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My DS has very bad acne. He has been using the usual soaps/ointments, Oxy and Stridex and it has improved slightly. I've heard mixed reviews about Proactive-some have said it made the acne worse so I'm leary about having him try it. Anyone have experiences with it?
my brother had VERY bad acne, and he used pro active and it did work. but he also went to the dermotologist and used so many other things over time. its just his skin...something coming from the inside out.
It's working for me, and because of a mix up I have way more than I ever intended on buying at once, so I will keep on using it even if it stops working. *sigh* So, based on my experience, here is what I'd do if I was thinking of trying it for the first time:
Look for a Proactiv vending machine/kiosk at the local mall. I think this is the easiest and most hassle free way of trying the product, because it keeps them from signing you up for scheduled delivery. You lose the member discount, but you save on shipping and handling (if I remember correctly, buying their basic 3-piece, full-sized kit at the mall will cost you $5 more than getting it mailed). You also get to try it right away. If it works for your son, he can always join the club, and get discounts on a bunch of other products.
I used proactive several years ago. It worked for a little while, but then it seemed to dry my skin out. My skin then tried to counter this by producing more oil, and then the acne returned and was even worse than before! I went to the dermatologist - finally, I should have gone there first to begin with! - and they helped greatly. My skin was clear, and has stayed clear, for years since.
Also, just in case you try proactive, it's a beaching agent. It will bleach anything it touches - skin, hair, clothing... So be careful with it. I once put the proactive lotion on and then put a sweater on... and the neck area around my sweater was bleached because it had come into that very brief contact with the proactive lotion.
I'd recommend seeing a dermatologist. There are lots of things you can try until you find the right thing that works. In my situation, once we got my skin back to normal with treatment, now I just wash with cetaphil lotion once in the morning and once before bed and my skin stays clear.
My dermatologist put me on 100 mg of spyronolactone to clear up my skin. It worked very quickly, and once my face was clear I quit taking it. There were no side effects at all. I think he said that it only works with women, though. Not sure why?
That is what our dermatologist said about it too. My neighbor's son ordered some and turned out to be allergic after 1 use. She gave it to me for my daughter to try. We were about to go in for our yearly exam at the dermatologist (we have ALOT of skin cancer in our family). I asked him about it before she used it and he said not to use it as it is a bleaching and drying agent and your skin drys out then reacts by overproducing more oil and breaking out even worse usually. We took it back to the neighbor and said no thanks.
I just took my son in to a dermatologist rather than dealing with any over the counter medications. He had tried using the Stridex and one other over the counter stuff and it didn't help at all. The stuff we got from the dermatologist was a bit pricey, but it worked wonderfully and his acne was clearing up nicely in a couple of weeks. He not only got a lotion to apply to his skin, but the Dr. also gave him an oral antibiotic as well because his acne was so bad.
My oldest daughter had a friend who used Proactive and it worked great for a few months and then her acne came back worse than what it was before she started using Proactive and she ended up having to go to a dermatologist anyways.
Proactive did not work on my moderate/severe acne. Nothing topical ever did, only Accutane.
If you really want to try a benzoyl peroxide acne solution, go to acne.org and read up on Dan's regimen and his product recommendations. It is very similar to Proactive but costs much less. All you need is a mild cleanser, a mild BP product, and a good non-pore-clogging moisturizer with a gentle peeling effect. Just remember, with BP, stronger is not better! A 2.5% BP is much better tolerated and causes less irritation that the stronger formulas which do not produce better clearing.
Best of luck to your DS. Acne sucks. If a BP regimen doesn't work, find him a derm.
Oh, and as for treatments making it worse - this is very common in early phases of almost all acne treatments but it should decrease over time as the "hidden" acne is brought to the surface and heals.
My daughter tried proactive- she didn't like it- burned her- she now uses benzacline cream- expensive but works-
My 14yo -he is now on clinique for men- and it is working- 30 bucks - 3 steps -twice a day- been very happy with it-
Worked great here but you have to use it as directed. Good stuff!
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