924 replies to this topic

[JayQ]

This is a very very very bad idea guys. This is coming from someone that did this for nearly 3 years. From not showering, or washing, or letting anything touch my face for that amount of time, my body had grown this sort of "cacoon" over my skin. I've been trying to get rid of it for 6 months now, and it's still not even close to being removed. Eventually, the dead skin trying to exfoliate itself, and then the sweat and oil drying on your body will create sores underneath this "cacoon".

It may seem like a great idea, but it is NOT worth it. My skin started to blister and bleed because it didn't know how to react to being touched with any sort of cleanser or shower gel. It was THAT bad.

LOL! Nice try for someone who just joined today. LMAO

Why should my joining date be of any relevance to the credibility of my statement?

Better question, why would anyone think not washing would be of benefit? Pretty sick if you ask me. I guess i have OCD when it comes to washing because i shower morning and night.

Edited by JayQ, 01 November 2009 - 08:26 PM.

[Skytenshi]

I agree. I lurked around these forums for months before I created my own account to join in the discussions.

I am also a bit skeptical about this "cavemen regime". After all, I have a feeling that cavemen DID wash themselves in the rivers. Maybe not as often as we shower and wash our faces now, but I bet they still did clean themselves.

Edited by Skytenshi, 01 November 2009 - 08:27 PM.

[anonymou5]

I'm sorry, but this is a terrible idea. If you really want to get clear skin, you need to get off all pharmaceutical drugs you may be on, completely overhaul your diet, and continue to wash your face with a NATURAL cleanser ONCE a day. This takes incredible determination, but the results are profound. My skin has become SO MUCH clearer, softer, and overall better since I started eating 100% organic. It wasn't easy, and the detoxification my body went through made my skin worse before it began to get waaaaaaay better.

[wapak]

Good luck on your propaganda.. we did this and we succeeded.. many also tried and never had the need to come back on this site. I only visit this daily as a routine to check what's up on these radical idea we got. I'm not even that active anymore on answering questions as they are all basically have been answered on all these previous pages and as well as in other posts about the topic.

And about your credibility, that has been done lots of times to down others idea and you even have the same defense line. Considering that the day you posted that and the day you joined and of your first post, no doubt about your intent. Good luck, i know you know your not helping.

[Jarred]

And about your credibility, that has been done lots of times to down others idea and you even have the same defense line. Considering that the day you posted that and the day you joined and of your first post, no doubt about your intent.

You assume too much.

[DeAntonio]

I would have loved if this worked for me but it didnt. The alternative to harsh chemical containing cleansers isnt to completely stop washing your face. I recommend a gentle cleanser but Im trying "Medimix soap"... GREAT ratings all over the net, its ayurvedic with things like neem, all natural.

[I am Snow]

I never took it as far as not washing at all, but did stop applying junk and I stopped washing my face. I had instant success with that.

Not everyone will. If you actually have an inherited skin condition, you will most likely need something else to control it.

I still firmly believe at least 80% of the people here with acne have it because they stressed about one pimple, then tried to over clean it, then got more, then continued stressing out, and before they knew it, they ended up on this site contemplating things like drinking pee.

It does not have to be that way.

[anonymou5]

Good luck on your propaganda.. we did this and we succeeded.. many also tried and never had the need to come back on this site. I only visit this daily as a routine to check what's up on these radical idea we got. I'm not even that active anymore on answering questions as they are all basically have been answered on all these previous pages and as well as in other posts about the topic.

And about your credibility, that has been done lots of times to down others idea and you even have the same defense line. Considering that the day you posted that and the day you joined and of your first post, no doubt about your intent. Good luck, i know you know your not helping.

indeed, i have terrible intentions. im just a marketing guru attempting to sell you a healthy diet. i guess it this really works for you then you may wonder if the face wash you were using was chalk full of chemicals which were causing your skin to break out. if that was the case, a natural facial cleanser would be an excellent solution. and no, i didnt just suggest a specific product.

[wapak]

@I Am Snow
Yup, that's the way it worked for me too. I am now washing my face normally with water. But they simply don't understand that it is not going to be not washing forever. XD

@anonymous
That post isn't meant for you. Btw, I do agree on your opinion though it works on some but also doesn't on others.

[Intoxifornication]

lol

OP: your name suits you btw

[gMARIAs]

I never took it as far as not washing at all, but did stop applying junk and I stopped washing my face. I had instant success with that.

Not everyone will. If you actually have an inherited skin condition, you will most likely need something else to control it.

I still firmly believe at least 80% of the people here with acne have it because they stressed about one pimple, then tried to over clean it, then got more, then continued stressing out, and before they knew it, they ended up on this site contemplating things like drinking pee.

It does not have to be that way.

With all do respect, I highly doubt that 80% of the acne.org users have acne because of stress, alone. I'd wager to say that the majority of people on here are suffering from acne because they have a "skin condition."

If not washing works for you, it's probably because your skin was breaking out from irritation, not from hormones.

[I am Snow]

I never took it as far as not washing at all, but did stop applying junk and I stopped washing my face. I had instant success with that.

Not everyone will. If you actually have an inherited skin condition, you will most likely need something else to control it.

I still firmly believe at least 80% of the people here with acne have it because they stressed about one pimple, then tried to over clean it, then got more, then continued stressing out, and before they knew it, they ended up on this site contemplating things like drinking pee.

It does not have to be that way.

With all do respect, I highly doubt that 80% of the acne.org users have acne because of stress, alone. I'd wager to say that the majority of people on here are suffering from acne because they have a "skin condition."

If not washing works for you, it's probably because your skin was breaking out from irritation, not from hormones.

Please read more carefully. I said they have acne because they "stressed about 1 pimple" and then went all out on their skin.

They have acne because they irritate their skin with acids and other products.

Take someone with clear skin and apply your products and see what happens. It simply is not good for you skin and your skin will show it.

[Skytenshi]

I'm sorry, but this is a terrible idea. If you really want to get clear skin, you need to get off all pharmaceutical drugs you may be on, completely overhaul your diet, and continue to wash your face with a NATURAL cleanser ONCE a day. This takes incredible determination, but the results are profound. My skin has become SO MUCH clearer, softer, and overall better since I started eating 100% organic. It wasn't easy, and the detoxification my body went through made my skin worse before it began to get waaaaaaay better.

The natural v chemicals debate

While I agree that overdosing ourselves with "chemicals" may not be healthy, I also think it is flawed to conclude that anything that is "natural" and free of "chemicals" is good.

Chemicals are bad?

The term "chemicals" is often wrongly used by the cosmetic industry to label anything that is not "natural". However, if you have studied Chemistry, you will know that all matter on Earth are in fact made of chemicals. Water is the chemical H2O.

The correct analogy is not natural v. chemicals.

The correct analogy should be chemicals that appear naturally v. synthetic chemicals (which we artifically put together). We can have H2O appearing in its natural state, or we could artifically put H2 and O2 together to form H2O. However, there is no proof that the one appearing in its natural state is necessarily better for our bodies than the one that we synthetically put together.

Natural = good?

Another inherent erroneous idea is that anything that is natural must be good. My media teacher back at uni once said to us, "spider poison is natural, so does it mean it's good for you?" A lot of poisons appear in nature that cause severe allergic reactions in us. Poison ivy is one example.

Conclusion

A lot of face washes on the market are not labelled "natural" because they consist of lots of synthetic chemicals. However, these face washes are not necessarily mediocre because some of these synthetic chemicals may cause us less irritation and fewer allergic reactions than many so called "natural ingredients".

However, moderation is the key. We really should not load our faces with lots of chemicals, be they natural or synthetic.

While "going natural" sounds like a good idea, unfortunately, some of us do need "artificial" drugs and chemicals to control or heal our ailments.

[onceperfect]

I have moderate acne. I have quit washing my face, but i am using oral and topical antibiotics aswell as retinoids.

I'm clear. Washing may only worsen the effects of drying caused by the drugs i'm on.

skytenshi, i TOTALLY agree!!

- a chemist

[joeshep]

I just wash my face now when ever I feel it needs to be washed. I'm only doing it like once every 3 days with a mild cleanser. It's great. Not stressing all the time. Not revolving my day around washing my face. My skin just feels a lot calmer.

[numbaunstunna]

Hi,
I have been lurking around the boards for a year now. A little background about myself: I am a 26 year old Asian male who started getting severe cystic acne on my chin and cheeks when I turned 18 (puberty was late). Ran to the dermatologist and that's when the circus began. Doxycycline, Minocyclin, Tazorac, Dalacin-T, Vibramycin. You name it and I've tried it. Decided a year ago enough was enough and started researching on my own. I never believed that diet had any link to acne until I read posts here. I was a Coca-Cola junkie and ate junk food A lot. Also drank milk. Cut out Coca Cola from my life and also stayed away from milk. Saw a huge improvement!! I began to believe the acne-diet connection and began keeping a log of the food I ate and the acne. I have been doing that for a couple of months and have realized that processed foods are the killers and HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP is poison. I now eat a lot of fish and cook my own food. I still had some acne and wanted to completely be clear. I stumbled on this thread and decided it was worth a shot. I stopped washing my face 2 weeks ago and I must say, my face has improved drastically! No more new acne and my scars are fading fast. My face is oily at certain times of the day but it takes care of it by itself! Also, i used to have a lot of blackheads on my nose and they have also started to exfoliate by themselves. It is frankly a miracle. My face has never glowed like this before. I will continue to not wash my face for another 4 weeks since that's how long it takes for skin cells created at the lower level to mature fully. After that i am planning on washing with cold water once or twice a week. I can't wait for the end results. Give this a shot you won't be disappointed. And do not be afraid of the sun. It is helping but I am not sure how much.

[squaddy]

So, people on this regime don't take showers either? Or do you keep your face dry? I might try this. Want to get rid of the spots that acne leaves. After I stumbled upon this board and got some good tips, and I haven't got any new outbreaks. I do have some spots, or left over marks on my cheeks. Anyone knows how to get rid of those effectively?

[AlteredCourse]

I will join in, no more touching my face with anything. Although I am going to try to incoprerate Jojoba Oil into it, not sure how often yet.


Currently: 5 white heads on my chin, some are pretty bad, and some smaller ones as well. Other than that, some scattered on my forhead. Acne on my cheeks is very small and almost non existent.


I will update my progress in the future.

Edited by AlteredCourse, 16 November 2009 - 05:35 PM.

[AlteredCourse]

I haven't been following the caveman regimine exactly, but I have eliminated all chemicals.

I now run 1 mile a day and bike 5-6. I pat my face afterwards, but I do not wash and it has not caused any breakouts. I take a whole food supliment in the morning (synthetic vitamins don't work well or at all), and take Udo's 3 6 9 oil blend.

As for washing, I do a quick wash with water on my face in the morning and night and apply 2-4 drops of jojoba oil afterwards. The jojoba oil caused some bad whitheads and breakouts at first, but now my face is clearing up. Jojoba oil in no way makes my face feel oily, in fact it makes it feel a little tight.

This is the bet my face has been in a while, and it has been less than a week of following this regimine. I am pretty positive i'll have my face back within a month. If you have acne, stop using chemicals, do cardio at least to the point of sweating, eat better, wash less, and moisturize (with jojoba oil!).

[olyguy]

Right now I'm on day 48 of washing my face with only water. Actually there have been a few days during the 6th week when i washed my face with cerave hydrating cleanser. I do have some dead skin build up and it's been tough not to pick off the flakes, though there have been a few that I've picked off to see how the skin underneath is doing. I don't and have never really had acne, but mine was due to over exfoliating by rubbing my face way to hard with a washcloth, which I would repeat every few weeks in order to get the flakes off, but it's been 48 days since i've last done that. By rubing the flakes off, not only does that dry out the skin, but it has the skin produce new cells faster than they should. I'm letting the flakes build up so that the rate of turnover returns back to normal. The flakes, for the most part, are ready to fall off. It looks like it won't be more more than a week or two before they do. Some of the flakes have fallen off naturally, and surely enough, there is mostly healthy smooth skin underneath. The transit time/cell turnover for skin is about 6-8 weeks, not 4. It takes about 4 weeks for it to get to the stratum corneum, and then another 2 weeks or so for it to slough off. Unfortunately, I'm thinking it will be about 8 more weeks until my skin is completely back to normal. If you get the dead skin build up, you can see how it has some crack between them, meaning that its not completely protecting the skin underneath and water can escape easier than it should, so i'm thinking that the skin underneath after the first 8 weeks will have hardly any cracks, but still a few, and then after the second 8 weeks goes by, there will not be any cracks for anything to get through and it will be healthy skin.


AlteredCourse: You may want to think about taking an Omega 3 supplement without the 6 and 9. You most likely get enough 6 and 9 in your diet, and when they are consumed at the same time as Omega 3, they compete for binding sites when absorbed.

Edited by olyguy, 20 November 2009 - 12:16 PM.