i used to have really bad acne. My advice would be to forget about stuff that may or may not work for you, like proactive and go to a dermatologist. I went to one when i was 18, at the time my face was riddled with acne and i was so embarrased cus i had so many black spots i felt like a leopard, the dr prescribed Roaccutane, which is a 3 month series of pills(or six months maybe), it completly gets rid of the scarred layer of skin and changes your system so you dont produce as much oil anymore. After that treatment i had fantastic skin, so smooth and soft and to this day,(im now 31) i only ever get maybe one or two blemishes at the beginning of my period.

ive always had compliments about how nice my skin is and people refuse to believe i ever even had acne, till they see my old high school pics..

That treatment though does have some side effects, some people reported going into deep depressions, but it didnt have that effect on me and it was so worth it, a real God send!

so my advice, dont waste money on stuff that may or may not work, go see a good dermatologist.

I'm a little late on this one, but here's my two cents...

I had TERRIBLE skin in high school. Tried a bunch of different prescriptions and topical creams given to me by my GP, but nothing worked so I ended up at the dermatologist's. He put me on Accutane, and while the risks associated with it are pretty serious, and I was no big fan of monthly blood and pregnancy tests, my results were outstanding. If you're really struggling with your skin, like I was, you might consider talking to your GP or getting a referral to a dermatologist.

I started getting some pretty gross breakouts recently, which I've since linked to my new birth-control pill. I tried Proactiv, and it didn't help at all. I'm not sure if it because my breakouts were hormonal, but at any rate, it was a total waste of money for me. I've had some luck with the Neutrogena Stress Control Acne line, though

I've been using Neutrogena's version of Proactiv {which is similar in price @ $20 for a face wash, healing lotion and lotion with sunscreen}. I LOVE it. It's helped clear me up almost completely. Now to figure out what to do about the scars. Hope it works for you.

I used it and it did work but it bleached my towels. The price was ok but the automatic shipping always left me with more of something etc. I use clinique now and its working well. I like using it because I can buy it in singles and large bottles for a better price. For me just using SOMETHING was enough to stop the breakouts.

I have been using ProActive forever and it's the only thing that has worked for me.

But I agree, it can bleach your clothes terribly and towels and it is expensive. I also was really only using the cleanser and lotion, and I still have about 20 bottles of the toner. I finally was able to reconfigure my ackages.

But when I tried to cancel I did get the guy who tried everything not to get me to quit. I was just going to go to the kiosk at my mall. He was so annoying that I gave in when he let me swtich my package. I'm not looking forward to the day I really want to cancel my shipping. Ugh!

So I would recommend if you want to try it, just look locally for it rather than joining the membership club they have. Too much hassle!

I have some friends who ProActiv has done wonders for. I was not so fortunate, in fact, according to my derm, it gave me minor chemical burns (not fun!). However, I have pretty sensitive skin and probably shouldn't have been using it in the first place.

Some alternatives to proactive are natural or organic cleansers, without all the harsh chemicals and other ingredients which can actually hurt your skin. I've been buying a facial cleanser for acne prone skin from this woman's etsy shop: www.ErzulieCosmetics.etsy.com ! Great facial cleansers, great make up. I love her stuff. =) It's better than any of the organic / mineral products I can find at the store. It also really helps your skin stay healthy. Check it out!