Anyone who suffers from acne, whether it be an occasional
breakout or a serious day-to-day problem, knows how awful it is to deal with.
Many of us have seen the commercials and advertisements on television for the
popular Proactiv skincare line which claims to erase acne. I have never tried
the original line, however I was super excited to try their new skincare
regimen.
The new line is called Proactiv Plus and claims to be the
fastest and most effective Proactiv ever. The steps are a little different than
the original regimen, so I’ll walk you through the products and give you my
thoughts. I have only been using this product for around nearly two weeks now.
Obviously, it’s optimal to use a product for at least a month to see the full
effect but I feel that I have a great grasp on how this product works thus far.
The first step in this regimen is the Skin Smoothing
Exfoliator. This product has a slight smell but nothing too strong if you are
particularly sensitive to scents. The texture is very thick and it has micro
exfoliators in the cleanser. They are not rough on the skin and provide a great
way to really deep clean your skin. This wash gently and effectively lifts away
dead skin cells, traces of makeup, oils and other substances that would
otherwise clog your pores. It claims to give your skin an immediately brighter
and smoother look and fell. This product has a mild concentration of
micro-crystal benzoyl peroxide (2.5%). This product is common in most acne
products and kills the bacteria that causes acne. This product also aims to
increase the hydration in your skin and minimize the appearance of pores.
My thoughts on this product are that it is an amazing
cleanser. It claims to be suitable for all skin types, whether your skin is the
driest of dry, or the oiliest of oily, even sensitive skin. I have
combination/oily skin for reference. I found that this product worked amazing
for me. I wouldn’t necessarily say it provided intense hydration, however it
didn’t leave my skin feeling dry and tight. It did an awesome job at removing
all traces of makeup (after removing the majority with a makeup removing
toilette of course).
Step two is the Pore Targeting Treatment. This product also
contains benzoyl peroxide (2.5%). The “Smart Target” technology helps to
transport the acne medicine off the skin’s surface, to minimize dryness and
irritation, and deliver it directly into the pores. It is supposed to minimize
surface dryness, irritation and redness while clearing your acne blemishes and
preventing future breakouts. Glycerin also helps lock in moisture to the face
to provide a soft glow. This formula is lightweight, non-greasy, paraben-free,
non-comedogenic, and dermatologist tested. It will not leave a filmy or greasy
residue.
My thoughts on this product are that it is sort of like a
mixture between a serum and a gel. I actually like it. You do not need much of
this product to cover your entire face. I really love the fact that it has a
pump on it as well. It provides for easy application. This gel absorbs into the
skin rather quickly and I did not experience any problems with it breaking down
my foundation or other makeup throughout the day. This product did not overly
dry out my skin. It did leave a little bit of a tacky feel to the skin but once
it completely absorbed in, that feeling was gone.
The last step in this new skincare regimen is step three,
which is the Complexion Perfecting Hydrator. It claims to continue the
acne-clearing process and help prevent new breakouts. It also is supposed to
reduce redness and irritation, absorb excess oil and provide a more even skin
tone, all while brightening skin for a smoother and more radiant looking
complexion. The key ingredient in this particular product is salicylic acid
(0.5%) which is another popular acne fighting ingredient. This product is also
paraben-free, non-comedogenic, and dermatologist tested. It is suitable for all
skin types. Lastly, it has a few key ingredients which are supposed to brighten
the skin such as licorice extract, bearberry, sophora root, and kojic acid.
This product is given the description of being silky rich
and having a luxurious texture. It doesn’t look quite like a cream, more like a
mixture of a gel and a cream, however it applies and feels like a cream once on
the skin. At first glance and first application, I thought this would be too
heavy of a moisturizer to wear during the day underneath my makeup. However, I
still put it to the test. I found that this product did not actually cause my
makeup to break down any faster as I had anticipated it would. I definitely
give Proactiv points for putting together a product that was suitable for
wearing underneath makeup.
The last product in this line is the Skin Purifying Mask,
which is meant to be used two to three times a week in conjunction with the
other products in this line. The key ingredient in the mask is sulfur (6%),
which is another thing used to fight acne but is not readily found in most
drugstore products that I’ve seen. This is maximum strength, and the sulfur is
supposed to draw out impurities. This mask is also paraben-free, and contains a
health complex of antioxidants, vitamins and botanicals to condition and
moisturize the skin.
The mask did not have a strong scent to it, and applied as a
sheerish, white layer over the skin. It was not difficult to wash off. You only
need to leave it on for 10 minutes to feel the effects. After washing it off,
your skin looks absolutely amazing. I noticed that it helped to even my
skintone and whenever I use this in the morning, I feel like I have a good skin
day. My only issue is that I wish this mask came in a larger tube with the rest
of the skincare line because I think this tube is a little tiny.
Overall, if you’ve ever read any of my skincare reviews for
acne-geared products, you’ll know that I can tend to be a little harsh.
However, I was majorly pleased with this particular line. (Okay, I’ll just say
that I love this!) Within days, the little bit of blemishes that I had here and
there, were going away like a dream. I did have two or three pimples come up
while using this line, but it wasn’t anything outrageous. I also found that
using a bit of the sulfur mask to spot treat at night worked well. What I mean
is that you can put a little dot of the mask over a pimple, go to sleep, and
wake up in the morning and wash it off. This helps the pimple to reduce in size
and redness. I didn’t’ find anything on the Proactiv website saying this mask
could be used for that purpose, however it didn’t cause me any issues.
I did notice that the entire regimen caused my skin to look
a little dry around my nose and eyebrows, but it wasn’t extremely dry, just
slightly. I think if you are experiencing dryness like this, just reduce the
use of the products to once a day as opposed to twice a day. It wasn’t
uncomfortable and I found that applying a more intense hydrating face cream to
those specific areas helped a lot and restored the hydration back into the
skin. If you already have extremely dry skin, I’m not sure if this would aggravate
your skin or not (again, I have oily/combination skin).
With respect to what this product claims to do (clear acne),
I think it does a remarkable job. I don’t think this is going to be a miracle
product and that someone will never experience a pimple again while using it,
but I do think this is one of the best acne products I’ve tried on the market.
I would continue to use it. I haven’t tried the original Proactiv line as I’ve
said, so I can’t compare as to whether or not this line works better, but I can
tell you that I enjoyed using this line as someone who is in their 20’s and
still experiences acne breakouts. I would definitely recommend this product.
You can purchase this product from
http://www.proactivplus.com . The three step kit is priced at $29.95, which is
an amazing price point (around ten dollars per product) and you will also get
the skin purifying mask for free. There are two other kits, one geared towards
teens, and one called the “complete” kit which come with these three basic steps,
plus the skin purifying mask, plus a couple of other items, such as eye
brightening serum, mark fading pads, or a body cleansing bar, and the price
points for those are $39.95.
