As I said, this friend had mild acne, so she just wanted to clear up a couple of red bumps on her face. She purchased the Proactiv initial package which included a cleanser, toner, and “repairing” lotion. She used it daily for a week, and we monitored the progress. There was no change, and in fact it started to look like the acne might be getting worse.
Two weeks later, the results began to become clear (no pun intended). I don’t know what Jessica Simpson and P.Diddy were talking about, but this Proactiv was making my friend’s face look a pepperoni pizza, whereas she only had a few red bumps before. A few days later she decidedly threw the Proactiv in the trash. Now she had to find a product that would fix the effects of the Proactiv!
So my, or rather our, review of the Proactiv product is dismal. If my friend wanted something that would create more acne on her face, she could have purchased a bottle of Skippy for $1.59 at the local grocery store, or just some free bacon grease, and smeared it all over her face on a daily basis.
Once she stopped using the Proactiv, her face when back to normal (or rather, where it was before). She purchased another acne treatment from the local drug store that seems to be worked much better.
To top everything off, some time later the Proactiv people charged her credit card again for another round of supplies, even though she specifically asked them not to when she first ordered the program.
One of my hypotheses regarding this product is that maybe it is made for people who already have extreme acne, not those who just have a minor problem with a few bumps on their face, as was the case with my good friend. Or maybe it was just something about the chemical makeup of her face that made the Proactiv react negatively. Regardless of the reason, I would suggest that anyone considering buying this product ask many many questions of the customer service rep before making the investment. Don’t assume that just because Jessica and Diddy said it, it must be true.
Pros
- Fairly quick shipment compared to other mail order products
Cons
- Didn’t work—actually made the problem worse
- Sign you up for automatic shipping programs, even if you decline the service
- A little expensive
