This is a review for the Proactiv Night Repairing Lotion which is a wonderfully formulated product for people in their late teens and over who have blemish issues from occasional blackheads and pimples to full-on acne.

Now i’m not a fan of the original Proactiv line at all. I used it when I was 15 to deal with my hormonal breakouts and while it worked at clearing up my skin, it left it really dry, dull looking and I even had a few fine lines(!) from the dryness. I’ve since gathered that benzoyl peroxide (the key ingredient in the Proactiv range) is far too harsh to use all over the skin for a lot people. Now I have completely clear skin that gets the occasional pimple and i’ve achieved that through products containing AHAs, BHAs and Retinol. Editors note: Proactiv have since released a Mild range which ditches the benzoyl peroxide in favour of salicylic acid (a BHA).

The Proactiv Night Repairing Lotion comes in a squeeze tube and has a nice scent to it. I use it whenever my skin becomes congested or whenver I inexplicably get pimples and blackheads – this completely clears my skin within days and I believe that’s down to the formula.

This cream contains 1% Salicylic Acid (BHA) instead of benzoyl peroxide which exfoliates pores, keeping it free of spots and blackheads. In addition to this, the level of BHA will keep ingrown hairs from shaving away.

It also contains a fair amount of retinol that both enhances the penetration of the BHA and evens out skin tone. Retinol is a wonderful anti-ageing product (more on this later) and will deal with early signs of aging like fine lines and uneven skin tone.

This is the only BHA/Retinol combination product that i’ve come across and it works really well. It will clear up breakouts, even out your skin tone and texture and will also function as an anti-aging cream. Just pump a small amount into your hand and massage into your face and neck at night.

Now for the negatives:

With BHA and Retinol, this product can dry out your skin. It should be fine for normal to oily skin but if you have dry skin I recommend you first use this product, wait for 10 minutes so it can absorb and then follow up with your regular moisturiser. Or you can just use this night cream once every two or three days to maintain clear skin.

Retinol makes your skin sensitive to the sun so make sure you’re using a broad spectrum sunscreen during the day.

Overall i’d give this 5 stars for being a well formulated product with a beneficial blend of BHA and retinol. If you’re looking to do any combination of the following:

• Even out skin tone.
• Fight acne.
• Get rid of blackheads.
• Fade acne scars.
• Improve the texture of your skin to make it smoother.
• Prevent aging and treat existing fine lines.
• Deal with ingrown hairs.

…try this!