36 replies to this topic

[stash]

Hello, ive had acne since 8th grade, now a freshman in college. My acne was pretty much gone because of topicals and antibiotics. Im also black.

I started the water only regimen not because of acne but because my skin tone looked really choppy. Im about a week in so far and have not had to pop a single pimple. I splash water on my face only when i feel the need to but lately i havent really felt the need to(havent washed in 3 days).
I am also still taking vitamin b-5 which i think is really helping.

Results so far:
Skin tone evened out very nicely
I got very lucky as my skin only got flakey for the first 6 days and was very mild (around my mouth/nose)
Pores seem to be becoming not so visible and my skin looks nicee.
Also its such a relief to not have to constantly look at face and feel like i have to wash.

Overall, i recommend this regimen to anyone who suffers mild acne, im not sure about serious acne.
I will update this every week.

Oh, i did get one pimple on my forehead but it legit popped itself and didnt leave a mark. it was actually really motivting to continue this. I love this regimen so far. *Please dont jinx myself!!*

Also, i was never really able to grow good facial hair, it was always stringy. Now my beard has connected and my facial hair looks so nice i love it. NO SHAVE NOVEMEBER!!


Look at last post for update

Edited by stash, 18 December 2012 - 11:05 AM.

[Bobby Stephenson]

You shouldn't really recommend any regimen after only 1 week.

[Hopeful479]

Best of luck! I tried this and my face went crazy. Different things for different people I guess.

[nakedsmurf]

I been on this regimen 2 weeks, so far everything good
I do wash with a gel cleanser ocne every 2 days...but no moisturizer no chemicals at night.
Been also taking vitamin A 8k a day only.
No pimples no oil feel like when I was a kid not worrying about my face.

[stash]

I been on this regimen 2 weeks, so far everything good
I do wash with a gel cleanser ocne every 2 days...but no moisturizer no chemicals at night.
Been also taking vitamin A 8k a day only.
No pimples no oil feel like when I was a kid not worrying about my face.

Yeah i feel the same way, im still early in this but its so relieving to not have the urge to look in the mirror all the time.

[nakedsmurf]

I also scrub once a week sugar and water only.

[stash]

I also scrub once a week sugar and water only.

Wait, u use cleanser but no lotion? If i did that my face would be so dry it would peel off lmao.

[nakedsmurf]

Is a gel cleanser it doesn't foam up so it won't strip my skin.

[stash]

Day 8:
Yeah so i definitely jinxed myself lol. I woke up today with some pretty bad flaking inbetween my eyebrows. I also still have flaking on my chin but its not so bad. Also, it looks like more flaking is coming on my cheeks/forehead. The area that has stopped flaking on my chin looks pretty nice tbh(smooth and strong).
The area going up from my eyebrows seems to be "patching" or looking like its the next to flake which is probably gonna be ugly. The area on the corners of my nose have these little bumps but not pimples which seem pretty oily which im thinking is the oil deposits of the pores on my cheeks. This area will probably also flake as my forehead went through the same cycle which is now looking pretty dry.
I have splashed my face a total of 3 times so far.
I work out pretty hard every other day which does not break me out but is actually a pretty good skin hydrater.
I am so scared to shave my chin because i fear the whole area will flake lol maybe ill do it before i go to bed or work out.
I also used to have some pretty itchy chin hair but since ive done this and my chin flaked around the areas that used to itch, the itchyness has subsided.
Also, acne marks are less noticeable and my cheeks no longer look congested/bloated. They have actually hollowed out making my jawline pop out a LOT more.

So, so far im doing well. I am a lot more focused on my schoolwork and no longer afraid of getting "up close and personal" due to shrinkage in pore size. Although, im excited for the flaking to stop and my face to be compltely normal. I am realtively fine with the flaking and am getting quite used to not washing. Its like a weight off my back.
This regimen has also gave me motivation to work out a lot more since it actually makes my skin look really good in the morning. My diet does not seem to be a factor towards my acne(i never really had a problem with this), perhaps its the vitamin b-5 or idk. Also i got a pimple by my eyebrow since thats the only area i actually touch, but the pimple is so damn small.. i dont think ive ever gotten a pimple so small. Also i get small pimples along my jaw where my hair is growing but they pass before the day is over. I've never actually gotten a "real" whitehead since starting this, its amazing.
I also used to suffer from stubborn "cyst" pimples on my right cheek that would just sit under my skin making it look fat but i have yet to get one yet which is odd because i used to get one every other day. I had an old cyst in the area that i had to pop but hasn't actually left my skin for weeks that appear to be drying up and crusting off.
My skin's defensive system seems to be stronger than any topical/antibiotic i've ever used.

I will update this on day 14!

[Vabgom]

Hi everyone. I'm new here and pretty much just made an account so I could post in this thread haha.

I too am about to start water only. I'd say my acne is somewhere between mild and moderate (usually little pustules but with an occasional cyst- not sure if true cysts but they are quite deep and painful). My face was pretty clear for a while thanks to BP and differin, but whenever I would get a zit it would be absolutely huge and painful and leave a red mark for a while. For about 6 weeks I stopped differin and continued cleansing, moisturizing, and using BP once a day. My forehead got extremely congested but I rarely got any cysts/large pimples. And I had fewer marks.

Long story short I gave up and returned to differin. It has been about 8 weeks and I'm not really seeing results. So I'm giving up entirely to see what happens. My boyfriend has only done the water-only method and he has beautiful skin (I know, different genetics and all that...) and if you look at the water-only regimen under the acne.org reviews, it is mostly positive.


Stash, I'm also a college freshman and I'm sick of worrying about my skin.

I hope everyone continues to update.

[stash]

Day 14:

Ahh, hello people. Well nothing new to really update. I've now decided to only wash once a week since my skin does so much better when its not being washed. The oil glands in my face seem to take a while to kick back in but when they do my face looks so good. Today i woke up to that 3 month old cyst dried up even though my skin has a natural "sheen" to it. The sheen seems to be like a acne gel just killing everything that looks bad. Also shaving my chin yesterday didnt leave me with so much dead skin. The dead skin on my chin is still there though its severity is getting less every day. The peeling between my eyes is gone. I have 2 tiny white heads near my mouth( seems to be the only area where im getting these), but i suspect these to pop themselves pretty soon.

So yeah, overall my facial tone is so much better. Skin tone is even. I dont worry about my face at all its pretty sick. Thursday is my "wash" day. I've also stopped taking vitamin b-5 just to too see how good this really is(and it is good needless to say). My face doesn't look oily, just healthy. Pores are smaller than they used to be and acne marks are less noticable. Also, new pimples that just go away leave no mark and facial hair seems to be growing more healthy looking.

Will update on day 21

[skinnynigga]

so how bad was your acne before you started this regimen... like was it severe or very light?

[stash]

so how bad was your acne before you started this regimen... like was it severe or very light?

It wasnt too bad tbh, maybe 2 big pimples, nothing else really except acne marks. I had just really cleared my skin when i started this, but started it because i didnt really feel like bothing to do all this shit in front of my roomates lool. Also went to a party the other night and hooked up with 3 girls(typical ) but that was just evidence that im not getting any uglier lol.

[stash]

Also, i know people say genetics play a role so ill tell you about my parents.
My moms skin is completely flawless, shes really gorgeous( perfect jawline(which im now developing finally), clear skin(she claims to never of gotten serious acne), no wrinkles at all) My dad on the other hand has aged very fast lets just say( large pores, wrinkles(alot), he claims to never of gotten acne though(he never had acne in his pictures..))

So yeah idk what to say, seems like i got a good base for not getting acne naturally i think. I just noticed a whitehead on my cheek actually, came out of nowhere. Looks like its ready to pop actually so its probably going to be gone in a few hours.

The way my acne works on this regimen is that it comes out of nowher then disappears very quickly. Also the pimples are really small lol.

Also, when i went to the derm. over the summer she said my acne was more of a bacteria infection on one side and bacteria/cystic on the other. I've been reading up on the acid mantle and it says if you disturb the ph on ur skin it can cause bacteria infections/cysts. So yeahh i think i did the right thing going on this regimen

Edited by stash, 20 November 2012 - 05:17 PM.

[Vabgom]

Thanks for the updates, Stash.

I'm on day 5 here and while I have gotten a couple of new pimples, my skin has healed pretty well from where I picked at it before I started the water-only. :/ Pretty sure if I were still using BP and stuff I'd have some dark marks.

I'm a little nervous because my parents had acne when they were younger, but it wasn't that bad at all. I'm not expecting this regimen to clear me up completely, but perhaps improve the health of my skin overall.

Also, that's interesting what you read about the acid mantle It makes sense.

I've got my fingers crossed for the both of us, though it sounds like this is working pretty well for you already! Good for you.

[stash]

Thanks for the updates, Stash.

I'm on day 5 here and while I have gotten a couple of new pimples, my skin has healed pretty well from where I picked at it before I started the water-only. :/ Pretty sure if I were still using BP and stuff I'd have some dark marks.

I'm a little nervous because my parents had acne when they were younger, but it wasn't that bad at all. I'm not expecting this regimen to clear me up completely, but perhaps improve the health of my skin overall.

Also, that's interesting what you read about the acid mantle It makes sense.

I've got my fingers crossed for the both of us, though it sounds like this is working pretty well for you already! Good for you.

Good luck bro. I washed yesterday but did it with filtered water. I just let it run out of the bottle all over my face and patted dry. the results were exceptional. I did not get dry skin, infact it actually hydrated my face..

[Vabgom]

Thanks! That sounds like a great idea. The water here is really hard and I've noticed it seems to dry my face out so I'll give that a shot also.

[fadedjay]

i tried this for a while but my dry skin just got worse which lead to more breakouts. Though what i did find was using manual exfoliation once a week by rubbing your face whilst in the shower did help quite a bit to get rid of some of the dead skin and didn't let it build up so much . All in all its worth a shot and its free!

[Vabgom]

Thanks for the tip fadejay.

So I just completed week 1. I had an initial breakout after 3 days or so. Nothing big, no cysts, maybe like 3 or 4 pimples. and keep in mind I was quitting cold turkey from cleansing with bp, moisturizing, and differin. It's starting to clear up now, knock on wood. I'm down to washing with water once a day.

Also, I forgot that it may be important to mention - I am currently on BC. However, I have been on it for a few months and BC has not cleared me up in the past...soo...I think it is safe to say that the water-only regimen is working well for me?

Stash, I hope it is okay that I'm posting my results in your thread as well haha. Please let me know if you'd prefer that I made my own.

[stash]

Thanks for the tip fadejay.

So I just completed week 1. I had an initial breakout after 3 days or so. Nothing big, no cysts, maybe like 3 or 4 pimples. and keep in mind I was quitting cold turkey from cleansing with bp, moisturizing, and differin. It's starting to clear up now, knock on wood. I'm down to washing with water once a day.

Also, I forgot that it may be important to mention - I am currently on BC. However, I have been on it for a few months and BC has not cleared me up in the past...soo...I think it is safe to say that the water-only regimen is working well for me?

Stash, I hope it is okay that I'm posting my results in your thread as well haha. Please let me know if you'd prefer that I made my own.

Na its cool, good to hear how this is working for others. You should try not washing for a few days because the whole idea is to let your face get the enthusiasm back to clear itself. Also its so liberating just waking up and moving on with your day. All i do in the morning is brush my hair and make sure theirs no boogers. Haha. Well anyway it seems my dry skin is gone.(Great news) Although it comes back after i brush my teeth but its getting not as noticable every day. I went to my cousins house yesterday for thanksgiving and everyone was so surprised at how different i looked. So happy i found this website .