Many acne treatments rely on the strength of their name brand to sell their products, NOT THE INGREDIENTS. Turn the boxes over and most of them say the same thing: Active Ingredient: Salicylic Acid.

These companies prefer to rely on celebrity endorsements, glamour models, and millions of dollars spent on primetime advertising to convince you to buy their products, rather than discussing hard facts or detailed science.

Only a few ingredients have been fully proven to fight acne. These include: BENZOYL PEROXIDE, GLYCOLIC ACID, SALICYLIC ACID, SULPHUR, and RETINOIDS (available by prescription only).

In the past, most retail brands preferred not to offer glycolic acid or benzoyl peroxide in stores because of liability issues. Sulphur was avoided because many consumers viewed it as unconventional, and retinoids can only be pre- scribed by a doctor.

The result was simple: nearly every brand of acne treatment available at your local supermarket has the exact same active ingredient: salicylic acid.

Proactiv Solution started out as an innovator because they offered glycolic acid and benzoyl peroxide in a retail setting when Neutrogena, Clearasil, and other brands wouldn't.

Proactiv's mistake was disregarding the usefulness of salicylic acid altogether. Step 1 of their system is a 2.5% benzoyl peroxide wash, while step 3 is a 2.5% benzoyl peroxide lotion. Why apply benzoyl peroxide right after applying benzoyl peroxide?

The skin naturally goes through a cycle of shedding old cells and producing new ones. It is a normal process for the skin to fully replace itself every 28 to 45 days. However, when the skin's cell production cycle is rapidly increased (retention hyperkeratosis), this can cause 3 to 8 times the normal amount of dead skin cells to be released.

On the skin's surface, this is not a problem. Dead skin cells fall off naturally. But when too many dead skin cells are released within the lining of the pore, they often combine with the excess oil and harden, forming a plug called a comedo.

The glands within the skin continue to produce oil, rapidly expanding pores into small balloons of oil. However, trapped oil is not the only thing that can cause a pimple to form.

The bacteria known as propionibacterium acnes live everywhere on the skin, including the pores. This is normal, and the bacteria's presence alone does not cause acne. These bacteria live on a diet of oil released from pores

When oil becomes blocked because of retention hyperkeratosis, the bacteria trapped inside the pore feed on the contained oil and multiply to dangerously high levels, causing an infection in the pore.

The body sends antibodies to kill the bacteria, causing a pimple to break out. Another example of this process would be a mosquito bite. The bump that forms is not a result of the bite itself, but of the immune system fighting off the infection caused by the bite.

Depending on how deep the comedo is in the pore and how much bacterial infection is present, the pimple could range anywhere from a small bump to a large cyst. Breakouts occur because one pimple forms internally, causing inflammation and forcing the pores of surrounding areas to constrict. This makes a chain reaction of blockages more likely.

By detecting a single blockage early and applying our Cold Fusion Acne Treatment you can reduce inflammation, swelling, constriction of pores, and prevent a subsequent breakout.