Did ProActiv acne cleanser NOT work for you?

Question

Everybody is always raving about ProActiv, but it didn't work for me. It worked wonders for my best friend, but not me. Her acne was smaller zits near the surface of her skin, and my acne is deep under the skin so topical treatments don't seem to work real well. I used to take tetracycline and use a benzoyl peroxide ointment that worked pretty well, but I couldn't do that permanently because I started having stomach trouble that prevented me from taking anything that had to be swallowed. So, to get back on track, is there anybody who didn't like ProActiv? What results (specifics please) did you have?

Answer 1

Since some of these treatments can be pretty intense, you might want to try some gentle, natural methods too. I haven't tried ProActiv but I know that if you are lacking certain nutrients or if your skin is irritated from too many products that might be making the acne worse. Someone posted a similar question before and here is what I told them: In addition to the regular treatments, it might help to add some things to your diet like green tea (if you can find one with ginger and green tea that's even better for your skin), ginseng, fish or fish oil capsules, zinc and lots of filtered water. For most people acne is caused by foods and products that are inflammatory to the skin, the things I listed are all anti-inflammatory and help to heal the skin. You can get them all at a health food store. And if you are still having trouble swallowing pills you might want to chop up vitamins or break open capsules and put them in food, they really do improve the way your skin looks.

Answer 2

NATURAL ACNE PROTOCOL
1/ Never, ever touch your face.
2/ Use 3 facecloths to wash your face, one to soap on, one to soap off with very hot water, one to rinse off with ice cold water, in that order, once a day.
3/ If you are under 18 take 5,000 IU of vitamin A once a day with a full meal
4/ If you are over 18 take 5,000 IU of vitamin A twice a day with a full meal.
Do not get pregnant while taking vitamin A. Do not take any more, like Accutane, it will stop you growing.
5/ Never, ever. pick, squeeze or pop your spot. Read number 1 again.
6/ Do this for 90 days.
7/ Invest in a brand new pillow and 2 new or more pillow cases to �double bag' your pillow. HOT wash every couple of days.
Source:
A bit of advice given to me as a teenager, a bit of science as I am studying allergic reactions and vitamin A is a part of that. A bit of research: I sat in a lecture at the back and watched the acne prone pick at their faces, those with the worse acne touched their faces 32 times in an hour, the clearest complexions didn't touch their faces even once. I have circumstantial evidence that acne is the result of dermatophyte transfer from hands to face...where it does not get washed off and is well fed by hormones, sweat a
nd oil...just a hypothesis... But it would explain why vitamin A is so effective as vitamin causes skin to remove dermatophytes.

The secret is never to touch the spots

Tips on how to treat acne and achieve perfect clear skin in as little as 7 days?

Answer 3

My mom purchased ProActiv for me a little while back. At first it appeared to be working, but then I continued getting bumps and nothing gradually improved, so I stopped using it once I ran out. I never had severe acne, but my main concern was discolored acne scars. I thought ProActiv would help reduce the appearance of blackheads/scars, etc., but it didn't. Even after changing my diet to eating healthier, my skin didn't improve. So now I use plain cocoa butter, which helps fade the marks and I also wash my face w/ cold water, which also helps.

Answer 4

It didn't work for me either. I found that it actually made things worse - more break outs. I was pretty disapointed too. I was expecting perfect clear skin like Jessica Simpson! LOL I guess I fell for the marketing. ProActiv is a dud in my book. You might check into Murad or Mario Badescu, I have heard both work well for deep under the skin cystic acne (which is what I have too).

Answer 5

Your acne sounds like a different kind than your friends'. I had acne like that, and I had to take Acutane for 6 months to clear it up. It worked, but it's not recommended for anyone under the age of 20 because you're body is still growing and developing. See a dermatologist.

Answer 6

Yup. I tried it for about three months just to give it a chance. Seemed like it was going to work at first and then things got just as bad as they always had been. I'm on retin-a and I take birth control pills. It's the only combo that has ever worked for me.

Answer 7

I have the same problem u did and i got proactive and it didint work at all so what idid was that i cleaned my face with lemon and it worked wonders 4 me.

Answer 8

it DIDNT work for me.. it works wonders for my best friend tho... i started to break out and it took 2 weeks for my skin to get back to normal. umm for yur specifics part, i started getting more zits on my forehead *thats wear i most commonly get them* but they made the ones i had b4 redder.. and yea... so currently i am on noxzema *i think thats how its spelled* and i use to wen i wake up and go to bed... it doesnt really take my zits completely away but after a week u can tell yur face is healthier and they are @ least less red.... adn DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!! it purifies the body... and yur skin.. and yea thats bout all the help i can give you :)

hope it helps!!

Answer 9

It didn't work for me either it just further irritated my skin. You really should see a dermatologist mine prescribed medicine that made my face clear up in about a week.

It was called Clinagel and Retin-A Micro.

Ask about this it worked great for me.

Answer 10

Ya it didnt work for me. i was so disappointed because it worked so well for my sister.

i reccommend benza-clin (you can only get it by prescription though). i have been using it for a while and seems to be working very well. just takes a long time.