94 replies to this topic

[Skinderella]

BRING IT ON!

[VolcanicSkin]

Awe, you guys are so sweet
Thank you!!

I had an exceptionally clear skin day yesterday. It must have been my skin's present to me.

Day 31

Well all the spots around my mouth have started to heal up. It is soooo itchy there!
Now I am having a it of a breakout on my forehead. If I could keep my fingers off I think it wouldn't even be noticeable.

I have noticed a lot of flakes recently too, so I guess I am normal, afterall.
And I finally think I understand what you mean about clogs. Because I am seeing small things in my skin in a lot of my pores. They aren't blackheads and they aren't whiteheads, so I think they are just clogged pores. They are sooooo tiny though, I really have to get super up close and personal with my mirror to see them.

Anyway, if I get a chance to check your thread today Ashley, I will. I am so busy atm, but I can't wait to see how you and Skinderella are doing! And I also want to post progress pictures if I can find the time!
So I hope it is going well for you!

Edited by Creekey, 05 December 2010 - 02:52 PM.

[Skinderella]

Glad you had a good b'day!

*Bakes virtual cake with Ashley over the interent*

[VolcanicSkin]

I love cake!
Mine is already gone. My bf looooooooooves cake, so he ate most of it. Which was fine with me. Have you guys ever had ice cream cake? One of these days I am going to take my birthday into my own hands and buy myself a DAMN ICE CREAM CAKE. Because those are the best... they sell them are Dairy Queen and Coldstone. MMMM.... i want one right now and its only 8:40am!

Ashley:
To answer your question, on the ares where my dead skin is piling up, it does look smooth, but feels rough. I just try to avoid touching it because it feels gross.

And don't be discouraged by my progress! Are you discouraged because you think I am doing bad or because you think I am doing good? Whatever the reason, just keep in mind we all have different skin and therefore our skins will are react in their own way to new things. Just be patient with your skin. Plus, the regimens I have tried for the past 11 years might have all been different from the ones you tried, which is effecting my current progress for the better of for the worse.

BE patient!

[VolcanicSkin]

DAY 34:

Doing good. Have noticed a significantly greater amount of flaking. But skin is healing up quite nicely from the breakout I had around day 28. Haven't had any new spots form in my problem areas. I do have a pretty good sized pimple IN THE MIDDLE OF MY forehead that I actually used a bit of concealer on because its so big and angry at me. But that is normal, considering I have squeezed it once two days ago and once yesterday in hopes it would pop. It didn't pop-all it did was get bigger and angrier.
I know not to try to pop something if it doesn't clearly appear poppable! Arggh, I am stupid for trying it... TWICE!

Anyway, everything else is going well so far. I won't wash off the concealer on my forehead mountain. NO TOUCHING for me!

Hmmm... what else should I say. I stopped taking ALL my vitamins except evening primrose oil. Perhaps that is why my skin is looking clearer.
I am also not hanging around this website as much because I think it makes me think more about my skin, which is the opposite of what I'm trying to do by doing the caveman.
Hope all is well!

Edited by Creekey, 08 December 2010 - 10:13 AM.

[VolcanicSkin]

DAY 39

Well I decided to rinse my face this evening. It was getting so gross feeling that I couldn't take it. So, I rinsed. When I did, I saw all this dead skin that was sitting on top of my skin. I tried removing a little section and found that it came off really easily.

So then I decided to remove all the dead skin from my entire face.

My skin was looking pretty gross, with all the flakes and general icky look. I still have a few healing pimples from when I went on a... picking spree like 5 days ago. I know, thats bad.
Other than that, my skin was looking great.

Now I can't believe how healthy my skin looks after removing all the dead skin! It is a bit red in a few areas from irritation, but the tone and texture of my face is like a baby's bottom!

Hopefully the removal won't break me out.

My skin feels DIVINE right now... after not washing or rinsing for pretty much 40 days! It feels normal and supple to move my face. Yay! I love it.

Anyway, HOLY COW was there a lot of dead skin to remove! It took me forever. Plus, it was all like brown/black.

Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes.

[VolcanicSkin]

DAY 50

Well I decided to take down my gallery photos for now. I haven't had any major improvements, and until then it's pointless to have pictures up.

I am still breaking out a little. No new cysts on my problem areas yet though, which is awesome. I think that if I could manage to stop touching my face, I would be clear. But it has become a bad habit because of the itching.

So that is one of my new year's resolutions.

As many of you know, I rinsed my face and removed my dead skin mask 11 days ago. I haven't rinsed or blotted since. I have noticed a lot more black heads and flakes this time. I don't know why... the only thing is that I touch my face so much and I no longer take any vitamins.

But my skin isn't that bad. I have to take a step back from the mirror because if I'm too close, the flaws look that much more noticeable. I think all of you know how that goes!

Plus from the last bad break out I had in my problem area, I have some new indent scarring.

I know I will never have completely flawless skin (because no one can never outgrow the scars), if I could just except this, I would be a lot better off.

Hope everyone is doing well and have a happy holidays!

[VolcanicSkin]

Hey girl! Glad to see that the acne isn't getting horrendous or anything, although too bad you aren't completely clear yet. Picking/touching is seriously hard to give up

I noticed more flaking and peeling and such after rinses and dead skin removal as well. I do think that some of the flaking (and maybe even blackheads) is more so a result of not having removed all the dead skin, or removing the skin causing some of the almost-dead skin cells to flake like that. The first time I did Caveman in the summer, after those 3 weeks I exfoliated with a cloth, which removed ALL the dead skin, and I didn't have issues with blackheads or filament things for months afterward, so I think that maybe yours are more noticeable because you haven't removed all the skin that they were/are attached to. Maybe the next time you decide to rinse, and once you have no active acne, try exfoliating an area with a gentle cloth and see if that helps.

DO NOT TOUCH, I AM BEGGING YOU!

I hope things continue to improve, and I hope your Christmas and other holiday celebrations go well! And in case you do not update within a week or so, happy new years! Can't believe it's already 2011... Seriously, this year went by SO fast, even though I spent half of it sitting on my ass LOL.

Crap. I wrote this long message about this and it got erased because I pressed the wrong button.

Anyway. On the night of Day 50, I decided to exfoliate because my breakout was looking terrible. The white washcloth I used had a slight yellow tinge to it when I was done. Afterwards my breakout looked way better, and my skin looked way better too. I looked softer, less red, less swollen, and my pores looked smaller.
Yeah that only lasted until about noon the next day and then my skin went back to being horrible. When I say horrible, I mean: 10 new spots, papules, pustules, blackheads, whiteheads. About 3 spots are painful so that means they are cysts. I felt I had no choice other than to wash with my gentle cleanser, use BP, and apply some Apple Cider Vinegar.
I started gradually. First I just rinsed and started the ACV 3x a day. The next day, I decided to use BP 1x a day. Then I decided I would wash with my gentle cleanser 1x a day. I had to do something. The breakout is on my top lip, below my nose. It hurts every time I talk.
I think I did something to fuck my skin up like it is now. After day 39 when I removed the dead skin mask, I had about a week of nicely clear skin, and then it went to its current condition. It could have been the touching, the stress, the fact that I stopped taking my evening primrose oil to control my hormones, or a combination of every thing.
Plus I think my job makes my skin worse. I came to work this morning and my skin looked pretty ok. The only redness was the redness around each individual spot. I just looked in the mirror a few minutes ago and saw that now the entire area surrounding my breakout is all red and inflamed. And I haven't touched it!

W.T.F.

I hate the way acne can really effect your self confidence. I wouldn't let my boyfriend take my picture during the holiday once, because my spots show up like Rudolph the Reindeer's red nose, against my pale skin. If that isn't enough, it has been so painful and itchy! Just to remind me that it is there, in case I forgot.
I am lucky though. My boyfriend always makes me feel better about my skin if I am having a hard time. He is so supportive. This weekend I told him I was feeling down about the condition of my face and he said that feeling down about my skin/face is, "like feeling down about a winning lottery ticket." I asked him what he meant and he said, "Because your face is so beautiful, it is the winning face amongst all others." He makes me swoon. Everyone with acne should have someone like him in their lives to make them feel beautiful/handsome when their skin gets them down. It is so hard to be confident

[VolcanicSkin]

Oops I wasn't quite finished.
Well I just wanted to say that since I am off the caveman, I shouldn't post here anymore. I hope this log helped some people. I do want to stop applying BP once this breakout clears up. I will continue with the ACV and the washing once a day with my gentle cleanser, just to keep my pores clear though.
Maybe I will try the caveman again. Afterall, I only got 2 cysts in my problem area during the 39 days before I removed the dead skin mask. Which is a BIG improvement compared to the months of cysts I was having before. The cysts also didn't become huge and volcano-like. The other breakouts I had were small and went away really quickly.
Feel free to ask me questions here.
I will be starting a new log probably about washing once a day (or just rinsing with water, we will see how it goes) and the use of ACV. I have heard that ACV really helps with acne scars. When I was about 19 and I had my WORST BREAKOUT (contributed to about 80% of my scars) of my life, I remember using ACV. Then I remember getting clear. I am not sure if the ACV was the reason I got clear or if it was something else. But I stopped using it. I don't remember stopping it because or any negative side effects, but because it smells really bad! I can deal with the smell now though.
Anyway, I wish everyone luck and remember, feel free to ask me questions about the caveman!

[hof22]

hi there
im currently about to under go this regemin.
ive been on products for soo long, antibiotics in bundles face creams -hundreds.... and i have acne
it never seems to get better
but all my mates do fudge alll and there skin is fine so im starting to think that just going natural is best for me

im just going to shower once a day and just casually let the water hit my face for a few seconds like a normal person would but not like touch my face myself

i work out alot i was just wondering did anyone notice more breakouts when working out?
might stop exercise for a week and see what happens ? x

[cakeonaplate]

hof22,

I have been trying the no-product approach for about 3 weeks now, and when i did hot yoga as a workout it didnt seem to cause any breakouts. In fact, my skin kinda glowed a little bit more and felt softer.

When i was really clear i was working out tons, sweating lots and I think that it really helped with my skin. All the sweat really flushed out the pore clogging residue of makeup/products.

I should be working out more but am not : /

[VolcanicSkin]

@hof

I wish you good luck on this regimenless regimen. I do think it can work for some people. It worked for me for about 40 days. I had hardly any major breakouts and if I had any new pimples arise, they healed very quickly.
Your thoughts about going without products is exactly what started me on this as well. It is ok to think that acne products actually *give* you acne because I think some do. But not all of them. My opinion is, everything in moderation. Extremes will give you problems.
Your idea of rinsing with shower water is good. I think probably that is better than going without any type of cleaning at all. I think that is what went wrong for me. So good luck!
Also, I have always noticed an increase of acne when I workout. I believe that is because I get more oily. I haven't yet been able to solve this problem, and especially didn't know how to when I was on the caveman. I guess maybe keeping a towel to blot your face with when you work out might help. That will keep the sweat to a minimum and possibly the oil as well.
Anyway, I hope it goes well!

[VolcanicSkin]

Hey everyone
I just wanted to give you guys an update of what has happened to my skin after the caveman.
NOTHING GOOD.
I left because I was breaking out like crazy, and I am still breaking out like crazy. I tried using Apple Cider Vinegar for a time. That didn't work. I tried using my old stand-by of BP, cleanser, and moisterizer (like Dan's regimen kind of). I have never liked BP and I think that it stopped working for me a long time ago. It didn't do anything for my skin texture or color, either.

Something that I think the caveman did for me was give me a TON of blackheads. I had never in my life seen so many blackheads on my face. While the caveman gave me clear(ish) skin for a while, I feel like I was accumulating black heads the whole time.

So, that brings me to what I am doing now. I am still trying to rid myself of an overload of blackheads and cysts. My chin had a whole bunch of blackheads and they seem to all be turning into big painful cysts. Its been two weeks of non-stop breaking out on my chin with cysts.

I went out and I bought some Mario Badescu products. None of them contain BP, so thats good. I feel like I could get clear with these products, too. A lot of them have ingredients to help eliminate blackheads and if I would just be patient instead of trying to squeeze each black head out, I think these products would get rid of them alone. But, patience is key! Squeezing just gives me whiteheads, red marks, and irritation.

Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know the condition of my skin now. I am still trying to recover.

[papermate93]

Hey everyone
I just wanted to give you guys an update of what has happened to my skin after the caveman.
NOTHING GOOD.
I left because I was breaking out like crazy, and I am still breaking out like crazy. I tried using Apple Cider Vinegar for a time. That didn't work. I tried using my old stand-by of BP, cleanser, and moisterizer (like Dan's regimen kind of). I have never liked BP and I think that it stopped working for me a long time ago. It didn't do anything for my skin texture or color, either.

Something that I think the caveman did for me was give me a TON of blackheads. I had never in my life seen so many blackheads on my face. While the caveman gave me clear(ish) skin for a while, I feel like I was accumulating black heads the whole time.

So, that brings me to what I am doing now. I am still trying to rid myself of an overload of blackheads and cysts. My chin had a whole bunch of blackheads and they seem to all be turning into big painful cysts. Its been two weeks of non-stop breaking out on my chin with cysts.

I went out and I bought some Mario Badescu products. None of them contain BP, so thats good. I feel like I could get clear with these products, too. A lot of them have ingredients to help eliminate blackheads and if I would just be patient instead of trying to squeeze each black head out, I think these products would get rid of them alone. But, patience is key! Squeezing just gives me whiteheads, red marks, and irritation.

Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know the condition of my skin now. I am still trying to recover.

Hi
Question, Did you experience a large amount of whiteheads during the beginning of the routine? or All throughout? or at all?

Also, would this routine be ok for hormonal acne? I'm 18 and have had acne for about 4 years!!
Help would be appreciated, thank you

[I am I]

hi' papermate93'
The whiteheads could appear in the early days (for me, especially in the first week) and it should subside in the next couple weeks..
-I'm in the 5th week and no new ones forming these days .I also eat healthy and have some vitamins ,green tea and exercise almost everyday..
-the sebum production should be reduced by this regime..
-I don't know exactly about the teenager hormonal acne but i got my first ones due to hormone from drugs and it works so far for me, so i hope it would for you ,too..