1299 replies to this topic

[Skinderella]

Okay, cool. Thanks!

Yeah, for my red marks and for the winter dryness/flakiness. Just every once in a while. I'll use the same method as you.

[VolcanicSkin]

I thought I would check out this BEAST of a thread (54 pages!) and join the NOT WASHING MY FACE FOR A MONTH party. I am also trying this and I am on day 6!

[VolcanicSkin]

WOOHOO! Did you actually read the whole thing? I did... took like, 3 days lol

Nope, but it's taken me so long to read the first two pages! Its like a book.

[VolcanicSkin]

Lol I know! I think I spent a week reading this and a few other really long no-washing threads. Was like a drug for me.

HAHA yes being on this forum is so addicting! I sit in front of a computer all day for my job so it's all too easy to get on these forums at any time.
I get so excited to log in every time that it's like I'm a kid in a candy store.

[acnedude66]

hey
I'm thinking about starting this tomorrow.
The only modification i will make is that i will use mineral oil to prevent my skin from getting dry especially now in autumn.
How do you think that will work? Isn't it gong to be hard to wash off the mineral oil?

[Skinderella]

I don't think it will be hard to wash off. I think your skin should absorb the mineral oil.

I'm using Vaseline and mineral oil and petroleum jelly are essentially the same thing right? I just rinse in the morning with warm water to get rid of the excess Vaseline and it works just fine. I only use the Vaseline at night though, after rinsing.

[Mr. Boz]

DAY 18

This was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. PEOPLE LEAVE YOUR FACE ALONE. Your skin was made to heal itself. I have pretty much stopped breaking out all together, and my acne was bad before. I still get a one every now and then but its getting better every day. The best part about this is YOU CAN GO ON WITH YOUR LIVES AND STOP WORRYING ABOUT ACNE.

Get sleep, don't eat like shit, don't stress, and don't fuck with your face! If you feel like you are dirty rinse (let the water do the work, DON'T TOUCH YOUR FACE) it off with COOL water. I rinse my face off maybe once at night every other day. No products, no nothing. It's pretty liberating.

[waterinspired]

This forum is addicting! Waterwater's theory kinda makes sense, I've noticed my affected areas (cheeks) are the places I overwash and I sometimes scrub the crap outta my face. The blemishes/scars take forever to heal and the thought of letting it be, to heal on it's own accord makes complete sense. I have a friend who has gorgeous glowing skin and she only ever washes her face with water.
So I thought why not give this a shot...

I'm on day 2 with this NOT WASHING MY FACE FOR A MONTH trial and I feel oily underneath yet my face is dry and my skin is flaky. Hopefully it'll heal itself naturally.
My face isn't as red and my skin tone looks even than it's been for a LONG time!
But I'll have to admit I do cheat abit with washing my face in the morning with just cold water and that's it for the day. I'm keeping myself well hydrated with plenty of water also.

I'm feeling pretty good about this.


Good Luck to myself and everyone!

[Mr. Boz]

DAY 19

Things have been going great however, I have been getting small white heads around my lips and mouth. I have one on my lip right now that is swollen, probably from me picking at it.

This was never a problem area for me, I'm wondering why it is now that I am not washing with soap or using products. I figure it is due to the oils on the food that I eat that are not washed off without soap. Also I've heard that toothpaste with fluoride can irritate some people's skin.

Has anyone else had this problem? Thanks

[Skinderella]

This forum is addicting! Waterwater's theory kinda makes sense, I've noticed my affected areas (cheeks) are the places I overwash and I sometimes scrub the crap outta my face. The blemishes/scars take forever to heal and the thought of letting it be, to heal on it's own accord makes complete sense.

Hmmm..... My cheeks are the same. After I read this, I wondered I should drop the Vaseline.

I think I'll keep it for the winter flakes, but I really don't want to mess my face up because I'm almost 100% clear! I still can't believe NOT washing my face would solve my products.

[waterinspired]

This forum is addicting! Waterwater's theory kinda makes sense, I've noticed my affected areas (cheeks) are the places I overwash and I sometimes scrub the crap outta my face. The blemishes/scars take forever to heal and the thought of letting it be, to heal on it's own accord makes complete sense.

Hmmm..... My cheeks are the same. After I read this, I wondered I should drop the Vaseline.

I think I'll keep it for the winter flakes, but I really don't want to mess my face up because I'm almost 100% clear! I still can't believe NOT washing my face would solve my products.

Hi Greengurl!

What day are you on? Is your skin flaky?


My lower cheeks is my only problem area. It's where all the exfoliation and OTC products are used most. I'm thinking drop the vaseline coz it'll just clog your pores, I'm only on day 3 and I'm seeing results. But I do wash my face in the morning with cold water, I just can't resist the NO water policy.

I have tiny white heads around my chin and nose it's only visible when I get up close to a mirror with great surrounding light. I don't know how to handle that. Is anybody else facing the same prob? Do I do something to remove it or....?

[Skinderella]

I don't know the exact number of days...A month and a half? I read that most caveman/water-only regimen users normalize by the end of the second month. I hope my skin regulates itself by then!

I used Vaseline to help with the flakiness so my skin isn't flaky as the moment, but it was. I don't think Vaseline clogged my pores, it actually seemed to help them. My skin doesn't need the moisture anymore so I've temporarily stopped use. I hopefully won't need to use it again.

It's my upper cheeks for me.

I have some of those too. I think they're sebaceous filaments. I just stand an arms length away from the mirror so I don't freak out about them. That's probably why I'm having such great success. I don't count the stuff you can't see unless your really up close as acne. That's normal people skin, trust me, everyone has that kind of texture to some extent.

Don't do anything! I think the washcloth I used to scrub them off hindered my progress. My skin got so sensitive that if I just touched it, it would bleed. read AshleyNicole's skin log for my posts on that. My theory is that the washcloth thins your skin out. When used sparingly they can be a great thing, but I probably ODed the exfoliation.


Good luck!

[waterinspired]

I don't know the exact number of days...A month and a half? I read that most caveman/water-only regimen users normalize by the end of the second month. I hope my skin regulates itself by then!

I used Vaseline to help with the flakiness so my skin isn't flaky as the moment, but it was. I don't think Vaseline clogged my pores, it actually seemed to help them. My skin doesn't need the moisture anymore so I've temporarily stopped use. I hopefully won't need to use it again.

It's my upper cheeks for me.

I have some of those too. I think they're sebaceous filaments. I just stand an arms length away from the mirror so I don't freak out about them. That's probably why I'm having such great success. I don't count the stuff you can't see unless your really up close as acne. That's normal people skin, trust me, everyone has that kind of texture to some extent.

Don't do anything! I think the washcloth I used to scrub them off hindered my progress. My skin got so sensitive that if I just touched it, it would bleed. read AshleyNicole's skin log for my posts on that. My theory is that the washcloth thins your skin out. When used sparingly they can be a great thing, but I probably ODed the exfoliation.


Good luck!

Month and a half, Woooooh you go girl! I hope I can go that long.

"sebaceous filaments" Hahaaa I had no idea what that was till today. Btw Thank you for your swift reply.

Edited by waterinspired, 17 November 2010 - 03:39 AM.

[Skinderella]

Everyone has them. But I think acne sufferers stand closer to the mirror than normal so they're more noticeable.

[Jack's Smirking Revenge]

I'm at about a month and a half in as well (I think). My initial problem was dehydration from constant use of benzyl alcohol in a moisturizing lotion. Everything just sort of snowballed until my face was a complete mess.

I HAVE been washing my face, but only once a day with water. I've been using Vaseline as well (since my skin couldn't retain any moisture whatsoever when I first started). I've seen quite a few ups and downs, but I'd say there has been general improvement, especially with irritation and redness. A few times I've thought I had everything licked and then something new would pop up. Oh well...

The Vaseline is kinda hard for me to remove completely because cool water just bounces off it. Shaving is a total bitch because pieces of hair get stuck in the Vaseline goo. I literally have to scrape it off gently with a fingernail. Sweet.

Good luck to everyone!

[waterinspired]

Day 4 without washing my face. Tone is noticeably better. Face has no new pimples.
Stopped washing with water, I've noticed washing just magnified the dead skin.

Face feels pasty I want to wash but must resist!

I'm worried about hanging out this weekend, might just stay in and complete assignments. It's really heating up in Sydney I wonder how my skin will react. I've been indoors and avoided the heat since starting this regimen.

Going to quit shampoo and conditioning my hair.

[VolcanicSkin]

I am on day 14 of the no-washing regimen. My skin looked pretty ok (no new huge breakouts) until about day 10. I rinsed my face on day 9 with water for the first time, which made my skin very dry and oily.
On day 12ish I began to get a cyst. Now it's day 14 and I have 4 new noticeable spots, and maybe a new one forming (you know you can always feel them coming...) from an old nodule. All of which are cysts and the sort that take a long time to rise to the surface but look really red and angry none-the-less.

I was having better success than I thought I would with this from day 1 to day 10. After that, I began the PMS cycle and I am thinking that all these new breakouts are from hormones. Or stress.

So, my question is this: Have any of you had any success with hormonal or stress induced acne from this no wash method? I keep telling myself it will get harder and harder for my skin to misbehave as it heals itself more fully.

Also, some people have told me that my face might get a lot worse before it gets better, but I haven't read anyone else's experience of it their acne getting worse. I was just wondering. I want to ride this rough patch out, but not if it won't help me in the ending anyway.

Here's some info about me: I am two weeks away from being 23. I haven't changed my diet (maybe I will... on day 10 I ate pepperoni pizza an on day 11 I ate an italian sub, which could be another factor as to why I'm breaking out). I drink 8 glasses of water every day. I take evening primrose oil, chelated zinc oxide, biotin, vitamin e, and vitamin c.

Thanks for any information you could give me Have a great day.

[VolcanicSkin]

I know I am supposed to be away.. but I wanted to drop in quickly and say hi

Creekey! I'm sorry to hear that your progress is detouring a bit. It could just be the water, maybe it will take your skin a week or so to get back to normal. Otherwise, if it is hormonal acne, you may just need to do this regimen a bit longer so that your skin can adjust to it, and then when you get hormonal acne it might not be as large. Honestly though, I think that with this, it's all about consistency. I think it's better to either rinse every day, or not at all. And if you feel grimy, press a wet cloth against your skin, not enough to make your skin noticeably wet, though. I remember when I was rinsing every 2 days, my progress was kind of... slow. And I started breaking out a bit again. So for my skin at least, it's either no rinsing, or rinsing once a day. I really hope your skin gets better! Maybe you should stop taking the vitamins. Or maybe Biotin, as I've heard it's terrible for acne-prone skin! If you do alter your vitamin schedule, take Biotin out first.

Awh, I am SO GLAD to see you. Thank you so much for the advice. The biotin is gone! I wonder why, if biotin is bad to acne prone skin, why it sasy it is good for the skin on the bottle? misleading products. I woondered if it was the biotin! I started taking it like 2 months ago. First, it made my skin GLOW for like a week with no new breakouts. Then, thats when I started breaking out in cysts on my problematic mouth/cheek area! I will try not taking my biotin and see what happens. Maybe I will cut out all vitamins. Hmm.... Yay you have given me hope!
Well I hope it was the water I used on day 9. I know my skin is very sensitive to breakouts in that particular area so the room temperature water might have aggrivated it after it was already getting used to nothing. Plus, then I ate 3 pieces of pepperoni cheese pizza, and then the next day a huge italian sub packed with ham, pepperoni, salami, and cheese, and chips to wash it all down. Plus, I crave sweets like crazy when I'm PMSing so I've been eating a lot of those too.
On the upside, I've been getting plenty of rest and drinking water like it's going out of style.
Yay! Did I mention I am so glad you stopped by? I'll mosey onto your thread to see if you have done an update!

[acnedude66]

Hey nobody has posted here for a while. How is this going for you?
I started this some time ago but i was washing my face once a day in shower with cool water without touching my face and after shower i put mineral oil on my skin since it is winter here in europe to prevent my face from drying out. It didn't bring much success.

For a week i haven't used mineral oil and have washed my face with cool water just twice (after excercising) for a few seconds without touching face. Now my face feels moisturized and had less breakouts which are now fading. The only problem is a big pimple on my nose. I had had a similar one near it which is now just a red spot and it was lasting for a month. I don't know what to do with it just isn't getting better. All other pimples i had are fading but this one is stubborn. Anyone knows what to do with it?

[Skinderella]

Meh. So so. I have a pimple on my nose too. It's the pits. LEAVE IT ALONE, that is the whole point of the caveman/water-only regimen.

I know, that didn't help much.