My twin girls are only 9. They do not turn ten until March. For the last few months though they have been having acne outbreaks on their foreheads. I have high quality skin care that I have been using for years and I was having them use that. I realized it is doing no good for them though since it is for my skin type which is dry to normal. I have been very fortunate with my skin and even as a teen I did not have acne breakouts. My sister on the other hand, who is now in her 40s uses Proactive for her breakouts. I have heard from various people who use the product that it is effective.
My question is if it would be mild enough to use on young girls? I know that teenagers use it, but my girls are not yet even pre-teens. Is there something else out there that would be effective and safe for them?
I bought the Velocity from Mary Kay for my granddaughter who is 8 and was having a few break outs, too. The Mary Kay cleansing cloths are also great.
If you don't have a MK consultant, contact Heather Wickstrom at ###-###-####. She's been great helping me find what works for my grand daughter. Good luck!
NOOOOOOO! Proactive BLEACHED my sheets when I used it and it dried out my skin!!! Please do not do that to 9year old girls! Please take them to a dermatologist or try something all natural. I have found WONDERFUL results with products from Lush there are stores in Tx www.lushusa.com and the people in the stores will help you find the right stuff. If you find the right person they will give you testers of things too. They show you the products in the store and I have had NO returns of acne since using the products. PLEASE do not subject your young daughters to products that are filled with chemicals and will only damage their skin while leaving the appearance of helping.
Proactive is a scam. It works for a little while, sometimes, and then it stops working and by then you've bought a bunch of it .... and sometimes continue to buy it. My older daughter used it for awhile, but then her skin got worse. We ended up at the dermatologist, who was finally able to help her with some good products.
I would trust my daughter's skin to a doctor before I'd ever try some over-the-counter stuff again, which actually damaged my daughter's skin. It's not good for you.
Most kids don't wash their faces enough. Make sure they're doing that properly... and rinsing the soap off. Beyond that I can't recommend anything because there are lots of things out there that work well for one person and not the next.
I would recommend Velocity cleanser and moisturizer from Mary Kay. It is made for younger, acne-prone skin. They also have a Blemish Control Toner for all over help and an Acne Treatment Gel for spot treatment. I've been using their TimeWise products (for adults) for 4 months now and my acne issues have really decreased.
Whatever you choose make sure they are washing both morning and night.
ProActive is pretty strong. Our daughter tried the wipes once and it burned her.
My daughter and I are fortunate and daughter has few breakouts.
However, when she was about 10, I took her to the dermatoligist (Allen Menter at Baylor downtown Dallas is one of the greatest and his PA's are great) for a proactive approach to daughter's skiincare.
We both use Clinique and that works great for us. I've used it since I was about 11 and so has daughter (now 16). I am 49 and pass for early 30's BUT that is thanks to good genes, good health and a faithful skin care routine daily. My daughter does have my habits as far as skincare.
Some gentle yet very effective dermatologist recommended products are Cetaphil and Purpose.
We did get a creme for daughter's sporadic breakout that was RX and aout $260/tube with insurance.. that was co-pay. I think it was Epi-duo which was a combo of Duac and another creme. It was good stuff but daughter did not see it as being "that" beneficial. She did use Duac for a while.
Keep in mind, you kindof become immune to the products after a while. We will both switch up on occasion just to keep balanced.
Also, if you have a Sephora close to you (some are located inside JC Penny stores), they have good products which include Murad (daughter likes the one the spot Murad, about $28) and facial cleansers. Clinique also makes an acne wash that daughter uses most of the time.
Good luck... fortunately we didn't have much trouble with breakouts but when those hormones start changing, and they become tweens, you just never know what to expect but to be prepared.
I'm not so sure how strong it really is, but from my experience with a teen girl and boy, they have to use all the steps, everyday or it was not effective. Plus it stained every wash cloth and towel they used. Or it looks like they are all bleached out.
The Proactive people are also bulldogs and keep calling and calling even though I've told them repeatedly that I have unopened boxes, and to remove my name.
I was a former proactiv user, as well as many other brands. They all worked for a while and then quit working. Now at age 33 I still had extremely oily skin and experienced breakouts. For the last 1 1/2 years I have been using the Clinique Acne Solutions line (Clinique Acne Solutions bar for face and body, clarifying lotion (toner) and clearing moisturizer). It is very gentle on my skin but has really cut down the oiliness and breakouts, I rarely breakout at all now. Their line even makes Clearing concealer and foundation. I would suggest trying Clinique's line first.
Try washing faces with CeraVe (hydrating cleanser) first for a few weeks. It's found OTC at Walmart and is an effective nondrying cleanser. If it doesn't work ask your pediatrician. They have experience with mild to moderate acne and will be far cheaper than a dermatologist. My kids had a kit called Duac from the doc and did well with it. The cleanser is very similar to CeraVe. Good luck!
My daughter has the same problem. I just asked her pediatrician for a referral to a dermatologist and she told me she would not even recommend a prescription at this point because it was so mild. She told me to try Neutrogena Clean and Clear. I also bought Proactive for my older daughter years ago (which did no help her) but the active ingredient was Benzoyl Peroxide. I am sure other OTC acne meds have that active ingredient.
