1213 replies to this topic

[jmaaan]

ugh, a lot of people kept asking me what was wrong with my face so when i got home i was so fed up that i took the mask off of my forehead and now its pink and irritated >.<. i've been doing this since september and i only see a little difference. I'm starting to think about using water every few days but it's gonna make the dead skin come off and the process will be even longer. is anyone here using water? and if you are how is it going so far?

Also I've been using water everyday for a little more than a month and the dead skin is still building up which is good I guess because it's healing.

[yourworstnightmare]

ohh ok thanks, and im glad to hear that your skin is healing!
im gonna use water once every other day and see how that works. im also gonna try the aloe vera for a little while.

[jmaaan]

Yea I haven't really noticed a huge difference using the Aloe but I continue to apply it once a after I wash with water and I mean it can't hurt I don't think?

[Cavemanfan]

WHaddup everybody!
A couple more things came to mind that I want to mention. I don't attribute 100% of my skin's success to the caveman regimen.. Come to think of it, I think it only served to about half of my personal solution.
I bought an ebook called Clear for Life.... and an amazing guy named Seppo wrote it... He's posted alot on the acne.org forums and helped people get over the emotional/psychological side of acne.

In my opinion, you cant just stop washing and hope for miracles.. You've gotta get out there and take some action.

The other half of my skin's healing came from a culmination of different things... Some probably helped more than others... I'm not sure which of these helped, and which had no effect.

• Full spectrum light bulb in my desk lamp (I sit at my desk 5+ hours a day)
• Working out 5+ times per week (where atleast twice a week i break a heavy sweat in my face)
• Every morning I drink a green smoothie with spinach/romaine/carrots
• Every morning I sit down and meditate... to center myself. (Its nothing religous, just calming yourself down with deep breathing)
• Positive attitude
• Every morning I watch a clear skin mind movie (Hard to explain, it came with clear for life)
• sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep 8 hours a night. very routine like

Ok, so here is the reasoning behind a few of those. The full spectrum lightbulb is supposed to simulate real sunlight.... which is hard to get in the winter. Working out to the point of sweating helps kill bacteria on your face, but more importantly, exercise is the NUMBER ONE way to boost your immune system. Green smoothie - just the fastest way to get all my vegetables i need for the day. The mind movie... helps my mind... it gives me motivational messages and reminds me of the most important thing; "acne is a coach that helps you grow" Everyday i need to hear that, so I think of acne as a blessing instead of a curse.

So don't go on this regimen thinking once i stop applying topicals everything will fix itself... Remember! You applied topicals for a reason, become internally healthy and give it enough time... It will show in your skin.

muh man jmaaan! The cleansing bar I ordered is backordered... I guess its a huge seller So i guess I wont get it for another month.

Wapak the guru!! Thanks for the B6 tip... but I eat 3-6 bananas every day. So B6 deficiency cant be it... Any other vitamin causes that it could be?

my worst nightmare! dude your making the right choice by washing with water. Start off using lukewarm or maybe even cool water. You dont want to shock your skin since its still in a heavy recovering phase.

I'm very close to being clear! My lifestyle changes that I made way back in the summer are really starting to kick in. I feel alive and vibrant. I'll check back once a week or so to encourage you guys.

Live Life
jWeBB

[Giantsbran1227]

I'm a month in. I have a good amount of dead skin but I stilll don't have any on my nose or forehead, and their still both oozing with oil. I always had severe oily skin so I'm hoping it's just taking those areas longer to balance out. On the plus side I rarely ever get zits anymore.

[jmaaan]

Yea I've noticed that I just had tons od dead skin but not really that many zits. Anyways the patch of dead skin on my forehead is lookng so much better, every day it becomesd more and more the color of my skin but I think I'm going to remove it on Sunday or not idk because it really doesn't look that bad as it used to a few weeks ago so I might just leave it on for a week or so just to be safe.

[yourworstnightmare]

jmaaan, wait another week or two until you take the mask off just to be safe. when i took it off my forehead yesterday, i had little red bumps.

[jmaaan]

Yea I know what you mean. My previous attempts at removing haven't went so well and the skin underneath was very pink and raw and it looked like I was peeling. Those spots where I attempted to remove it are now still red and have dead skin over them while the rest of my cheeks are healed and look pretty much normal. My forehead still needs time though.

[yourworstnightmare]

The red bumps on my forehead are starting to go away but the skin isnt pink or irritated, neither is the skin on my nose, do you think the dead skin will come back in those places?

[jmaaan]

The red bumps on my forehead are starting to go away but the skin isnt pink or irritated, neither is the skin on my nose, do you think the dead skin will come back in those places?

Yes it will just take awhile for you to notice the dead skin is building up, but it is.

[yourworstnightmare]

Oh okay thanks. i thought my forehead and nose were done healing, i guess not haha.

[clearskinn]

So ive done the no washing thing for a long time now. I didn't touch water to my face for an entire month, and what I learned was topicals really don't do sh*t. But i think you guys would be better off using water ever few days or so and scrubbing off the dead skin.

[yourworstnightmare]

so i've been using water on my face for about 2 weeks now. i wet my face and gently rub the deadskin off if i even get any. i let my cheeks get the skin build up so it heals. i dont really care about my forehead and nose, theyre pretty much clear, just a few spots. i guess the water only worked better for me than the not washing, although, it gave my skin a while to heal so im happy about that. i dont think im gonna be on here a lot, just once in a while. good luck everyone and enjoy your soon to be clear skin! xoxo

[jmaaan]

so i've been using water on my face for about 2 weeks now. i wet my face and gently rub the deadskin off if i even get any. i let my cheeks get the skin build up so it heals. i dont really care about my forehead and nose, theyre pretty much clear, just a few spots. i guess the water only worked better for me than the not washing, although, it gave my skin a while to heal so im happy about that. i dont think im gonna be on here a lot, just once in a while. good luck everyone and enjoy your soon to be clear skin! xoxo

Same exactly, my forehead is clear and cheeks but inner cheeks and nose still need time.

[Cavemanfan]

Sup yall!
I've been using this gentle facial cleanser for about a week now. Cleansing Bar
It seems I'm getting a bit of an initial breakout from it. I'm assuming its one of a few things, either my skin is purging, my skin is irritated, or my skin is overdried.
I'll keep washing and let ya guys know if my skin calms down. The deadskin mask came completly off by the 2nd facial wash. I like the way my skin looks with this cleanser. These new breakouts are mainly just red... they havent come to whiteheads yet.

peace.

[yourworstnightmare]

So far my skin is doing good. Still have the deadskin mask on my inner cheeks and my nose is doing ok it has the mask but its not really noticeable. My forehead is a little more difficult. When i wash my face and see the white deadskin on my forehead i gently rub it until it comes off then its a little pink and a few little pimples show up. After a few days my forehead looks clear because the white deadskin came back but its not noticeable unless wet. How do i make it so that when i rub it off it doesnt become pink?

[jmaaan]

Pretty much same with me. My forehead and inner cheeks and nose still need time and have deadskin mask on them pretty badly. My only guess would be too let the dead skin mask stay on for a week or more and let the skin underneath heal. I had dead skin on my cheeks a month or two ago and removed the mask on my cheeks and the skin underneath was healed and looked normal and clear and the dead skin mask hasn't returned on those spots. I have finally gotten so fed up and frustrated that I set up an appointment with a dermatologists. I don't want to get prescribed anything I just want some professional advice on the fastest way to make my skin heal naturally. Anyways my deadskin mask remaining looks horrible. It is thick and brownish and is cracking a little. Is this what normal dead skin looks like when it is severe?

[yourworstnightmare]

Pretty much same with me. My forehead and inner cheeks and nose still need time and have deadskin mask on them pretty badly. My only guess would be too let the dead skin mask stay on for a week or more and let the skin underneath heal. I had dead skin on my cheeks a month or two ago and removed the mask on my cheeks and the skin underneath was healed and looked normal and clear and the dead skin mask hasn't returned on those spots. I have finally gotten so fed up and frustrated that I set up an appointment with a dermatologists. I don't want to get prescribed anything I just want some professional advice on the fastest way to make my skin heal naturally. Anyways my deadskin mask remaining looks horrible. It is thick and brownish and is cracking a little. Is this what normal dead skin looks like when it is severe?

I dont know for sure but i guess all the damaged skin is turning into deadskin and then falling off on its own when its ready, revealing clear new skin.

[jmaaan]

Pretty much same with me. My forehead and inner cheeks and nose still need time and have deadskin mask on them pretty badly. My only guess would be too let the dead skin mask stay on for a week or more and let the skin underneath heal. I had dead skin on my cheeks a month or two ago and removed the mask on my cheeks and the skin underneath was healed and looked normal and clear and the dead skin mask hasn't returned on those spots. I have finally gotten so fed up and frustrated that I set up an appointment with a dermatologists. I don't want to get prescribed anything I just want some professional advice on the fastest way to make my skin heal naturally. Anyways my deadskin mask remaining looks horrible. It is thick and brownish and is cracking a little. Is this what normal dead skin looks like when it is severe?

I dont know for sure but i guess all the damaged skin is turning into deadskin and then falling off on its own when its ready, revealing clear new skin.

Ok thanks

[Steph28]

Hello. I am brand new to this site and like others, have tried everything the dermatologist recommends. I am currently on Oracea and just started Sodium sulfacetamide (topically).
I apply Jojoba oil at night.
I have adult onset acne. I rarely had an occasional pimple in high school around my period. Now my skin is never clear, is patchy and red and bumpy on one side. (I'm experiencing acne and Rosacea, though the Rosacea is mostly just on the right side).
I have been on Adderal off and on and am realizing that this could be exacerbating the problem. (probably a separate post).
My skin is super sensitive and I've even tried the 'just water" approach to no avail. After reading this I am going to give the "no wash" approach a try. (also tried Cetaphil products and gentle oatmeal soap)
What I fear the most is going off Oracea which is probably also a separate post. I've been on it 3 months and when I skipped a few days it flared up.
So I may go to every other day with Oracea for a week while I ease into no washing and then off completely and see how goes.

I'm curious to hear an update since the last posts were made 2 years ago. Is this practice still working for you or anyone else?
I will be in touch about my progress, but I am suspecting it will get worse as I go off meds and since I have finals next week as well.

Steph

Edited by Steph28, 05 March 2010 - 12:15 AM.