunately I really disliked the doctor, and was so sick of taking Roacutane and all the tests that demands. Pre-period is my worst time, but prior to seeing the doctor, it was pretty much all the time too.

Like you, salisylic acid does nothing for me but the peroxide is ok, but I tended to bleach everything in sight so I do avoid it if I can! I am trying to take cod-liver oil regularly as that does help skin (not to mention joints), and drinking more water etc, but other than that nothing. Yet. I plan try tea-tree based products again.

My dermatologist made a huge fuss about avoiding oil-containing moisturisers etc - which has definitely helped - but the majority contain oil in one form or another, so that my current moisturiser is a bit lame for my approaching 40 year old skin ...if its not one thing its another

What do you use? Can you recommend a good oil-free moisturiser, and foundation come to that!?

Its just PANTS having skin problems at this age - but my mum told me that the advantage of having oily, spot-prone skin is that when we are older we'll look younger than our actual age, and if she is anything to go by it's completely true. Still, I'd rather be without, any day.

Proactive works really well for me. I've used it about 6 months. I have to admit I'm not the best at using it though. LOL I nearly always forget to wash my face at night. In the mornings and in the afternoons, I will wash my face with the cleanser and use the lotion... but I never use the mask or the toner. Even with my horrible routine, I rarely have a breakout now when I use to always have a dozen pimples on my face. I've heard people complain that proactive will bleach their pillowcases and their clothing... I can't figure that out at all. I've never had a problem. I do rinse my face really well after using the cleanser. Anyway, I really like it and got my kit on qvc.com. About 2 months ago, I had a severe sunburn and had to stop using proactive for about 2 weeks and the acne came back. It went back away after i was able to use proactive again, so I could definately see that it was working! Good luck!

i have just started using ProActive over the last month. i LOVE it! my skin isn't as bad as it was when i was young; it was VERY bad then, very painful, red and inflamed. my parents took me to a dermatologist and i was using RetinA and taking Tetracycline. it helped but eventually i think i just outgrew it? though it was a hereditary trait from my dad. his whole family-sisters and brother and a lot of my cousins had it bad too. anyway, it helps me. my skin is clearer (it doesnt help much with those pre period breakouts but i don't seem to get but a couple little ones) and my skin just feels cleaner and softer and my mom noticed that it just looks better. so its worth the money to me. i hope you find something that works for you. bad skin is not fun

I used it about 4 years ago and loved it... as long as i was drinking plenty of water... otherwise my skin got too dry. I started using it again and I've been back on it for the past 3 weeks. I had to start off using it only once a day for the first 2 weeks and then go to 2x a day because my skin was drying out. I love the face wash and the lotion, but I rarely use the toner. I LOVE the refining mask though! It works great for spot treatments. If you've got a zit coming on, dot some on it and leave it overnight... it won't be GONE in the morning like the commercials suggest, but it does help cut the amount of time you'll have that zit. lol

I order directly from Proactiv's website and I love that you can change out pieces of your 3-piece kit (my next kit I'm going to replace the toner with another face wash).

Oh, and my problem areas are my chin and the creases near my nose. I break out most the week before AF.