The Proactiv® Solution Story

Eight years ago, two dermatologists developed what they believed was a medical breakthrough in fighting acne. They called it Proactiv Solution -"proactive" because the formulas could heal existing blemishes, and proactively help prevent new ones from forming. The two doctors, Katie Rodan and Kathy Fields, had a mission: to help millions of people put acne in the past. Today, Proactiv Solution is the #1-selling acne system in America...but you won't find it in stores.

So how did Proactiv Solution become a word-of-mouth phenomenon? And why are thousands of people like you...to superstars like Vanessa Williams and Stephanie Seymour...calling us to talk about it? Because it works.

How it started
Katie Rodan and Kathy Fields met more than 16 years ago, during their dermatology residencies at Stanford University. Both women felt strongly about the importance of finding a better treatment for acne, because both of them had lived with it at some time in their lives. They stayed in touch after they established their individual private practices...and as their practices expanded, they began to see a pattern.

Dr. Fields explains, "When Katie and I first went into private practice, we were shocked to see the number of people who were suffering from acne. The thing is, they didn't call it acne. They called it their breakouts or their blemishes, but it was blackheads and whiteheads. And we were also noticing that it wasn't just teenagers, it was everybody - men and women in their 20s, 30s and 40s who suddenly started breaking out for the very first time, due to hormonal changes and all kinds of factors in their lives. That's when we got together to work on Proactiv."

Looking beyond spot treatment
When Drs. Rodan and Fields started developing Proactiv Solution, they found that most people were treating their acne pimple by pimple - dabbing medication on individual blemishes and hoping for the best. It's an approach the Doctors came to call "pimple panic"...one that treats the symptom rather than the problem.

Dr. Rodan elaborates: "You'll look in the mirror and say, ‘Oh my God, I've got this big zit on my chin and I've got a meeting today or a date tonight'... it's a natural response to go for the emergency "burn-it-off-your-face" medication. But if you think back to what causes acne, it's the plug; it's the oil; it's the inflammation; it's the bacteria. And that process takes place over several weeks - once you've got the pimple, it's too late." More about How Acne Happens

Finding a better way to treat acne
Together, Drs. Rodan and Fields have treated more than 160,000 patients. Using their combined knowledge and experience, they began working on a revolutionary new way to treat acne - a system that would go beyond traditional "spot treatments" to treat the whole face with a combination of several powerful acne-fighting products. They called it Proactiv Solution -"proactive" because these formulas could heal existing blemishes and proactively help prevent new ones from forming. More about How Proactiv works.

"Proactiv Solution is a very safe, very comprehensive acne system." Dr. Fields continues. "It's not just one medicine, not spot treatment, but treating the whole face every day. By doing that with several different medicines, we can really get a hold of the problem and prevent future breakouts. For us, that's very important because we can change lives, the self esteem of millions of people."

They also knew from one-on-one experience that patients wanted their acne treatments to feel like expensive department store skin care products, not grocery store spot treatments. "We decided to come up with a system that would be just like the way we dermatologists treat acne every day in our offices," says Dr. Rodan, "but give people the elegant skin care that they really want...so they will stick with the program, get results and continue to see results the longer they use it."

Over a five-year period, Drs. Rodan and Fields developed what was to become the first comprehensive acne skin care system of its kind: Proactiv Solution. The system combines finely milled prescription-grade acne medicine with soothing, spa-quality botanicals to create a powerful acne-fighting system that leaves skin feeling luxuriously pampered...smooth...clean...and CLEAR.

Getting the message out there
After Drs. Rodan and Fields completed the development of Proactiv Solution, they chose to spread their clear-skin message with infomercials rather than selling their products in stores. Why?

Dr. Fields explains: "We realized that if our products were simply sitting on a drugstore shelf, no one was going to get the point that acne is complicated. Acne is a condition you have to treat every day because spot therapy isn't going to give you an answer. We wanted to find a place where we could talk about acne, really explain it, like an office visit in the privacy of your own bedroom - not in the middle of a grocery store."

And they found that place - on TV. With a half-hour infomercial, Drs. Rodan and Fields found a medium in which they could build a deeper relationship with people...and develop a whole new way of educating them about acne and how to prevent it.

"We wanted to basically do what we do in our offices every day - treating one patient at a time - and somehow replicate that and bring that to as many people as possible," says Dr. Rodan. When we see those patients, we end every visit with: you have any problems, you call me. And we've been able to do that with our Customer Service representatives so that if patients have a question, they can pick up the phone and get the answer."

Proactiv really works!
The products really worked...and the concept exploded! Customers first started using Proactiv Solution in 1995. Soon after, mail started pouring in, and people got in touch by the thousands to tell us their personal "Acne Success Stories." They all said the same thing: Proactiv Solution can dramatically change your skin - and your life. Now Proactiv Solution is the best-selling acne system in America, with satisfied customers all over the world.

What's more, the doctors have realized their vision of creating a caring, educational relationship with their customers. Today Proactiv Solution employs more than 400 dedicated Customer Service representatives to answer any questions you may have about using Proactiv Solution. The toll-free number is right on the bottle, and representatives are available to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

At Proactiv Solution, we know that fighting acne is a long-term commitment - and we're committed to standing by you every step of the way.