I called to cancel my order and possibly get my money back. They did both and sent me some oil clearing stuff to use. As soon as that came in the mail it went into the garbage.

Actually I’ll tell you something that really worked for me. If you can afford doing this. I’ve also had acne scars and skin discoloration so I went and got a package deal on series of laser treatments. It was done over a period of 6 months. I literally took 10 years off of the look of my skin by clearing up any discoloration, acne scars and also firmed the skin. It cost around $2,000 all together but it gets at the root of the problem by basically taking off the uneven skin and revealing the new fresh skin below. There is hope out there for your skin! Diet, I know is a big part of it and also I heard that doing a cleanse (colon cleanse) also helps. You can get those from a health food store..they take about a week to do but it clears up all sorts of issues with health and skin etc. Very good to do every year!

I am TERRIFIED of what the results of Proactiv may do.

After reading several reviews, many say that it only worsens their acne and gives them even MORE pimples. This is what I DO not want. I’ve worked hard to get here with my skin, and I’m not ready to take back 3 years of hard work. I’m really caught in the middle here – does anyone have some encouraging advice? Should I use this or can it..?

I have a bit of adult acne and she recommended the Made from Earth Grapefruit Glycolic Scrub, and it works just as well as ProActiv. I used it for a couple of days, and saw results right away. Overall, my skin looks much better than before I used it. I didnt use any of their moisturizers but I would recommend the Grapefruit Glycolic Scrub.

For the record, many moons ago I did try Pernox but saw no improvement – maybe the product is more effective nowadays?
Yesterday I bought an OTC cleanser I’ve never seen before with salicylic acid that states on the squeeze tube that it is “clinically proven to instantly work 68% better than Proactiv” – I’ve had consistently good results with other OTC cleansers that contain salicylic acid.

But hope springs eternal. A couple of years ago, after seeing a ProActiv infomercial and listening to all the glowing reports from the Beautiful People, I phoned in my order but their products did absolutely nothing for me – not helpful, not damaging, just nothing. After a few weeks with no results, I went to the ProActive website and took their online test to determine which products would work on my kind of acne but after spending considerable time answering all their questions, the screen froze up and their answer never appeared – so I gather their products are not meant for me. Meanwhile, ProActive continued mailing more products to me and billing my credit card. I had some difficulty getting them to stop mailing new sets every 30 days – but they did cancel the mailings and they removed credit card charges from my bill, for which I am grateful. I offered to return the unused sets but the ProActiv consultant advised me to keep them. As I knew they wouldn’t work for me, I donated them, unopened, to a drop-off charity near my home. I am grateful that ProActiv didn’t do any harm, but wished they had done some good. The cost of these monthly supplies (plus shipping) adds up to more money than seeing a dermatologist once or twice a year and buying a few prescriptions.

If you are suffering from adult acne, I strongly recommend a good dermatologist, even if you tried that route in the past and became disillusioned. Even some of my doctors have stubborn acne, and my current pharmacist tells me she has “given up” on doing anything for her skin condition. It’s just one of those sad facts of life. But modern medicine is, in my opinion, more effective than the limited and frankly weird options of my youth. By following my current dermatologist’s orders combined with judicious use of prescription ointments and oral meds I am reasonably satisfied. In fairness to ProActive, I should add that not even all prescriptions have worked for my acne; in fact most I’ve tried have not – for instance, I found a creamy facial cleanser called Pernox so harsh on my hands that I had to wash my face wearing rubber gloves! Through trial and error, my doctor told me to discontinue using some prescriptions, including Pernox (after about 5 years of daily use) and a host of other costly stuff – I have a jumbo vat in my bathroom full of useless prescriptions – but at least I know for sure what WON’T work! There are some painful side effects to medications and I am not the greatest candidate for oral meds of any kind, but the most recent advances in medical treatments have kept my skin looking decently clear and don’t take too much time to use. The up side of my skin type is that it doesn’t wrinkle.

These days, in addition to a daily oral medication and a prescription ointment, I also use an OTC mildly acid micro scrub every couple of days, and warm gentle antibacterial soap suds to clean my face otherwise. I avoid any harsh scrubs, puffs or brushes – all which can scar my skin. I never touch my face unless I am washing it and I don’t lean on my hands; anyone who touches my face (such as an eye glass technician) had better have clean hands or breakouts will occur within a day or two of such contact. I wash my eyeglasses and sun glasses once or twice a day. I avoid facials because clay is nearly impossible to remove from my enlarged pores (particles can be seen trapped in pores by my dermatologist under magnification).

My doctors have told me that foods have no affect on my condition, but strong cheeses like feta seem to wreak havoc with my skin. My lifelong battle against acne has been marred by misery and error, but I have found some help with a good doctor and decent results from his laser treatments. Costly but useful.

I must comment on this issue (and i never do this…but:) ProActiv is the SINGLE most effective acne treatment I have EVER used, ever. I have dry, sensitive, aging skin – and with several hormonal changes – had at least moderate acne for about a decade from my 30′s through my 40′s. When I used the ProActiv I had clear, great skin. When I didn’t use it, acne came back everytime.

I had used Retin A and OTC stuff and Rx’s for years and they left me dry or rashy IF they worked. ProActiv did none of this, ever. And it works within 3 days for me. I swear by this stuff. I think it’s the lighter concentration of peroxide and the glycolic acid “preparing the way” for it, but I don’t know. I just know it worked like magic for me with my thin, white, sensitive aging skin. I wish I had it as a pimply teen. The only caveat at all was that it didn’t work for a friend’s teen I bought it for. I do think she used it regularly but she has very, very oily skin. But for my skin – awesome product.