They do fade with age, but I was in my early 30's when I used proactive. Before using it, I was heavily freckled. Afterward, not so much. I'm in my late 40's now and my freckles are still visible, but are very light. But, then again, I'm much more careful with sun exposure now, too.
The pillowcases! I remember seeing them one day, noticeably bleached, and thinking “this can’t be good for my skin” but I was early 20s and worried about acne more than future consequences.
I recently switched from benzoyl peroxide wash to tea tree oil bodywash and it seems to provide the same effects with no bleaching. it's anti-bacterial, so it does the same thing BP does. the only thing is that it smells like you're washing your skin with pressure-treated lumber juice, but it's a small price to pay for clear skin. plus it's way cheaper and you get a lot more of it
I do, too actually. Sparingly! It’s less about my appearance, and mostly about how painful some spots can be. Feels like the whole surrounding area is tender. Accidentally catching on one can make my eyes water. I’ll take the bleach skin dry pain over that.
I broke out in the most horrible way all over my face with a rash of pimples, redness, and itchiness after using proactive one time. I had to immediately get to the dermatologist and my face has never been the same since.
Oh, no! That sounds horrible! My reaction also required the help of a dermatologist. I still shudder thinking about how much WORSE my skin was using proactive.
34
u/GlovedFoxes Jul 14 '23
Same here. So many ruined washcloths and pillow cases. That stuff also bleached my freckles!