Proactiv

My order of Proactiv finally arrived in the mail today. First time trying it. I was skeptical, but thought what do I have to lose. Skin can't get any worse...Or can it? My face feels a little itchy and dry...Is this normal? I'm wondering if I put too much of the lotion on.

I used this a long time ago. but yes I would say it sounds like the lotion is a little to strong, maybe use a little less until your skin gets more used to it. if you have a problem area that you want to dry out use the face mask on it, just dab it on and leave it on all night.
I didnt have luck with proactiv but I know a lot of people do.
finally after I hit 30 mine just cleared up.

I got pretty dry and itchy at first, I would maybe back off a bit. I had great luck with it for a little over a year, then it stopped working for me.
Now I am using tea tree cleanser by dessert essence and natural mineral makeup and having way better luck with that, not that I am clear or anything, but much improved.

Well my face feels pretty good this morning. Maybe its my imagination, but it feels a little smoother, less bumps. A little dry in some areas, but not too bad.

I will try dabbing the mask on problem areas. I have a mongo zit on my chin, which was awful for my interview yesterday, but nothing makeup couldn't hide. But it hurts. Maybe this will help.

Tara, I switched to an Avalon Organics line of face products and noticed a difference at first, but not anymore. DH puts tea tree oil on his toes for athletes foot, so we have several bottles around the house. I often dab it on my zits and they do clear up, but always come back because they are deep, kwim? But tea tree oil really is a good astringent. Mineral makeup doesn't work on me. I think I'm allergic to whatever is in it. I always notice more black heads after a few days use. And I'm super oily after a couple hours. Its funny how things work differently on different people.

Did you use bare essentuals mineral makeup? there is something in there that bugs people, I think its zinc oxide or something.
I have been using this Affordable mineral makeup and had really good luck with it.
http://www.affordablemineralmakeup.com/cat...3292d94ac1b0fac
they have excellent service, and reasonable prices, and will send you tiny amounts if you just need a sample. Plus you get a free sample with every order. If you are interested, the last time I ordered I got a 12% off coupon, just type gogreen at the check out.

so true about different things working for different people. Things sure would be a lot easier if it wasn't that way.

This post has been edited by PrairieMom on Sep 18 2008, 07:09 AM

"A little dab is all you need"

Or at least that's what what's her face says. LOL

My husband wants to try it so badly! Let me know how it ends up working.

I know keep us posted because I know alot of ppl who want to use it but haven't tried it yet. I bet it works great!

I'm with Tara, it worked wonders for me for awhile and then nothing. But it was great while it lasted. I'm sure the dryness you're feeling is just the fact that it's a stronger concentration of bp than you're used to, it should go away though.

Maybe you can use it every other day so you don't get as dry.

I use it, but not lately. Sometimes I will just use the cleanser and astringent, but not the lotion. There is a lotion with green tea that comes with the package I get, so I used that one in place of the 3rd step. That seemed to help with the dehydration.

I have a zit by my nose right now- I still have the mask, maybe I need to do it now.

Well I thought things were really clearing up from the Proactiv. Overall I felt like I had less blackheads and smoother skin. But this week its not looking so good. My sister said that her skin was good on it for awhile too, but not for long. Like you're skin gets used to it. It could just be because I'm mid-cycle and ovulating. My skin is always pretty bad around this time.

I would recommend it though to those who haven't tried it. Most acne products make my face itch or make the problem worse. This doesn't. I definitely see 'some' improvement. The cleanser is definitely my favorite since it has a light exfoliant to it. I have never liked astringents, so I only use that every other day or so. Step 3, the lotion, I use every other day too. I used the mask in the shower the other night and wasn't crazy about it. Left a sulfur smell when I got into bed. Maybe I didn't rinse it off enough. But it does pretty good when you dab it on a zit. Not too harsh. I have the green tea moisturizer too and like it, but it doesn't have spf.

Oh BTW, my sister swears that the Acne Solutions (hope that's the right name) that you can just buy at any drugstore is EXACTLY the same as Proactiv. I've seen it at Costco. I'm glad I didn't sign up for the monthly shipment of Proactiv, because I would rather just buy it when I want it. And my sis says that they sell the Acne Solutions separately, so you can get just the cleanser and not have to buy the whole line. Just FYI.

I have a pamphlet for Proactiv that finally allows the same price in Canada. Emily really wants it, so I'm going to order it for her and maybe try it myself.

I've had good luck with it the past two days. Broke out with a big underground zit on my chin, dabbed some of the lotion and the mask on last night, and it went down. Usually I get major flare ups before they go down, lots of redness. So it was nice to wake up to a lighter, less irritated monster. Especially sine I'm going out tomorrow night!

If I get too itchy, I back off some. That seems to help. Oh, and less washing. I know that sounds gross, but I make the mistake of overwashing. My skin seems to be better if I skip, washing only once a day instead of 2-3 times like I did in the past.