12 replies to this topic

[uhmmyeah]

i've been a long time lurker and i finally decided to join in on the fun! i'm tryin out the caveman regimen as a result of my boyfriend saying that "soap and water" is the only thing that worked for him and also my brothers' acne cleared up after they stopped treating their acne. some background: i'm 23, have combo skin, had acne during my middle school years which was cleared up with BP. then in college when i started using face makeup my acne got really bad and i tried the acnefree 3 step system, which has BP in it, with no luck. other things i have tried are the oil cleansing method, and the system i was using just recenly was a gentle cleanser and moisturizer every day. it kept me clear for the most part but i was still breaking out weekly. i have a lot of redness to my face too and it really bothers me.

although i have to admit i'm not following a strict caveman regimen because i still allow water to touch my face. my reasoning is that its ok if water touches my face because the oil and dead skin is there to act as a barrier, and the oil and dead skin is still there after showers too. also, i have been on the regimen for about 3 weeks now and in that time i washed my face about 4 times? haha, some of those times were because i felt like i couldn't take feeling "dirty" anymore and some were because i wore makeup and i needed to get it off.

oh yeah, that's another thing. i wear makeup! not everyday though and mostly just undereye concealer, but if i'm going out to a social event then i would wear a full face - foundation and the whole nine. so that's something that makes the regimen harder for me. also, what should i do about sunscreen? i normally use it everyday and now i can't because the sunscreen plus dry skin combination is not a pretty sight.

so this is how my skin is looking now about 3 weeks into the regimen. i noticed my redness has decreased, my oiliness has decreased! which is amazing because i used to be an oily oily girl. i still break out, about the same amount as i did before, never any really big inflamed pimples, mostly just whiteheads and they go away quickly. there's also bad parts too... i have dry flaky skin, clogged pores, but it definitely isn't as bad as when i first started the regimen. so far i'm happy with how it's coming along. i like the feeling that my skin is getting a chance to rest and heal and balance itself out. i'm not planning to stop washing my face indefinitely, but i also don't plan on going back to being a slave to my skincare routine either!

i guess that's all for now... see ya!

[wapak]

good luck with this! we are all with you here.

[uhmmyeah]

thanks wapak!

so i washed my face 2 nights ago with cleanser [oil of olay moisture balancing] and then the next day i had a medium sized pimple on my right cheek! i guess my skin isn't ready for washing yet. but you gotta admit that it's pretty amazing that i haven't been washing my face the majority of the time for about a few weeks and right now i only have one pimple.

i know i still have the dead skin mask because my cheeks feel rough, and i see it when my skin is wet, but it's not visible when it's dry. i have some clogged pores on my chin too.

i have a question for those who are doing the caveman, when your eyes water, does it start to sting really bad like when sunblock gets in your eyes? i haven't been applying any topicals or sunblock so i'm pretty sure that can't be it, but i noticed ever since starting the caveman, when my eyes water and it mixes with the skin around it, it'll sting like crazy!

[wapak]

I believe it is the sebum that reaches the eye. I also experienced that super stingy sensation when it gets to my eyes on my first week of doing this.

What I do is wet my eye with water because nothing else works. XD

[uhmmyeah]

geez, sebum is natural, why does it hurt so much? haha

are there websites about the natural regimen?

[uhmmyeah]

UPDATE

ok so i have a confession to make, i've been washing my face! for 3 nights in a row now. but the reason why i started washing my face is because i bought this expensive cleanser, that's also really really gentle, and it's all natural too so i gotta use it up before it expires. it isnt even strong enough to remove my dead skin mask actually. but it has calamine in it so it's soothing. so far i like it and i had some breakouts yesterday on my chin, some whiteheads, they were kinda gross, but they are gone today. my skin tone looks nice i just have a bunch of tiny whiteheads all around. i had one pimple that was painful and i thought it would be cystic, but it calmed down after a day and doesn't hurt anymore!

i'm not totally giving up on the caveman method, because i do think it has its benefits too, but i'm excited about this cleanser and we'll see what happens! if my skin starts to get too oily or too dry from this method then i'll give myself days of no washing until it normalizes.

good luck to everyone on their path to clear skin with whatever method you choose!

[wapak]

That's great! Finding a pretty natural product that doesn't hurt your skin. Just remember to use less for the best.

[uhmmyeah]

thanks for your support wapak! you are soo sweet! i think you're the only one who cares about my thread haha, its ok though

[wapak]

Nah, that's okay. And that's not true that they don't care, they simply have nothing to say. Haha

Good luck!

[DroseG]

Yay! I've been posting in the waterwater thread, but reading this, I can totally understand you. Has the washing/not washing thing seem to have improved your skin? And what natural one do you use that does not disrupt the dead skin mask? Because I think I might start washing the parts on my face without the dead skin mask that keep getting new break-outs, but it would be really great to get one that doesn't disrupt the DSM just in case some gets on it by accident.

Thanks!

(and I care!- Wapak's right about everyone else )

[uhmmyeah]

Goodness, acne.org doesn't tell me when i have new replies!

so to update, when i woke up today my skin looked really really good, just a couple pimples that weren't whiteheads. and then i decided i should try putting on some sunblock today on my face, which is what i normally did everyday before i started the caveman method, but i think the sunscreen made my face itch really bad and then my skin was more red later! so i'm lookin into switching to an all natural sunscreen

i dunno if not washing made my skin clearer, but it was less red and appeared less oily. i think it seemed less oily because the dead skin mask kinda soaks the oil up.

right now i'm using LUSH products. i dont know if i could link to other companies here? but if you go to lushusa.com and under the skincare category they have different types of cleansers. i picked out aqua marina because of it being very gentle. they have other cleansers as well that are made for troubled skin. it's sorda pricey! but it's something i've always been curious about and i figured it wouldn't be as expensive if you're not washing everyday anyway. so far it's been a week so i can't say what the long term results will be.

Dr. G - did you post your regimen and progress on waterwater's thread?

[DroseG]

I believe so? I post when things change.

[uhmmyeah]

ok MAJOR UPDATE

i don't do the caveman anymore, i gave it a couple months and i wasn't happy with how my skin was looking as it was constantly dull, flaky with the same amount of acne that i had before i started the regimen

so i decided to try something natural and yet something that would make me feel like i am taking a proactive approach to reaching clear skin. and by proactive i dont mean THAT KIND OF PROACTIVE.

so i went back to a cleanser, toner, moisturizer method and my skin is reacting VERY nicely to this. i switched to Lush skincare and i didn't see immediate results, but after a couple months of use i would say my skin is 99% clear, and also the blotchiness and redness has been reduced too. now i just get tiny whiteheads that go away quickly. i'm starting to think maybe my skin will never be all the way clear just cuz of genetics and such, but i'm coming to terms with that because at least my skin is a whole lot better than it previously was.

this is exactly what i use, only at night. i don't wash in the morning

Lush fresh farmacy only on troubled areas [cuz it's drying]
Lush aqua marina
alba hibiscus toner
dessert essence essential moisturizer

once a week for exfoliation i use Lush dark angels

about once a week for moisture i use Lush angels on bare skin

about once a week i use queen helene mint julep masque. i think the sulfur in it really helps to maintain my skin

i use the fresh farmacy or queen helene masque to spot treat when im not being lazy

i use an spf for the daytime too. it's the target knockoff of aveeno baby sunscreen

I was thinking about starting a new thread for this as it no longer has to do with the caveman regimen, but i figured i didn't want to add another thread as i won't be posting in here very often anymore, unless someone had a pressing question to ask me. also, as much as a love Lush, i'm not trying to promote them any more than any other kind of regimen as it is kinda pricey for a college student like me. i think it would be great if i can find something cheap that works for me, but i guess since i finally found something to work then the price is really worth it

in addition, im making an effort to cut out refined sugar, dairy and coffee from my diet. except today i really binged on a milkshake because i was emotionally eating haha. but, from now on i'll be good!

one more thing, watch the secret video! www.thesecret.tv it's basically about positive vibes and that your mind is powerful enough to create things that you want. every night i either ask for clear skin or tell myself that i do have clear skin. call me crazy, but i think it really does help!