ProActiv, ProAcne & AcneFree: Product Reviews

Jenny's Story:

I am a 46-year-old female who has suffered from severe acne since the age of twelve. Nothing I tried seemed to work. Antibiotics caused yeast infections, over the counter products either didn’t work at all or they dried my otherwise oily skin and only lessened the blemishes.

Nothing got rid of the awful, embarrassing pimples. I looked forward to becoming an adult. I was told I’d outgrow it by the time I reached my twenties. However I did not outgrow it at all. I continued to have terrible outbreaks and kept a bad complexion all through my 20s, 30s and into my 40s, all the while trying any and everything that came along.

I came to believe that there was nothing out there to believe in…nothing worked. The best thing I had found was a group of Neutrogena acne products, that didn’t really make my skin better but they didn’t seem to make it worse, so I used them.

As my teenaged son developed terrible acne, I began in earnest to try to help him even though I had never had much success at solving my own problem…we tried the dermatologist, several prescription products, like Differen Gel topical and the oral Acutain, among countless others. It confirmed my suspicions that nothing would help.

ProActiv

My husband suggested we try ProActiv, the acne solution sold in those annoying infomerials. I had my doubts that it would be any different. However at that point, I decided we had nothing to loose and ordered ProActiv for my son.

He didn’t want to follow the three step routine and so he didn’t get very good results… I hated to see the product wasted so I began to use it myself. I started out using it twice a day. At the age of 44, I finally got positive results. It seemed like the answer to my prayers. ProActiv cleared my skin better than any thing I had tried in the past. At times I was almost completely acne free, but I still had outbreaks from time to time and usually kept a blemish or two all the time.

Still, it worked better than anything I had ever tried, so I decided to continue to use it, but only once a day to make each expensive shipment last as long as possible and prevent over drying of my skin. I used it for a year with satisfactory results.

My biggest problem with ProActiv was that it didn’t seem to clean my skin very well and I saw lots of dirt on the cotton after using the toner which prompted me to use more toner. I later began to wash with Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash prior to cleansing with the ProActiv. This seemed to help and it didn’t appear to change the results of the ProActiv product.

ProAcne

Then I saw a product called ProAcne in a Walmart store. It was packaged similar to ProActiv, but cost nearly 40% less. I hoped it was just a generic brand of the same stuff and decided to take a chance and use it for a month to see if it would be a less expensive solution for my acne problem and if would do the same thing.

I was disappointed when I got it home and found that the ingredients were different. But I decided it was still worth a try since I could always go back to using the ProActiv if I had to. Boy did I get a surprise! After a short setback that nearly caused me to throw the product away (a few days of acne like I hadn’t seen in a while), my face began to clear up. Then almost overnight all the blemishes were gone. They were not just under control, they were gone! Never in my whole life had I had such a great looking complexion.

I was only using the 3 ProAcne products once a day, in the morning, before applying makeup (I only use Neutrogena Healthy Skin makeup). In less than three weeks my skin was perfectly clear and I was thrilled beyond belief! Not only had I found a product that worked for me like a miracle, it was less expensive and right down the street at the local Walmart store with no shipping and handling fees.

The cleanser cleaned my skin better. I didn’t have to buy a separate, second cleanser and that was nice too. The only bad thing I could say about the cleansing product was it had an unpleasant taste when it got in my mouth. If it would keep my complexion clear, I could live with that. I cancelled my subscription to ProActiv after only one month of using the ProAcne product and I placed the last full shipment of ProActiv in the bathroom closet.

I continued to use the ProAcne product for several months and remained virtually acne free. In a span of 6-7 months, I had maybe two blemishes pop up and they went away super fast. ProAcne didn’t dry my skin and my face glowed. It felt so wonderful after all the years of fighting what seemed to be a losing battle. I finally had great looking, clear skin. It made getting up and getting ready for work a much more pleasant experience. I didn’t dread the face in the mirror. I used less makeup. It was wonderful!

Then the problem came…Along about the 7th month of using ProAcne, I went to Walmart to buy a new supply and the product was nowhere to be found. I waited a week and tried again, still no ProAcne. I checked the internet and found very little information on the product. The only place I could find it was on online auctions for 2 and 3 times the retail price.

I tried in vain to contact the manufacturer (University Medical Products). They don’t have a website so I tried calling the 800 number on the bottle but I got a message that the support line was closed. I speculated that the makers of ProActiv had lost a lot of customers like me who preferred the ProAcne product and they were threatening a lawsuit (my guess) and caused the ProAcne product line to be shut down. I thought maybe, because they were packaged in bottles similar to the ProActiv product and carried a similar name, they may have violated a patent or something of that nature.

This was disheartening for me. I was desperate. I was out of the cleanser and toner and I was forced to use my last shipment of ProActiv that was still in the closet. I still had some of the ProAcne repairing lotion left but, I feared it wouldn’t be enough to keep my skin clear. And I knew I would run out soon. I had found something that really worked and now it was gone.

AcneFree Review

After about two weeks, on February 6th, I finally got a product support person on the phone by dialing the 800 number again. I asked her about the ProAcne product and if it was going to be available again. What she told me was this: They had pulled the product because their name and packaging was too similar to the ProActiv product. She said that a name change to “AcneFree” was presently in the works.

She assured me that the product would be back on the shelves by the middle or end of February and that Walmart would be getting the product first. I asked about the formula, and if the product would still be the same and she said it would be the EXACT same product as before, but sold as “AcneFree”. I was overjoyed. I’d have to stick it out another week or two, but at least it would be back.

I began to break out again. By the time I found AcneFree at Walmart, on Feb 13th, I had 4 visible blemishes. I couldn’t wait to start using the miracle product again. I was disappointed to find out this new product was NOT the same as the previous ProAcne product. It smelled different, looked different and had a different feel to it. The ingredients were not exactly the same as ProAcne like the person on the phone had said they would be. I worried about how it was going to work but figured I had to at least try it. So I began using AcneFree on Friday, Feb 13th. Yeah, I know….Friday the 13th…what was I thinking?

The cleanser didn’t seem to clean as well. It had almost no gritty granules for exfoliation. I found that a lot of dirt remained on my skin and came off on the cotton when using the toner. This was the same problem I had with the ProActiv product. The only plus was that I didn’t notice the unpleasant taste with the new product. I did feel that I should try to clean with Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash again prior to cleansing with the AcneFree. I do like to remove all of the dirt and grime from my face before applying a fresh coat of makeup.

The worst thing about the new AcneFree product was that the repairing lotion DOES have gritty granules (at least the bottle I got does) and it feels harsh, gritty, and scratchy when being applied. It is like rubbing sand on freshly, washed, and toned skin. It made my skin appear slightly reddened and it felt dry and dirty on my skin. Even after it dried it still felt gritty and I could feel it scratching when putting on my liquid makeup. The previous product had felt smoother and cleaner and once it dried it was like having nothing on my skin at all. This new repairing lotion, I did not like at all.

Despite the fact that I was having to use two cleansers, to clean my skin, and the repairing lotion felt scratchy and gritty, my complexion began to clear up almost right away. By day three, the blemishes had dried up and were only minor red places. By the end of the first week, I had only one place left that could be seen.

I have been using AcneFree for almost 3 weeks now and my complexion is perfectly clear. I still do not like the abrasive repairing lotion but I use it every day. I preferred the original product but I will continue to use AcneFree and hope that they will revert back to the original formulas soon.

Go to Page 2 for a three product comparison.

Go to Jenny's Update page to read about Klear Action

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Product reviews reflect one person's experience and are not indicative of the results you may experience.