696 replies to this topic

[jordan12]

Ok, I understand now. Sebum production wouldn't go up during the "do nothing" experiment. What i meant to say was, maybe the sebum produced on the face becomes less viscous overtime if it isn't being washed away on a daily basis.. and being less viscous it doesn't clog pores as easily.

That's an interesting thought...I don't know how you'd test that...but I still think there HAS to be something to the fact that the "do nothing" tactic works for so many people at some stage. However, as shown by the fact that mine came back worse than before, and this was the case with many others...there's got to be something missing.

[tooshort]

The obvious solution for those that want to try this but are afraid of the initial break out....... Do a spot test on only one part of your face.

I am going to experiment and not wash my chin area, while continuing Dan's regimen on the rest of my face.

[No I'm Amy]

I barely used to wash my face or take a shower as a kid. I took baths every other day or less. I didn't smell and my skin was great. I started taking showers more and stank. That's why I take showers at night only. I don't smell anymore.

[Swits]

see i would try this if there was an actual experiment with more than 1 person, and actual picture results. actually i dont think i would try it anyways, not taking a shower everyday makes you stink, hell it could even psycologically affect you.

[jordan12]

Well, the variation of this that Long and I are doing is the "don't wash face + use benzoyl peroxide"...but using nothing, including no BP, worked for me initially and then I broke out really badly eventually.

[Bob1978]

This is so crazy I just have to try it . I'll put off my B5 plans for now, and try this instead... starting now!

[lifter4life]

Is this the effect the people that have been using H&S as a cleanser are experiencing? It would make sense because using shampoo wouldn't do any 'cleansing', but wouldn't it stop you from getting dirty skin fungus and stuff?

Hopefully that makes sense.

[Long]

Well, the variation of this that Long and I are doing is the "don't wash face + use benzoyl peroxide"...but using nothing, including no BP, worked for me initially and then I broke out really badly eventually.

Same here. I tried quitting the BP and the acne came back. I don't know if returning to soap while quitting the BP would work, but since I've never been able to cleanse my way to clear skin in the past I'm not going to go that route. I've gone back to the BP and things are straightening up.

[Long]

see i would try this if there was an actual experiment with more than 1 person, and actual picture results. actually i dont think i would try it anyways, not taking a shower everyday makes you stink, hell it could even psycologically affect you.

It's not the shower that keeps you from stinking it's your deoderant.

[jordan12]

^Yep, that's a good point. At any rate, it's not a "no shower" regimen, it's a no wash your face regimen. Meaning don't make a point of putting your hands on your face and CERTAINLY don't use soap on it.

I've found that I'm pretty much as clear as I'm gonna get until I either out-grow it or die. I still break out every now and then...sometimes I go through spurts of breakouts. The redmarks...hard to tell whether they're healing or not, and whether they're redmarks or scars...but at certain points in the day when my skin is somewhat more moist (usually), my face looks a lot better. Especially after I shave (that really improves the texture of your skin).

And whatever you do, do not trust the rearview mirrors in cars. Those absolutely DO lie. Nobody can see all the crap that shows in those. Those are absolutely ridiculous...it's like looking at your skin with a microscope or something. According to those, the entire area of skin around my lips is permanently red. Screw that.

[Someone111]

I dont put topicals either, i think its bs and should be save for George Bush's lunch. However i dont overdo washing myself and my face, i take a shower 1 or twice a day, depending on hhow it is , an my face, twice a day, and i eat a good diet and drink lots of water, and im clearing up a lot and my red marks are fading

[jordan12]

God, I wish there was a sure-fire way to get rid of the red marks and scars...

[Drewbon5000]

hey guys I found this quote and I thought brian might be interested in it. It has to do with eating Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Coconut Oil instead of hydrogenated/non-hydrogenated vegetable oils:

"A person who eats lots of vegetable oils will have less MCFA in their oil glands and thus dilute the germ-fighting capacity of the oil. Frequent washings will also remove this oil, exposing the skin to infectious organisms. This may be one of the reasons why acne is common among those in the Western countries, but rare in cultures that eat traditional diets void of processed vegetable oils. Eating less vegetable oil and more coconut oil will help replenish the body's MCFA reserves and help fight acne.

Bruce Fife ND, Saturated Fat May Save Your Life
Healthwise Publications, 1999
Page 114 "

So... the oil on our face does have "germ fighting capacity"... cool!

[bryan]

I do find that claim to be interesting, but it goes against the conventional wisdom that sebum has no real antibacterial effect.

Bryan

[ashleybun12]

Sebum oil and moisturizer is not the same.Bacteria dont feed on moisturizer which most of the time have somekinf od acid/alcohol in them

Exactly, so your skin is fooled into believeing all the oil is still on the surface (and will hence hopefully cut down vastly on the quantity it produces) just like your method, no breakouts however should be experienced as its the wrong kind for bacteria to flurish on.

Hope the experiemnt is going well, how much has oil production cut down by now?

Ok, I'm new and have been following this thread. I honestly do believe that this "experiment" is very accurate. I wear makeup nearly everyday and wash my face with Dove soap 2x a day. My acne has gotten SO much better since I've stopped using any commercial acne products and cleansers that contain Sodium Laureth Sulfate but I do get several on my chin and forehead every so often. Anyway, I have noticed my boyfriend's skin is always clear but he does have the occasional pimple or two. He doesn't use any form of cleanser on his face. I am always jealous of his skin as his amount of sebum is normal and I have a lot of oil. My skin seems to have been getting better in the last couple weeks. I do, however, have what seems to be dried-up sebum in my pores, instead of just oily pores there is a solid in there as well. I think it is genetic because I've seen my mom with the same thing. The worst part is that I can squeeze it out and it does come out solid. Anyone know what that condition is????

[jordan12]

^I've heard of this but I'm a bit puzzled as to what it actually is. How do you "squeeze" it out, exactly? Do you just, like, pinch the area of skin around the pore?

[Endri]

Does anyone know where Alex is and how his skin is doing right now?

[*Dean*]

I would have so much fun if that were the cure. Not doing anything, no showering, sitting around eating cake and anything I wanted, then going to wack off 3 times a day.

[Fuzion]

Does anyone know where Alex is and how his skin is doing right now?

From what I can tell from reading the first 10 pages, he went on this "nothing regimen" for about 4 months and he said it cleared him up 100% but he was gonna wait a little longer to make sure his acne did not come back before he gave it his seal of approval. Then he dissappeared...

My conclusion is that this works for a lot of people, and once their skin clears up they forget about acne and forget about acne.org. Why bother when your skin is clear? Plus there are a lot of ignorant punks in here that flamed Alex for his experiment without even giving it a chance, why would he want to hang around just to argue with them? however there was also a lot of people that tryed this "nothing regimen" and said that it was working great and then dissappeared as well.hmmm makes me think it worked for them as well and they got on with their lives.

SOOOoooo, what regimen should you try??? BP? with all the people saying that it works temporarily and then they get huge cysts??? ..SA?? lol, i wont even get into that, old school..OMG ACCUTANE?!?! "miracle" pill that f*&cks your whole body up and clears you up for a months before your acne comes raging back?!?! Or this? which has really no negative feedback and people say works great!! DAMN! what a tough decision lol.

I am a firm believer that less is more, I have used most of the acne "fighting" chemicals out there including SA, BP, Neo, etc, etc and although they do clear things up for a while my acne always comes back, usually much worse. I have slowly started eliminated all the harmful chemicals from my regimen and now just use Cetaphil cleanser and try to eat a bit healthier (NO MILK!) and my skin is looking tons better.

[Rikke]

Jeez... Now I'm considering this, but I've JUST started on the regimen.

What if this doing-nothing-regimen really works for me? But what if it DOESN'T?! Then I would do something else... But.. ARGH! It's a tough decision, coz I just wanna look good, and rather soon...

Depressing