I had heard great reviews about proactiv, but it was way too harsh for my skin.

Background: I never had acne when I was a teenager, then adult-hood hit and bam - acne everywhere. Like bad, cystic, painful acne. Tried everything under the sun, nothing worked. At this point I'm desperate and decide to try proactiv - what's the worst that could happen? Three months go by with no results, but the instructions say it takes a while to work, so I keep at it consistently - all 3 steps, twice per day.

Results: After breaking out, drying out, breaking out, drying out, my face starts to get used to the products and my acne clears up. IT TOOK 3 MONTHS BUT IT WAS WORTH IT!

I started to wean off to once/day and this kept my face clear. Eventually, I discontinued the product completely and canceled my subscription. My face stayed clear until some stressful life situations got the best of me and now I'm fully broken out again. BOOurns! So mad.

Moral of the story: Proactiv is pricey, but if you're desperate, it might be worth a try. Just be prepared to make at least a 3month commitment - that's why the guarantee is 90days, because sometimes it takes that long to begin to work consistently. Also be prepared for your skin to dry out. It sounds aweful, but acne bacteria feeds off oil. Until all the bacteria are dead, you can expect dry skin. Then, once you're clear for a month or so, cut back to a "maintenance" dose - the frequency of this will depend on your skin type and "oilyness". Then you can expect to see the drying subside.

Update: Now, I'm on Clindoxyl - benzoyl peroxide (Proactiv's main ingredient) plus an antibiotic (clindamycin). I'm covered through insurance, so the price is zero.

The good thing about benzoyl peroxide is that it doesn't cause resistance like antibiotics. The downside is that it's a free radical. This means it kills bacteria, but it also kills skin cells, hence the drying effect.

Hope this helps anyone struggling with acne. If you choose to try Proactiv, just be ready to stick with it.

Good Luck!

I had heard a commercial on the radio for this product and there was a special offer where if you called this number you can try the product for $19.99. I had been thinking about trying it and decided to call them and find out more. I called and was talking to a girl who reasurred me the price from the ad. and the delivery cost which in total was like $24.99, so i decided to go ahead and put it on my visa. I had recieved the package about a week and a half later and was floored to see that they had charged my visa $54.00 plus shipping. I had called the company and got nothing but the run around. I was so mad that they didnt follow through with what they had agreed to regarding the price that i refuse to support their product. So if you ask me either way you cannot justify saying one thing and doing another to the people who buy your products!

My boyfriend bought this set for me it was the cleanser, toner, lotion and spot treatment. I always wash my face at night with a cleanser and in the morning with just water (to help me wake up). Ive been using this product for about a month and its not doing anything super special or amazing for me. I will continue to use it until its gone, but i wont be buying it again.

These products did not work for me. I know many people that it has worked for but I believe it depends on the severity and type of your acne. What I do not like about these products (along with those that I know this has worked for) is that it is extremely drying. It makes your skin extremely dry and flaky (even with the included exfoliant). Another negative aspect is that it stains/bleaches your pillow cases and towels. Not to mention that as soon as you stop using it (if it does work for you) you go right back to breaking out. You're basically stuck using it for life.

I purchased not only the 3-step kit but also the makeup removing wipes and oil-free moisturizer. Overall I wasn't impressed enough with the product to justify paying the price. For some reason when I wash my face with the daily cleanser it just doesn't feel sufficiently cleansed...I like to 'feel' the clean if that makes any sense. The reason I purchased the extras was because Proactiv advises that you stick to their product line for maximum results (as do most companies of course), but I honestly wasn't impressed with anything other than the oil-free moisturizer.

I originally got this for my teenage sister, who is troubled by those awful puberty breakouts, and I decided to give a try as well, although I am blessed not to suffer from acne, yet I still get the occasional PMS breakouts and clogged pores due to long days of wearing make up.
I was hoping it would help me achieve that perfect skin, cleanse and help me avoid the before mentioned troubles. Soon into my first week of use I broke out. I continued using it, hoping it’s just a minor reaction as it tends to happen, and my skin calmed down within two weeks. Then, I broke out again. I thought in might be the step 2 cleanser, glycolic acid based, and decided to skip that step, occasionally using my regular salicylic acid one. Problem fixed. After 2 weeks I decided to go back to the original routine and reintroduced the cleanser only to break out worst than in my teenage years.
I stopped it all together, went back to my La Roche Possay Effaclair Duo and everything is back to normal.
My sister didn’t have much success with it either. She has been using it for about 3 months now, and still gets breakouts, and has under the skin swollen “pimples”.
My boyfriend however swears by Proactiv.
I personally didn’t have any success, I believe acne is a very complex problem with many possible underlying causes, and each individual needs a different treatment. That is why, Proactiv might not be for everyone. It definitely doesn’t work miracles.
I guess it’s worth a try, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up.

Okay, well I don't like it, but I don't hate it. I don't know, I never really used it that much. Although I do like the scrub part, it's good. But then again there is a risk. I mean it sometimes gave me more zits when i was actually trying to diminish that zit on my forehead! eekk! I mean hello?! I do have normal but sensitive skin. And ProActiv is NOT for me.

-Brigitte
Fashion Girlz

I've had acne ever since my teenage years and I tried more of the common products (like clean and clear and neutrogena) before I decided to invest the money for proactive. For the first two weeks, my skin was the clearest it had ever been! I was so excited that I had finally found something that would work on my skin. Unfortunately that bubble was quickly broken when I started getting these big painful pimples instead of the tiny ones I usually got. I immediately stopped and haven't looked back since.

So to go through the products one by one since they weren't all as bad:

1. Renewing cleanser: I love exfoliating my skin which is why I really liked this cleanser. My skin felt pretty clean after. It didn't really do anything for me results wise. I switched back to using clean and clear because i felt it was a better exfoliant. The cleanser was white in color with brown beads (the exfoliate). Since it has benzyl peroxide in it, it did smell pretty bad.

2. Revitalizing toner: The toner I felt wasn't strong enough. I usually use clean and clear deep cleaning astringent and in comparison to it I felt it didn't clean deeply enough. It was I feel more directed towards sensitive skin as it was very cooling. It was a light blue color and had the consistency of water like the rest of the toners.

3. Reparing lotion: It was a white cream that wasn't too moisturizing. I have combination skin so I felt it left some areas of my face quite dry. It also smelled really bad!

4. Refining mask (I got this free as a gift since it was the first time I was buying proactive): This was my absolute favorite item that I received and I would buy it again alone. The mask really worked wonders! It, like the other products had a funky smell but because the results were so great I didn't mind. I usually didn't wear it as a full mask because I wanted to make it lats. So I just used it as spot treatment. I usually put it on at night and then wash it off once it was dry. The very next morning I noticed that it was well on it's way to disappearing. It is a thick white creamy material that I coated over my problem areas. They tell you to wait until it dries (which usually takes about 5-10 minutes). I usually don't wait longer than 10 minutes to wash it off.

I really really really wanted Proactiv to work. I know so many people who use it and have amazing results but for me not so much. I'm glad I don't have to use it anymore the cleanser felt like I was rubbing sand into my skin and hurt like crazy. Whenever I used the toner it smelt like something was burning. In the end Proactiv made me skin break out more than it did before I used the product I would definitely stay away from it.