1299 replies to this topic

[shrutebuck]

I want to fully 100% commit to doing this, but can someone who's had success answer me one question...I work full time (40 hrs/week) in an environment where I am constantly face-to-face with ppl...How did you go about doing this while avoiding people in work? (If you dont work full-time, then @ school, social activities, etc)

I've read this ENTIRE thread and it seems like around day 4-5, most ppl start to have socially-acceptable skin/faces (close to NO oily skin, great complexion, etc)... seems like the only solution is to get off of work for atleast 1 full week (5 business days)?

My main concern is the oilness that will be induced starting day 1-3.

[AliceNow]

shrutebuck, on 15 April 2012 - 01:30 AM, said:

I want to fully 100% commit to doing this, but can someone who's had success answer me one question...I work full time (40 hrs/week) in an environment where I am constantly face-to-face with ppl...How did you go about doing this while avoiding people in work? (If you dont work full-time, then @ school, social activities, etc)

I've read this ENTIRE thread and it seems like around day 4-5, most ppl start to have socially-acceptable skin/faces (close to NO oily skin, great complexion, etc)... seems like the only solution is to get off of work for atleast 1 full week (5 business days)?

My main concern is the oilness that will be induced starting day 1-3.

Well I am on day 24 of this regimen (though I would be on day 43 if I hadn't caved & washed my face 18 days into it) & so far it has been anything BUT successful. I'm still continuing with it because I am sort of secluded from the world with my current job. So really, there will not be a better time for me to test it out.

You're concerned about having an oily face. Well my face is definitely oily, but it's not super slick & shiny. It's more like a matte gloss - I suppose this is due to the dead skin sort of abosorbing it. But I can attest that my eyes have burned on several occasions (it feels as if you are in the middle of chopping onions & then you rub your eyes with the pieces you chopped - seriously) apparently due to the excess sebum being produced. This past week my lips have become quite greasy as well.

I have had mild to occasionally moderate acne off & on for, 12 years maybe? And while on this regimen my acne became severe to occasionally moderate. I am kind of amazed that most people have seen improvements within a few days because my experience has been the complete opposite. My skin has never looked worse. There are moments where it I think it's looking better & then several hours later I am back to being horrified.

My last job was in a fancy shmancy wine bar & I dealt with dozens upon dozens of patrons every shift, so I completely understand your concern. Honestly, if I still had that job there is no way that I would be trying this regimen. It's just too unpredictable & I couldn't risk the negative effect it may have had on my wages. If you did get a week off, then go for it. You could use those 7 days to gauge how you think your skin would continue reacting beyond that. Or maybe even just try it over the weekend.

And just to be clear, I'm on the no wash/no water/no nothin' regimen.

[shrutebuck]

Wow, you're probably one of the only ones (atleast that have admitted) that this regimen isn't all its cracked up to be. However, it seems like the general consensus i've gotten from all these treatments is that not every treatment will work for everybody until you've tried and test it on yourself.

Have you followed this strictly? I feel like most of the ppl who've had success with this come from a background of using chemical after chemical to treat their acne, hence why this caveman routine brought them from going from one extreme (with chemicals) to another (strictly NOTHING, just water) and why they have so much success (from extreme treatment change).

I'm actually on my own custom natural/semi-organic regimen (thankfully this has worked to yield me only mild acne):
[morn-wash with mild cleanser & tone mid-stream urine/afternoon (b4 work or social outings) wash-aloe vera gel from natural leaf/ night- wash again with cleanser/spot treatment with organic AppleCiderVin/spot treat 2- raw honey on breakouts (leave overnight)]...

but would love to try this caveman routine out. Not sure if it will wwork though now thinking about how it seems perhaps only chemical treatment users benefit greatly.

It seems like im washing too much but my face produces oil even like 10 min after I wash it, so i feel like i have to! (which is why im desperate to try something new). I used up alot of my vacation days though, so I wont be doing this til I accumulate more; prob not til June

[AliceNow]

Well I've pretty much always had oily skin, though it has waned quite a bit over the years. I don't let it bother me cause I like to think that my face won't age as quickly as others, lol.

It does kind of sound like you're washing too much & that could very well be why your face is producing so much oil. It's sort of the same thing that happens when you wash your hair too often, right? You should probably try weaning yourself off from washing 3x a day, to give your skin a chance to balance itself better. You should also try leaving on a moisturizer. Now that I think of it... I started using moisturizer around 16/17 & my skin was definitely not as oily at the end of high school, as it was in the beginning. So, try that out. Maybe start with just using it at night if you're uncomfortable with having it on during the day.

I have been as strict as possible while on this. I wash my hair every couple days & maybe one drop of water will escape & slide down my forehead - about the same size as a tear drop. Though the top of my neck & bottom of my chin have gotten misted several times from the spray bouncing off my shoulders, etc. I find it always goes better if I'm not really thinking about it.

During my first attempt at this I had 2 really good gym workouts where sweat was consistently dripping off my face & I had to lightly dab it with a towel or my shirt. Other than that I never touched it. Also during that first round my main issue was how blotchy my skin became. I did also get plenty of whiteheads & pimples, but my skintone was disgusting. The morning of the 11th day I looked into a mirror & saw a zombie looking back at me. I seriously, no joke, scared myself.

The main issue in this current attempt is the number of breakouts I've had. Pimples have been running rampant across my entire face & most of my hairline. I never had acne on my cheeks before, but they have now left a good sized trail on those areas. And everything just seems really red.

I definitely spent many years using chemical products from Proactiv & Murad to Neutrogena type stuff. I almost always used something with Salicylic Acid to wash & then maybe another acne product to leave on or I just used Oil of Olay Moisturizer. But my acne was usually mild so it wasn't something I really worried about, therefore I never stuck to one set of products, nor did I ALWAYS wash my face twice a day, etc.

A couple years ago I went vegan (for environmental reasons) & maybe 5 months into it my skin improved drastically (to my surprise). There were 3 occasions at work where a patron would be in the middle of ordering their food & then stop, move closer to my face, & say "You're skin is amazing! Did you see her skin? Isn't it incredible!" No joke. And there were almost a dozen more incidences like that in random places around town. I couldn't believe my luck, haha! Anyways.... I can't completely attribute the change to my diet. I also had a very active lifestyle which I know helped greatly.

But my skincare routine at that time was... morning -- wash with Neutrogena (it was greenish, w/ gentle exfoliating beads or whatever) & then Oil of Olay Moisturizer &/or sunscreen, night -- same thing (minus the SPF), though I would often be lazy & just sleep with a dirty face. Nothing else.

Since then, I've moved to a new state & have a completely INactive lifestyle, plus more stress. I know those are 2 major factors as to why my skin went down the toilet. A few months ago I started looking into a more natural approach & started putting raw/organic honey on for 30min-1hr, morning & night. Sometimes I would mix honey, cinnamon, & lemon juice -- my face seemed to like that better. But after a few weeks I saw no real improvement & randomly found this regimen & gave it a go.

So, you may very well be right about it working best for people who constantly packed on the chemicals for years & years.

I honestly don't know what to do right now. I don't want to wash with water just yet, but I do want to scrape the dead cells off. I'm just afraid of doing it too early & then having to start all over again. Sunday will be Day 30 (really Day 49), so maybe Monday I'll take the plunge.

[shrutebuck]

So ive basically altered this regimen to only washing my face once a day (before work/social outings) and have seen improvements.

My main acne probs are around my chin line, cheek bone area, and sometimes outer cantus of eyebrows.

Day 1
Didnt wash face entire day. Pretty oilly face throughout day. @ end of day 1, did feel like 2-3 day old acne was clearing up. when showering, tried to avoid getting water to face by washing hair w head tilted back. (i HAVE to wash hair everyday unless i want to walk around w that hair BO smell). Note: didnt wash face today AT ALL.

Day 2
Same oiliness as day 1, but some of the more dried acne and dried up blood from prior pimple popping (which ive stopped since on this regimen) has started to see signs of wanting to slough off ma face. Note: still didnt wash face
and NO new breakouts

Day 3-5
Day 3 was the first day i washed face and have continued to do so since (once a day only due to social/work obligations). Forehead is area of most oil production, but has been look great since this regimen (then again, havent had acne there for months) By end of day 5, ive noticed with every wash of my face, face has been less oily..nice... Still no new acne. A little itchy though in areas of more oiliness.

Day 6-8
Cheek and chin areas are less red, but became quite dry by day 7. So dry that ive purposefully did not wash there for 2 full days and theyve been just as dry with considerable flaking...looks like all the dead skin is trying to come off, but its kinda tough since some areas are more prone to pick than others...like, they're there popping out saying "HELP ME COME OFF" but ive only picked out the ones i can rub off with my fingers, applying small pressure (just as much as if u lightly scratch an itch...if they cant come off with this pressure, i dont even pursue it). Sweated PROFUSELY in 2hr indoor soccer game. Let the sweat air dry and did not wash face til next daY b4 work. Still no breakouts yay

Day 7
3 new breakouts. Im certain its from the pullups i did @the park since my hoodie's metal zipper brushed vs face a bunch of times...broke out a few hrs after that... one breakout on each side of my chin and one of my cheek. Also, almost certain the moment of relapse from a redtube session last week stirred up my hormones to new acne prone heights. However, the areas around my new breakouts are pretty smooth and clean looking...

[Note: im 100% convinced masturbation has a major part in having individuals more prone to breakouts. For me atleast, when "it happens", the next morning, i kno i will pay the consequences with atleast 1-2 new breakouts. Those heal after a fww days. A week later, i'll get 1-2 new ones; maybe 2-3 other new ones by week 3. Atleast from my male prespective, ive noticed it takes my face a good 3-4 weeks of recovery and not masturbating to go bak to what it was b4.]

By end of the day, I couldnt resist not popping my new breakouts. They were ready to burst so i applied raw honey aftwerwards and left it overnight. Still only washed b4 work.

Day 8
New breakouts i popped last night are healing decently with the honey applied. Face is still slightly oily, esp around forehead, but not as bad as days 1-3.

[candlestick]

I tried this for about five weeks, and had partial success. I stopped using all soaps and topicals, everything, and perhaps once a week splashed some water on my skin. My skin texture improved dramatically in a few days, much smoother and softer, and much less oil. But, my actual breakouts did not seem to decrease, which was disappointing. I did not get any dry skin mask, I think perhaps because what I was doing to my skin before was not too extensive, sulphur soap and acv toner.

I have not gone back to using soap, because quite honestly I didn't notice feeling any cleaner using soap, and ultimately it just seemed like a big waste to have been using it all these years, when my skin texture is so much better without it. Another thing I noticed is that my skin doesn't exfoliate as much, there just isn't much build up of dead skin, which I used to have a lot of before. When I wear foundation, I oil cleanse.

As far as bathing, I still partially bathed skin that is not acne-prone, but I could easily get away with a sink of warm water and a washcloth, quite liberating for someone who falls apart on a camping trip without a daily shower.

I am happy for all the people that this that really worked for, wish I was one of them

[EltonJohn]

Hey peeps. I've been doing this no wash method for about 5 months now. Before this I had bad acne throughout high school, and I would wash my face with all kinds of products 3-4 times a day. Over winter break of my first semester of college I thought to myself, why is my skin so damn healthy everywhere except my face? Literally, every part of my body is extremely healthy with a nice tan and no spots or anything. What did I do my whole life? I never washed my body with any kind of soap product, only used water. You may think this is disgusting because it isn't socially acceptable, but it has no scent to it and is SUPER healthy.

Ok, back to winter break revelation. Once I thought of this, I started researching it and came to this page. For the first 2-3 months I just showered and used a towel and wiped my face with it (bad mistake). Nothing really improved because I rubbed it with a towel every day. After reading this forum page more I realized what I had to do. I never washed my face and let the skin build up. The first time I did this my skin built up dead skin really fast, and I had scabs on my forehead and little white things would stick out of my nose and on the side of it (this also started on my cheeks). I also continued to break out and get large pimples and cyst acne. After 2-3 weeks a lot of people started noticing the dead skin and mentioning it to me, so I broke down and wiped it all off with water and cotton pads. After doing this I continued with the no wash method and the dead skin like before started back again (again with pimples etc.). After another 2-3 weeks again people started noticing, so I washed it off like before. Now this third time I did this, I didn't get that many pimples when my mask started again. I can't remember like 4-5 average to small pimples for another two weeks. I washed it off with pads etc.

Anyways putting it in fast forward. After doing this for a couple months like 4 or so, I stopped getting acne! Yes I do get the ocasional whitehead, but no cyst acne on my forehead or jaw line or any large white pimples that stay for like a week. Right now I havn't had a pimple for three weeks now, just a small whitehead on my chin. (still going through puberty, don't even have sideburns lol).

Anyways, its summer now and my skin on my face still isn't like the skin on the rest of my body though. I wiped off another build up of dead skin on my face this morning and I can still feel that it is delicate and gets burnt really easy. So this time around i'm just going to let the dead skin just build up like no other and see what happens. Just wanted to let other people know who has bad acne, that this method does work, it just takes a very long time.

Thanks for listening to my experience, hope it helps and I will come back and check if anyone has questions with this no wash method.

[Infinitestar]

@EltonJohn
I just wanna ask when the dead skin accumulated again after u removed it, did the dead skin built up getting lesser or just the same amount as before?
Didnt ur skin become red and raw if u removed the dead skin too early?

U see, when i removed the dead skin too early, my skin underneath are red and raw. I need at least 1 month before i can remove the dead skin. By that time, the dead skin become too obvious. And it make me self conscious.

[EltonJohn]

Umm if it did lessen it wasn't enough to notice. And yes after I wipe off the dead skin my face is really red and raw for a while but by the afternoon its back to normal.

Believe me i'm in the same boat. I get really self conscious after a while, not because of the dead skin mask but because its so bad on the side of my nose and cheeks there are like little white things that come out and are noticeable.

I don't think wiping it off every month is bad and doesn't "restart" the process like I read someone's post before, because as you read before I had bad acne like 6 months ago and now i'm clear. But I do believe the skin healing process takes longer than normal. The only thing now is that I want the skin on my face to be like the skin on the rest of my body. Right now its still really sensitive and gets burnt easily. I think the entire healing process will take a year for me.

[Infinitestar]

@EltonJohn
How did u wipeout the dead skin without irritating existing acne? After u removed the dead skin did u put moisturiser or u left them alone?

When i removed the dead skin, my skin is raw shine and red. And it persistant. I didnt go back to it normal colour. This really discouraging me.
I'm happy that this really working out for u. I hope i hv the same resuly as urs.
Thank you btw and sorry for asking so many question.

[Mark Neuhoff]

This thread has been fascinating, it reminded me alot of Skins in that there are basically "generations" of posters. It seems to be on generation 12 or 15 now descending from Waterwater and the beginning ilk.

Anyway, i am doing this caveman regiman although adhering more to freeliving's regimen of using cold water. I'm on my second day of taking cold showers, not letting the shower stream hit my face, no q-tips, no dairy, no shampoo, no anything except for shaving, which I accomplish through shaving cream and a manual razor.

By Jove it itches like mad around the nose, nearly all of my mental activity is being directed towards resisting the urge to itch. Other than that my face has erupted into whiteheads, which I know is the red marks resurfacing and cleaning themselves. I think that the cold showers I take, and the cold water splashes, are the thing I would recommend most to others doing this regime, for they help in great measure.

I wish I could see Waterwater post back once again (the hero to us all).

[Pinklady89]

Wow...amazing!!!! You are giving me the courage to try this! I too have been dx w roseasia and have tried everything!! So im really hoping this works!! Any tips? And how long before your face was clear?

[EltonJohn]

Infinitestar, on 11 May 2012 - 02:31 AM, said:

@EltonJohn
How did u wipeout the dead skin without irritating existing acne? After u removed the dead skin did u put moisturiser or u left them alone?

When i removed the dead skin, my skin is raw shine and red. And it persistant. I didnt go back to it normal colour. This really discouraging me.
I'm happy that this really working out for u. I hope i hv the same resuly as urs.
Thank you btw and sorry for asking so many question.

Yep same exact thing for me. I just used one of those cotton make-up removal pads and put a little water on it. Then I just wiped down my face, not up. The pads would just gently take off the first layer of what seems to be a build up of brownish looking dead skin. It is always a little red after I do this and a lot of oil builds back up especially around my nose and cheeks. I remember that last time I did this I did it in the morning and it became really oily by night, but after a couple hours like 4 the redness went away, then over night my cheeks seemed to like soak up the oil. It did become a little oily the next day but it did the same thing and by the third day it was fine.

My cheeks and nose are still a little red, probably cause that is where I did the most damage. Like I said I did this for around 5 months, and I still have a little while to go. Probably another 5 months for it to be completely normal. But over those 5 months of leaving it alone, it has made a huge difference.

[Timmy0087]

So I read this about two months ago and tried the no face washing thing. Id like to share what I found:

I was very uncomfortable when I did not wash my face at all. Even after making it a week I did not get use to it or anything. However my skin was clearing up. I started washing with just water every 3 days but still didnt like the buildup.

Then I thought about the logic of it. Human beings have been washing regularly as long as they have existed. It doesnt make sense that I should discourage myself from washing. So I began washing whenever I felt like it but with just water.

Everything was good except I kept getting white heads by my mouth. After a while I finally figured out that it was toothpaste residue which was the only "chemical" that touched my face. I switched to baking soda for a while but oh my god that is not a pleasent taste in your mouth when you are trying to go to sleep. So now I just use toothpaste but I carefully rinse around my mouth after brushing.

My acne before was not terrible but it was surely noticeable. I almost always had a couple whiteheads. Its been weeks since I have had anythig at all though. And I do not touch my face with any chemicals.

Hope this helps someone. If you have puberty acne you probably just need to deal with it. I am 24. Good luck!

Oh and I also always end my showers with cool water to close my pores. I dont get out of the shower until im sure my face feels cooled off. I think most of the other stuff that the skin care companies say is lies but cold water does close your pores and warmth opens them.

[Srsly]

I hardly have any acne anymore, but my derm told me i had seborrheic dermatitis and she said there was no cure too this... it can be oily or flaky red inflamed enzema in your skin. I have it around my nose and on my lips down my cheeks and so on.. its horrible very oily and red so i have tried everything there is so then i decided to go with this method, my mate told me something about this a long time i ago but i just ignored it. However now im on day 2 and my face is shining of oil i guess that's a good thing.. I will keep this up for a long peroid and drink lots of water every day.

[Srsly]

Im on day 6 my skin is terrible oily aswell as slightly red/pink on affected areas, i have started working out twice a day aswell now and on top of that 1 hour sun each day. I have insane itching at times and pain on my nose/eyes, tho it does really feel like something is happening to my face as before i had blurred vision etc now its not as bad anymore!

How long do you guys reckon i should wait before i wash my face?

[Infinitestar]

@srsly
I dont think this method will work for soborrheic dermatitis(SB)
I've read this whole thread. People who didn't hv SB before developed SB after doing this method.
I think i hv developed SB too but im not sure. My eyebrow is flaking.

[Srsly]

day 9, dead skin build up on my nose around my nose and in my nostrils down my lips etc, also around my cheeks.. all the right areas where my SD is spotted, im positive its fading away! I will keep it up for another 20 days, so pumped about this.

[EltonJohn]

Wow its been like a month 1/2 of not touching my face and i have so much dead skin on my face especially on my cheeks by my nose, side of my nose, eyebrows and some on my forehead. Also a little brown discoloration on my cheeks from less dead skin build up.

Pretty noticeable, but I have always washed it off after 2-3 weeks in the past and it came back the same so i'm just going to let it keep piling on I guess. Whatever, people can judge, just hopefully it all flakes away eventually.

[EltonJohn]

Well I changed that since I got an interview for a job next monday. Anyways after I did this it was red for a little but after thirty min. my t-zone was far less red that that last previous time I cleaned off the mask. I'm so excited over this improvement! Also I'm going to change a little something in my routine. Instead of not letting any water touch my face i'm going to splash cold water on my face in the morning and let it air dry.