7 replies to this topic

[sam1w2e]

So I've been washing my face with just water twice a day for about 3 weeks. I usually get mild-moderate acne. It's been fine until recently and had noticed pretty decent improvements, although my acne had not entirely stopped. However recently my skin has become very dry and tight and I am noticing a lot of flakiness, mainly after i've washed my face with water. Is this what people on these kinds of routines call the 'dead skin mask'? Also I'm not washing with hot or cold water, it's kind of luke-warm.

Anyway I've been breaking out fairly bad (by my standards anyway) but it could be worse. My main breakout area is my chin and nose, but I do get some acne on my cheeks too. So do you think I should quit and go back to cleansers, or maybe even try using no water at all? Any advice will be appreciated, thank you!

Oh and p.s. I'm not using any moisturizer as I'm trying to not use cosmetics etc...

[Exister]

I've been washing with just water for 8 or 9 months. I did use an "all natural", home-made soap a few times, and broke down and used my old Cetaphil wash a few times over that period. I also tried a few weekends of not washing at all. Anyway, for the most part, 8 or 9 months of just water.

I realized this week that my face isn't looking any better. My cheeks are about the same, but my forehead may be worse than ever. I'm not getting big zits there, but it seems like every pore is clogged with something, it's all bumpy if I look up close at it. My skin is also far more oily than ever before. In fact, I never even used to have an oily face. I've been eating a hundred times healthier, so what I'm thinking is that the healthy eating just barely makes up for the lack of washing.

So I've decided I'm going to start washing again. I'm actually going to try Johnson's head-to-toe baby wash. I'll do that for a week, then decide if I want to continue or switch back to Cetaphil or that home-made bar, or something else.

Just thought I'd share my experience.

Edited by Exister, 31 October 2012 - 03:33 PM.

[sam1w2e]

Yeah that's what it's like, just lots of clogged pores which are inflamed. Although there were initial improvements, I think now that there's been some time to adapt to my new cleansing habits it's really gone downhill. Found a decent looking gentle cleanser on amazon (uk) called Pure & Clear Anti Blemish Facial Wash 125ml. Ingredients look pretty good so might give it a go.

[Bronck]

So I've been washing my face with just water twice a day for about 3 weeks. I usually get mild-moderate acne. It's been fine until recently and had noticed pretty decent improvements, although my acne had not entirely stopped. However recently my skin has become very dry and tight and I am noticing a lot of flakiness, mainly after i've washed my face with water. Is this what people on these kinds of routines call the 'dead skin mask'? Also I'm not washing with hot or cold water, it's kind of luke-warm.

Anyway I've been breaking out fairly bad (by my standards anyway) but it could be worse. My main breakout area is my chin and nose, but I do get some acne on my cheeks too. So do you think I should quit and go back to cleansers, or maybe even try using no water at all? Any advice will be appreciated, thank you!

Oh and p.s. I'm not using any moisturizer as I'm trying to not use cosmetics etc...

I'm on my fourth week of water-only right now. You can check out my weekly log for more details on my experience.

My advice is to thoroughly wet your face with lukewarm water and gently massage the dead skin off with the tips of your fingers. Don't be too vigorous when you do it. You only want to help the dead skin move along. You may also want to try splashing your face with cold water in the morning only. Let the water air dry.

If you eventually go back to using a face cleanser, use something gentle like cetaphil or cerave. Try using the cleanser only once or twice a week, or three times a week at the most.

[sam1w2e]

So I've been washing my face with just water twice a day for about 3 weeks. I usually get mild-moderate acne. It's been fine until recently and had noticed pretty decent improvements, although my acne had not entirely stopped. However recently my skin has become very dry and tight and I am noticing a lot of flakiness, mainly after i've washed my face with water. Is this what people on these kinds of routines call the 'dead skin mask'? Also I'm not washing with hot or cold water, it's kind of luke-warm.

Anyway I've been breaking out fairly bad (by my standards anyway) but it could be worse. My main breakout area is my chin and nose, but I do get some acne on my cheeks too. So do you think I should quit and go back to cleansers, or maybe even try using no water at all? Any advice will be appreciated, thank you!

Oh and p.s. I'm not using any moisturizer as I'm trying to not use cosmetics etc...

I'm on my fourth week of water-only right now. You can check out my weekly log for more details on my experience.

My advice is to thoroughly wet your face with lukewarm water and gently massage the dead skin off with the tips of your fingers. Don't be too vigorous when you do it. You only want to help the dead skin move along. You may also want to try splashing your face with cold water in the morning only. Let the water air dry.

If you eventually go back to using a face cleanser, use something gentle like cetaphil or cerave. Try using the cleanser only once or twice a week, or three times a week at the most.

So would you say it's worth keeping it going for another few weeks? And I can see where you're coming from with the washing my face only in the morning. My skin isn't as oily as it was when using products, and so recently when I splash the water on my face it feels stripped and that's when the effects of the dryness/flakiness is most apparent.

I've never really had a cleanser that's really been that good for me, so I've ordered a new one to trial in case this method eventually gets the better of me...

And thanks for the answer btw

[Bronck]

So I've been washing my face with just water twice a day for about 3 weeks. I usually get mild-moderate acne. It's been fine until recently and had noticed pretty decent improvements, although my acne had not entirely stopped. However recently my skin has become very dry and tight and I am noticing a lot of flakiness, mainly after i've washed my face with water. Is this what people on these kinds of routines call the 'dead skin mask'? Also I'm not washing with hot or cold water, it's kind of luke-warm.

Anyway I've been breaking out fairly bad (by my standards anyway) but it could be worse. My main breakout area is my chin and nose, but I do get some acne on my cheeks too. So do you think I should quit and go back to cleansers, or maybe even try using no water at all? Any advice will be appreciated, thank you!

Oh and p.s. I'm not using any moisturizer as I'm trying to not use cosmetics etc...

I'm on my fourth week of water-only right now. You can check out my weekly log for more details on my experience.

My advice is to thoroughly wet your face with lukewarm water and gently massage the dead skin off with the tips of your fingers. Don't be too vigorous when you do it. You only want to help the dead skin move along. You may also want to try splashing your face with cold water in the morning only. Let the water air dry.

If you eventually go back to using a face cleanser, use something gentle like cetaphil or cerave. Try using the cleanser only once or twice a week, or three times a week at the most.

So would you say it's worth keeping it going for another few weeks? And I can see where you're coming from with the washing my face only in the morning. My skin isn't as oily as it was when using products, and so recently when I splash the water on my face it feels stripped and that's when the effects of the dryness/flakiness is most apparent.

I've never really had a cleanser that's really been that good for me, so I've ordered a new one to trial in case this method eventually gets the better of me...

And thanks for the answer btw

I suggest that you keep doing it for another two weeks or so before going back to any topical treatments. Try not to wash your face with any water for a few days. My skin is actually kind of dry right now from over-washing with water, so I'm going to cut back for two or three days myself.

I've always felt like no cleansers work well for my skin as well. Looking back on it now, I think that one of the reasons why no cleansers seemed to work well with my skin was because I was overusing them. At a point I decided that my skin was better off without lotions, so I began washing my face with a cleanser once a day. After a while I noticed that my skin still felt and looked tight, dry and unbalanced. That's when I decided to try using water-only. I've decided that if I ever do go back to using a cleanser, I will limit my use of it to two or three times a week at the most.

[eg6947]

Despite struggling with mild acne (maximum 2-3 active spots at any time) and oily skin for almost 17 years now I can say I still could not find a proper gentle cleanser that suits my kind of oily/combination sensitive bugger skin! Over the years I have tried different soaps and cleansers and some of them dried my skin and broke me out so badly sometimes in areas I never had spots in. I also tried a few gentle cleansers but never was consistent with any because none of them passed the test of being free of all those listed as clog-poring or irritating ingredients! So over the years and for the most of the time I ended up just using warm/hot water. My skin was still oily and I still get a few spots every now and then mainly on my forehead. Not sure if I have been cruel to my face by not using a cleanser consistently. Maybe or maybe not things would have been different if I found a gentle cleanser and stuck to it. Unfortunately, my mission has failed for so many years and I still could not find that gentle cleanser despite struggling for almost 17 whole years so far!

[gingergirl22]

Have any of you considered a natural AHA (such as a lactic or glycolic mask) once or twice a week? Non fat yogurt is my favorite. You can even use it as a cleanser. Add some fruit juice if you can't take the smell of the yogurt by itself.