I haven't had any skin trouble lately until now. My skin keeps breaking out, mostly on my forehead, and it's taking so long for it to clear up. I'm thinking of trying some new face products. Does anybody use Proactive and like it a lot? I used it before and I prefer a gel or foaming cleanser, but I would be willing to give it another try.

Currently I'm using Clean & Clear makeup removing foaming face wash and their Dual Action moisturizer. My skin has also been getting drier than usual, so I need a moisturizer as well. I have been trying to gently exfoliate as needed to get any flakes off. I use oil free makeup (Covergirl Aquasmooth & Mineral Basics). I have been using this makeup for a while before the breakouts.

I used to break out a few years back from using harsh acne medicine.. it made me oilier since it would dry out my skin (I used TOO much Zapzit and also used Physoderm face wash). I do not like Neutrogena face washes or Clearasil as those make me break out as well. I don't mind the occasional pimple and I usually get one or two every now and then. The only time I had flawless skin that was smooth, soft, and breakout free was the short period of time when I was going to the tanning salon.

Nobody out there uses Proactive? I know my skin is acting up b/c of the weather changes.. I just want to fix it and get it really clear again! I also saw the Mark by Avon made skin care for both good skin and "misbehaving" skin. Has anyone tried any of these or anything else they would really recommend?

I use the cleanser and the lotion, but I do not like the toner, which I dont use ANY toner anyways (the original purpose for toner was to restore the ph balance of your skin instead of your skin restoring itself in 30 minutes of washing your face). It seems to irritate my skin because of the glycolic acid. I only wash my face once a day now because I think twice a day was too much for my skin, maybe just with water in the morning. Anyways I wash my face two times at night. Before the proactive cleanser I use clean and clear daily pore cleanser to first clean off the debris, then the ps cleanser to medicate and extra exfoliation. I only have problems with my chin and jawline so thats the only area I use the lotion. Otherwise I use complex 15 elsewhere. Seems to be working for me. Hope this helps

I personally don't get break outs anymore since I started using bc pills.
I also haven't used Proactiv other than the mask that comes with it (which wasn't very impressive at all). My sister did get break outs for a while though, and she decided to order Proactiv.
She used it for a couple of weeks, and it really dried out her skin, plus over time it made her break out even more. I've heard the same thing from other users.
I personally don't know too much about Proactive other than what I hear from others. It seems to give good results at first, but over time it creates problems, especially for people with sensitive skin.

Plus when my sister decided to return the product and cancel her order, they wouldn't take no for an answer and kept interrogating her on why she was returning it and whatnot. That's totally weird since their infomercials say that you can "return it any time, no questions asked." Yeah right.

From what I hear I wouldn't recommend it... but than again I've never used it myself. It just doesn't seem like a very good product for long-term use.

I also use Clean&Clear and really like their products the best. They're really cheap comared to everything else, yet still get the job done.

Thanks for the replies. Do you all think that maybe Proactive can work just for when I'm having skin troubles, and when not, using my Clean & Clear? I have used Proactive before but only for a few days so I didn't notice any problems, but who knows how it would be if I kept doing it for a while. I remember just preferring a gel cleaner since I don't like cream kinds. I have to wash my face once in the morning and once at night.. it gets a little too oily to skip it at either time. I do like to use moisturizer, especially around my mouth and eyes, where I tend to get driest and want to prevent wrinkles.

Do you all think maybe Proactive could work just for that? And if I used a moisturizer around the areas I never break out in, it should be okay I would imagine? I am on birth control pills as well, and they have helped a lot with the oil, but I still get the breakouts randomly if the weather is changing a lot and from stress. Also, my college campus has REALLY cold classrooms even when it's very hot outside, so I'm sure that doesn't help my skin either!

Hi,

My sister uses Proactive and loves it, but she has very oily skin and bad break outs. For myself, I have dry skin and the once a month breakout near my chin, and use Clean & Clear foaming soap and use the acne balance toner every other day so it won't dry out my skin more than it usually is.

I think Proactiv is a bit too expensive for occasional use. According to their infomercials you should use it consistently to get the results (from the way I remember it).

I would personally try something else for occasional breakouts. There are tons of products out there... Clean&Clear being #1.
I also recently discovered Got2B face masks. A few people I know who have tried those say that they're great and work very effectively, but I haven't tried them yet. I did go to the store the other day and found three different kinds, but I looked them up online and they seem to have a collection of 6 different masks.
Two of them are specifically for breakouts (one has 0.5% Salicylic Acid, and the other has 2%).
I only found three kinds, and all three smell wonderfully fruity, plus the ingredients are natural since they're mainly fruit extracts, fruit oils, Witch Hazel, etc (the good stuff).
I'm definitely looking forward to trying the peel-off kind... I'm also hoping to find the avocado clay mask, unforunately all these are a bit harder to find in stores (just like the other Got2B products).

You could give that a try... They're about $4 I think, pretty cheap.
You can probably find them at drug stores or online.

Anyway, those are just my suggestions. It helps to go to the store and browse through products, I do it all the time and discover some really interesting products I've never even heard of... I definitely wanna try a lot of them.
Good Luck!

I love fruit scented things! Maybe I'll try out some of those masks. I have the Queen Helene mint julep mask and always forget about it.. I should give it a try right now, although for now my skin is starting to improve (hope it stays that way!). I just have this really deep pimple on my chin that I can feel that has been there for at least a month.. at least it isn't completely above the surface.

Sounds like a lot of you like Clean & Clear! Which products do you all like best by them? I really like the Dual Action moisturizer but I'd like something a little more moisturizing to use around my eyes for the winter. I've used the oxygenating face wash, morning burst, foaming oil free cleanser (I think it's the one?), and now the makeup removing foaming cleanser. I like the foaming ones best I think but they use up pretty fast for me. I just bought the little pack of strips of facewash you add to water (comes in a purple little flat box). So far they seem good!

I love fruit scented things! Maybe I'll try out some of those masks. I have the Queen Helene mint julep mask and always forget about it.. I should give it a try right now, although for now my skin is starting to improve (hope it stays that way!). I just have this really deep pimple on my chin that I can feel that has been there for at least a month.. at least it isn't completely above the surface.

Sounds like a lot of you like Clean & Clear! Which products do you all like best by them? I really like the Dual Action moisturizer but I'd like something a little more moisturizing to use around my eyes for the winter. I've used the oxygenating face wash, morning burst, foaming oil free cleanser (I think it's the one?), and now the makeup removing foaming cleanser. I like the foaming ones best I think but they use up pretty fast for me. I just bought the little pack of strips of facewash you add to water (comes in a purple little flat box). So far they seem good!

Another product I've really enjoyed lately is by Maybelline. It's Pure Makeup concealer stick. It has acne treatment in it and is GREAT for covering up spots. Works better than other things I've tried and does seem to help heal them! It's not expensive either.

I have found that buying Proactive in the malls is cheaper than ordering it. I remember seeing it for a lot online but you can buy the whole set for about $20 in the mall! Much better price. Maybe I will consider it IF my skin continues to act up or get even oilier, but for now I'll try what I've been doing for a bit longer b/c it usually works fine.