A Review of Proactive Acne Treatment and My Experience Using It

Author:

Alyssa enjoys sharing her product experiences with other consumers so that potential customers can make more informed decisions.

The Sales Pitch

We have all seen the advertisements on television or in magazines touting Proactive as being a miracle worker when it comes to acne treatment. Want clear skin? Try Proactive! All it takes is three easy steps. Sounds great, huh? I thought so too, so I tried it.

Ordering and Shipping

It was simple to order on their website once I finished sifting through their vast inventory of products. I just wanted clear skin, so reading through their product list left me scratching my head. Tea tree oil? Will this clear up my skin? Is there a secret to what I need to order? Do I get scrub or just a cleanser? It took a bit, but I found the kit they advertise and placed my order, which arrived in just a few days. I felt so special getting my little box with a free enclosed gift! I opened it up and used it right away.

The Process

The "three easy steps" included a cleanser, a toner, and a spot-on, leave-on treatment meant to be used twice daily. On the second wash that day, my skin felt dry and burning.

I've used face washes that have left me with a rash all over my neck in the past, and I could feel this coming on, so I checked what the miracle acne-fighting ingredient that was supposed to separate this treatment from all others was—benzoyl peroxide. That's it. It was the same ingredient in every other product out there only I paid twenty whole dollars for this one.

So then I read the bottle on step 2, the toner. Is this the magical potion that makes proactive the rave? If you Google toner, it is described as a freshener—a way to cleanse the skin of impurities that were left by the cleanser, especially after wearing sunscreen or makeup. But if the cleanser is so good, why do you need toner? Toner can be purchased from several reputable brands and most do ultimately the same thing, right? So the magic is in step 3? I was still searching for that magic.

Can you guess what the active ingredient in step 3 is? I bet you didn't say benzoyl peroxide! That's right, step 1 and step 3 use the same ingredient but one washes away and the other is left on. I'm overly sensitive to benzoyl peroxide, which is apparently the only thing proactive has to offer.

My Conclusion

Benzoyl peroxide might be just what you need to achieve your clear skin goals but as mentioned earlier, this whole miracle three-step process can be easily replicated with cheaper products available at your local drugstore.

Buyer Beware

When ordering proactive, I was oblivious to the fact that I was signing my credit card over to a subscription. The next month, I received a whole new supply of proactive and another twenty bucks charged to my card. I was nowhere near close to finishing the first month's supply!

Going back to the website, I canceled my "subscription" and found where to return my products and how long it would take to get my refund—months. It takes months. I'm still waiting for it.

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.