Should I Stop Proactive or Continue?

Question

I been using proactive solution for about over a month, prior to using it, i had mild acne on my forehead and no where else. then i used proactive and it made my right cheek full of blemishes and my forehead severe. i only use it once a day, before bed and i use it everyday. what should i do? do you think using it twice will make it better?

and how severe is it when you stop using it because i heard from a lot of people that if u stop, you start breaking out

Answer 1

STOP! Proactiv dried out my skin and made it worse. I suggest using Skinceuticals or Murad Acne Care I think both are wonderful for clearing up skin and many people have positive things to say about each. Both are available at Sephora! Good LUCK!

Answer 2

Only use Proactive if you have the money to buy bottle after bottle. Yes Proactive works, but it is like $60 a bottle. There are better products than Proactive that cost way less like Neutrogena Acne Face washes that work very well. Proactive stops working like a few weeks after you stop using it.

Answer 3

OMG, thats wierd - I also suffered from mild acne and bought proactiv and as you described my cheeks are full of zits all of a sudden more so than when I wasnt using anything! So I stopped the Proactive 2 weeks ago and go Clearasil Ultra the one that guarantees clearer skin in 3 days and IT WORKS GREAT! Im almost afraid to even bother with Proactiv and after spending $40 bucks vs clearasil $6 - I just might send it back.

Answer 4

I use proactive as well and I'm not to thrilled with it either. I noticed if I stopped using it a whole bunch of blemishes would appear. If I used it once there was no progress but twice it decreased the acne. I'd try using it twice for a week longer and if there's still no improvement or if irritation occurs I'd stop using it. My sister unfortunately has pretty bad acne and her dermatologist says it's not such a miracle worker like the commercials make it out to be.

Answer 5

I have never used proactive but I read in a magazine that in some cases the acne can get much worse before it gets better. I believe the explanation was that the proactive solution is bringing up bacteria to the surface of the skin and once those blemishes heal your skin will be much better. Sorry I don't have any proof that's purely what I have read. (Personally I would have stopped the moment my skin got any worse.)

You could try some different cleansers. Proactive could simply be to harsh for your skin type.

Best of luck to you.

Answer 6

Stop using it. If it is causing an adverse reaction, stop taking it. I will offer an alternative that is natural and is very safe. Try using WitchHazel. You can get it at Walgreens or Walmart. Any pharmacy should have it. Use it as an astringent. Avoid the eyes. WitchHazel is a very old product that dates back to the times of the Civil War and the Old West. It's still around, so there is something to this product. It is wonderful. It worked for me when I was going through bad acne. You should give it a try. It may burn a bit on the open zits, but it doesnt sting for long. Hope this helps. Let me know if it did.

Answer 7

If it's making your acne worse you should stop using it. Also, you should stop using it because it only hides the acne when it is working. I've used Proactiv before The first time I missed 2 days all of my acne came back. Try Clean & Clear it works better.

Answer 8

Do not continue. It's obviously breaking you out. It's probably over drying your skin. I say go to a dermatologist or began using gentle nutrogena products like the face wash and lotion that are dermatologist recommended. Don't play with your skin because acne can leave scars.

Answer 9

Well i would stop using it my friends had very Little acne and when they started using proactive it just got worse .

Answer 10

if your face is worse than before you started, I would stop using this product and find something else to use. My daughter and I both tried proactive, it worked fine for her but I didn't have such good luck with it! I broke out worse too! I now use LUMENE and am having good results. Good Luck!!