Proactiv acne treatment...anyone use?

[Gamom3]

If you use this please let me know what your thoughts.

I am thinking about this for ds.

 

How bad was the acne?

Does it help clear up blackheads?

 

What did you do for shoulder acne?

[momofkhm]

I haven't used it because I found a message board somewhere (maybe iVillage?) where they were talking about acne meds. Several people said that Proactive worked great for a while and then there was a rebound effect and it all came back. :glare:

 

I went to my doctor and got Rx meds. Me and oldest dd. My face has never looked better. Oral and topical.

[thowell]

We used it I would say dd17 had moderate acne. It did work for awhile. However, she began to see that if she missed just one treatment her face would break out. It's like once you use it you have to keep using it. Awhile back someone had a thread on here about using honey. Dd17 started using the honey and her face looks GREAT! Not only is her acne completely gone but her skin looks amazing. She does try to use it every night but if she misses a night or two her face stays clear.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

:bigear:

[Journey]

My daughters used it and weren't impressed. You have to follow every step every single day and if you don't use one thing (one of the products made their skin really dry so they didn't use that step) it didn't work. It is also very expensive. They now use the acne medicie that Walmart sells for $1.97 and it works wonders. So now I'm saving $45 a month by not using Proactive that didn't even work!

[Pegasus]

Awhile back someone had a thread on here about using honey. Dd17 started using the honey and her face looks GREAT! Not only is her acne completely gone but her skin looks amazing. She does try to use it every night but if she misses a night or two her face stays clear.

 

Please share more about using honey. Do you smear it on and wash it right off or leave a thin layer on overnight?

 

Pegasus

[susankenny]

The best treatment for acne that I've found is MSM & vitamin C combined. I used this in my early 20's for moderate acne, and it cleared it right up. I also limited dairy, which seemed to really aggravate my skin. I'm almost 40 now and my skin has no issues. The MSM needs to be pure (not from walmart, etc). I liked puremsm.com

 

You can google it for more information & dosages. I *think* it was 3000 mg of MSM & 1000 mg of Vitamin C daily, but I'm not positive.

 

Susan

[susankenny]

Here's a honey mask my sister uses. It is from Dr. Oz:

 

Mash 1/4 banana and combine with a teaspoon of honey and 1/4 cup of yogurt. Spread over face and let sit for 15 minutes. Rinse with cold water and gently pat dry.

 

 

Susan

[5kidsforME]

I haven't used it because I found a message board somewhere (maybe iVillage?) where they were talking about acne meds. Several people said that Proactive worked great for a while and then there was a rebound effect and it all came back. :glare:

 

I went to my doctor and got Rx meds. Me and oldest dd. My face has never looked better. Oral and topical.

 

 

I can attest to this! I have used it and it works for a while (6-9 months) then stops working. :glare:

[BikeBookBread]

 

http://www.acne.org -- Very simple regimen, half the price, wonderfully effective. On Christmas Day, I had 35 cystic and standard breakouts on my face. Today I have none for most of the month, and 1 or 2 during my cycle. The acne.org message boards a wealth of knowledge, too. Not many people on their boards have very good things to say about Proactive...from what I read, usually the Proactive system is effective on minor acne, or effective only for a while.

[Gamom3]

Ds was using honey--I read somewhere to leave it on for 15mins. That was a problem, since we forgot most of the time until it was so late and he needed to be in bed.

We did do a scrub with honey and sugar..We still use it

 

We were seeing some improvement, but I just thought something quicker might be better.

 

Maybe we will go back to the honey and really enforce it.

[Mynyel]

I have used Proactiv and it worked on me...but I was never consistent.

 

I loved the sulfur mask. However watch it if you have darker sheets and use a white washcloth. It will bleach what it touches.

 

My bil has/has pretty bad acne. He started taking fish oil and it helped greatly. I haven't seen acne on him in years.

 

I have never heard of using honey. Hmmmm interesting.

[Chris in VA]

My boys have cystic acne and are on antibiotics and an erithromycin/benzol peroxide "paste."

 

One had it really, really bad on his shoulders, and the eb paste didn't really get at the infection--the doxycyline didn't totally clear it, either. So now he uses calomine lotion and sometimes the doxy. I thought he might need laser treatments for scarring at one point, but it really has cleared pretty well.

[LizzyBee]

I used ProActiv for a couple of years and it worked great. Even after I stopped using, my break outs didn't come back.

 

My 14 yo with SPD hates putting anything on her face, but she had pretty bad acne. I got her some acne pads because she wouldn't do a 3-step program. Her acne was better (not great), but her face was getting irritated and red. I had some leftover ProActiv moisturizer, so I gave that to her and told her to use it after using the acne pads. Her face cleared up significantly just from using the moisturizer. So I ordered the whole system for her. I had to put it on her face the first couple times, then I had her do it with my supervision, and now she does it on her own. She still won't do it every day (much less twice a day!), but she does it every 2-3 days and her face looks great. She still has small pimples on her nose, but I think they'd go away too if she'd use the ProActiv every day.

 

My oldest dd is allergic to ProActiv and Differin, unfortunately. She's using Aloette's Simply Clear line, and her face looks better, but still not great. I need to take her back to the dermatologist to see what else we can try.

[thowell]

The honey treatment dd17 uses is simple. She spreads a thin layer on her face and leaves on for at least 15 minutes. Then rinses with warm washcloth. That's it! Has worked great and it took about a week to really start noticing the difference.

[Annie]

I use honey, but I don't do the mask thing. I just massage in about a nickel to quarter size amount into my face in the shower. If I remember, I add in a bit of baking soda once a week to exfoliate. My skin has never been better, but my acne wasn't severe when I started.

[Stacy in NJ]

I had mild acne but now have zero outbrakes.

 

My oldest ds13 began using it about 6 months ago to really good effects as well.

 

I highly recommend it. You need to use it consistently as directed (all three steps twice per day).

 

When my youngest ds11 begins puberty, and if he has any acne, I'll definately start him on it immediately.

[sarawatsonim]

I used it when I was 21 and it worked great until I was around 28 and then it seemed to stop working. The acne came back worse than before, so I went to acne.org and found ideas for a cheaper store bought solution that works for me now (age 30). I use dove sensitive face soap to wash my face, a clean and clear acne astringent with salicylic acid and persa gel-5 benzoyl peroxide all over my face. I then follow up with a moisturizer for day/night. Sounds like a lot but it is way cheaper than proactiv was and works for me.