11 replies to this topic

[CassiaCa]

So I'm a 15 year old girl who has had acne since I was 12. Nothing severe and very noticeable but it still bugged me. I've tried a lot of different products and none of them seemed to make a difference.

One day I decided to try something not very many people try. I started to use nothing! That's right, no soap, no moisturizer, no toner, absolutely nothing. All I do every morning and night is wash my face with plain old warm water and every couple days I use a face cloth to exfoliate my face. That's it, that's my regimen. Now I have almost perfect skin.

I know I'm not a dermatologist or anything. The thing that was probably causing my acne was all the chemicals in the products I was using. I have a healthy diet, exercise almost everyday and make sure I don't pick at my skin (although that seems to fail a lot of times). If your like me and want to try something new try this, not sure if it will work for you but I sure hope it does!!

If you try it and it works for you tell me. Any in put is much appreciated.

Good Luck!

*I'll post a picture once I have time*

Edited by CassiaCa, 29 August 2011 - 09:34 AM.

[imissyourkisses]

Same here! The more I used, the worse it got. The derms kept prescribing strong and harsher stuff. Finally I said ef this, stopped everything and what do you know...cleared up

[CassiaCa]

Same here! The more I used, the worse it got. The derms kept prescribing strong and harsher stuff. Finally I said ef this, stopped everything and what do you know...cleared up

That's Awesome! It makes me wonder if the whole acne business is just there to get our money. I mean, our skin has been protecting and healing it's self for thousands of years. I just don't get why we have to do all this stuff just to keep our skin clear.

[onefatalgoose]

You are not very far off by saying that acne companies are out to get your money. They are a business first and foremost. The skin industry is huge, and people are always putting there hopes in a new product that claims to eliminate acne. Even though they will convince you otherwise, they care more about generating money than you actually achieving clear skin.

Using only water is the one thing that eliminated my acne. Along with a healthy diet and supplements. From what i've been reading in various posts it doesn't work for everyone, but i feel like a lot of people induce there own acne, or at least make it much worse by running out and buying acne medications at the first sign of a pimple. Teenagers should be better educated in this but instead they see proactiv commercials with beautiful faces and immediately reach for it. It is normal to breakout as a teen, but i don't believe it is normal to put harsh cleansers, toners, or creams on your skin. I know i made my acne worse by doing this at such a young age

[CassiaCa]

You are not very far off by saying that acne companies are out to get your money. They are a business first and foremost. The skin industry is huge, and people are always putting there hopes in a new product that claims to eliminate acne. Even though they will convince you otherwise, they care more about generating money than you actually achieving clear skin.

Using only water is the one thing that eliminated my acne. Along with a healthy diet and supplements. From what i've been reading in various posts it doesn't work for everyone, but i feel like a lot of people induce there own acne, or at least make it much worse by running out and buying acne medications at the first sign of a pimple. Teenagers should be better educated in this but instead they see proactiv commercials with beautiful faces and immediately reach for it. It is normal to breakout as a teen, but i don't believe it is normal to put harsh cleansers, toners, or creams on your skin. I know i made my acne worse by doing this at such a young age

Thanks for reading my post. I totally know what you mean. I've always had very mild acne but when I used all the products I used before, my not so bothersome acne got way worst. Then I used even more products but of course that didn't help very much. xD
Thanks so much for your in put, what you've said is just what I would like other people to hear. I just didn't know how to say it.
I would like as many people as possible to read this because I feel like this could really help some people with there acne problems.

[elfgirl]

I have read that this is a great way to clear your skin, but what if you wear makeup? How do you get the makeup off? seems if I don't wash my back or chest it clears up but my face and neck are different. Any suggestions? Elf

[onefatalgoose]

I have read that this is a great way to clear your skin, but what if you wear makeup? How do you get the makeup off? seems if I don't wash my back or chest it clears up but my face and neck are different. Any suggestions? Elf

This is a really good question. I think it's easy for guys to say just don't wear makeup, but less easy for girls to feel comfortable enough to do it. There would probably be a transition period where you'd have to go without makeup on, or at least very little. I've read eye makeup doesn't have to be compromised from other girls trying this method, but they did go easy on or eliminate facial makeup. It would be tough at first cause there isn't much covering the blemishes, but if this becomes a successful method for you i don't think you'd even need makeup.

[Athan]

Glad to hear your positive experience. Chances are you were aggravating a short bout of problem skin with the cocktail of different products you used. It is important to realize, though, that doing nothing is not a cure for people who are genetically predisposed to have acne. Listen to Dan weigh in on it:

http://www.acne.org/blog/2009/04/22/doing-...ly-do-anything/

[onefatalgoose]

I am genetically predisposed to have acne. Both my parents suffered with it, along with my brother and sister. Doing this along with eliminating certain foods and supplementing cured my acne

[Athan]

I am genetically predisposed to have acne. Both my parents suffered with it, along with my brother and sister. Doing this along with eliminating certain foods and supplementing cured my acne

I don't mean to contradict or offend, but a "do-nothing" regimen lives up to its name. It can only make a difference to the extent that whatever you omit was causing irritation, an allergic reaction, clogging pores, etc. etc. But I think you solved any mystery in your post.

Your "water only" regimen actually had three steps:

1) You eliminated products or a combination of products that were aggravating rather than fixing the problem.

2) You changed your diet. Something in there that you eliminated was contributing to acne (e.g. dairy, chocolate, high glycemic, etc. etc.)

3) You started supplementing. Great call. Some supplements (e.g. zinc, omega-3) can definitely help with acne.

Moreover, your signature suggests you've been using the baby brush exfoliating method, which can certainly help.

Which is all to say, you might be on a "water only" regimen, in that water is the only thing you're putting on your face, but you've made multiple lifestyle adjustments and even manually exfoliate. This is all part of your anti-acne regimen.

Bottom-line, water alone does not cure acne. Everyone who showers uses water, so everyone should get the benefits; obviously, the difference in a "water only" regimen is not the addition of water, which was already present, but the subtraction of imprudent topicals.

Edited by Athan, 09 September 2011 - 12:17 AM.

[onefatalgoose]

I am genetically predisposed to have acne. Both my parents suffered with it, along with my brother and sister. Doing this along with eliminating certain foods and supplementing cured my acne

I don't mean to contradict or offend, but a "do-nothing" regimen lives up to its name. It can only make a difference to the extent that whatever you omit was causing irritation, an allergic reaction, clogging pores, etc. etc. But I think you solved any mystery in your post.

Your "water only" regimen actually had three steps:

1) You eliminated products or a combination of products that were aggravating rather than fixing the problem.

2) You changed your diet. Something in there that you eliminated was contributing to acne (e.g. dairy, chocolate, high glycemic, etc. etc.)

3) You started supplementing. Great call. Some supplements (e.g. zinc, omega-3) can definitely help with acne.

Moreover, your signature suggests you've been using the baby brush exfoliating method, which can certainly help.

Which is all to say, you might be on a "water only" regimen, in that water is the only thing you're putting on your face, but you've made multiple lifestyle adjustments and even manually exfoliate. This is all part of your anti-acne regimen.

Bottom-line, water alone does not cure acne. Everyone who showers uses water, so everyone should get the benefits; obviously, the difference in a "water only" regimen is not the addition of water, which was already present, but the subtraction of imprudent topicals.

Right, "doing this along with eliminating certain foods and supplementing cured my acne" Didn't say water alone. I feel like you're trying to make something clear to me that i'm already aware of. Everyone has different genetics, as well as different skin types. Just the same everyone's immune system is different, or tolerance to certain foods. Finding a cure for your acne, whether you are genetically predisposed or whether you caused it by putting harsh chemicals on your face, is going to be a different journey from person to person.

I found the right combo for me in my diet, supplements, and face routine. This doesn't mean that this combo will work for everyone. I believe a large percentage of acne suffers could cure their acne without the use of topicals, and that includes genetically predisposed acne sufferers. Acne is a sign that something isn't right on the inside, and it shows up on your skin. The road to finding out what that is exactly can be very long and difficult. This is why i am extremely thankful for this site, because here people can share what they've done to eliminate their acne, and hopefully help someone else who is in a similar situation

[Prettywords]

I fell for this hype years ago and I ended up with a staph infection on my face. It wasn't even acne -- it was a sheet of reddened and hardened skin, and yes, it scarred.