90 replies to this topic

[lostinthefog87]

Still doing this regimen, although today I purchased some Cetaphil cleanser and moisturiser that I do plan on using at some point. I do not feel any less hygienic using only water, my face feels just as clean as it did with any cleansers. I haven't broke out and the two spots I did have disappeared since starting the water-only regimen, so technically I am clear.

 

The only reason I purchased the products is because of the good things I've heard about them and because the water-only isn't something I ever planned on doing permanently.  I'm definitely going to give my skin breaks from using products as it turns out that it is highly beneficial for me - this may not be the case for everyone.

Good luck with the cetaphil, it wasn't good for me as it has one of the worst ingredients for your face-sodium laureth sulfate.

 

Cerave is a better option as it doesn't contain sulfates and is designed to keep the protective layer on your skin and rebuild it.

Edited by lostinthefog87, 12 March 2013 - 08:37 PM.

[LewisS]

For those that warned me about Cetaphil, you were right. After using it last night and this morning, my face feels disgusting. It's so greasy and horrible, I feel like an oil-slick.

I'll be back to to water-only regimen from now on as I've never seen my skin so healthy. I've lost all faith in OTC products.

[lostinthefog87]

For those that warned me about Cetaphil, you were right. After using it last night and this morning, my face feels disgusting. It's so greasy and horrible, I feel like an oil-slick.

I'll be back to to water-only regimen from now on as I've never seen my skin so healthy. I've lost all faith in OTC products.

Good thinking.  I recently cut out all my topicals except for my Cerave hydrating cleanser.  My face improved 90% within a week, no new breakouts whatsoever.  I ust can't seem to make that jump though, from topicals to nothing but water.  I feel like a smoker who hangs onto that one cigarette a day....ready to quit but not quite there yet.  I am addicted to washing my face twice a day with SOMETHING.   Although I think I did a good thing by cutting out the BP and stuff, I agree with you...otc products and prescriptions in and of themselves are evil to the face.

 

Any advice on how to make the leap?

[LewisS]

The only advice I could give would be to just go for it. I was skeptical at first and was pleasantly surprised at how my face felt. No dryness, no oiliness, just a happy medium. My skin felt normal.

With cleansers I can't seems to find one that has the balance that water-only cleansing does. I really regret buying such an over-priced product that is so dreadful. From now on it's just water and my unlikely favourite moisturiser, Clean and Clear Dual Action. It's another OTC product but works for my skin and absorbs so quickly, it practically saved my skin. Cetaphil literally sat on my face all night (sounds so wrong) and just remained a greasy mess. I have no idea how anyone uses those products on a regular basis...

As for BP, that shit is horrible. It got rid of my acne, but I used to have to go to college looking like a snake shedding its skin. So it's definitely good that you stopped using it!

Edited by LewisS, 13 March 2013 - 03:54 AM.

[clark4488]

I read an older post on here recently that stressed the importance of using only COLD water for the water only method and letting your face AIR DRY. No towel business. The original poster claimed the cold water would help to alleviate dead skin build up, unlike warm or hot water, or obviously not washing at all. They also explained how this all allows the acid mantle to return to its intended state and play its crucial role in keeping our faces clear.   

 

So, for probably the 1,000th time lurking on this site I've been hook, line and sinker-ed into believing a complete stranger's logic and am looking forward to the results, whatever they may be. Hell, I even feel like finally posting about it, ha. I've never struggled with cysts, but instead inflamed whiteheads and dry-yet-oily-yet-flaky congested skin, complete with those blasted sebum plugs. Oh and mild flushing for good measure. Admittedly things have been relatively mild recently compared to my teenage years, but I haven't been able to keep things under control and ease my mind of the whole debacle.

 

Anyway, I began the cold water regimen about a week ago and have been thoroughly impressed with the initial results. My face has ceased breaking out (I feel like I'm playing with fire making a statement like that!). I popped the whiteheads I had initially which have either scabbed over or become red marks. Nothing else has reared its ugly head and the overall redness in my skin tone has evened out much more already. The sebum plugs are still hanging around but are quite minute to be honest. I also don't feel like I'm wearing a dead skin mask like I did with the caveman regimen. However, my face becomes somewhat oily throughout the day but not too excessive and hopefully it will balance out over time.

 

It's worth noting that I tried this method some time ago with warm water and towel-drying instead, but it exacerbated the dryness, flaking and sebum plug production. Oops!

 

I'd appreciate any further insight on this regimen, I'm used to playing the part of the guinea pig thanks to the multitude of advice on here and will update my further progress if anyone is interested. 

Edited by clark4488, 13 March 2013 - 04:30 AM.

[alternativista]

The only advice I could give would be to just go for it. I was skeptical at first and was pleasantly surprised at how my face felt. No dryness, no oiliness, just a happy medium. My skin felt normal.

With cleansers I can't seems to find one that has the balance that water-only cleansing does. I really regret buying such an over-priced product that is so dreadful. From now on it's just water and my unlikely favourite moisturiser, Clean and Clear Dual Action. It's another OTC product but works for my skin and absorbs so quickly, it practically saved my skin. Cetaphil literally sat on my face all night (sounds so wrong) and just remained a greasy mess. I have no idea how anyone uses those products on a regular basis...

As for BP, that shit is horrible. It got rid of my acne, but I used to have to go to college looking like a snake shedding its skin. So it's definitely good that you stopped using it!

If you bought it at a drugstore, you can probably return it. I know you can at Walgreens.

[LewisS]

If you bought it at a drugstore, you can probably return it. I know you can at Walgreens.

I'm just going to keep it and use the lotion for my hands, they get so dry during colder months. I'll probably keep the cleanser too just in case my skin ever gets extremely dry or something. I definitely won't be using it regularly though. Water all the way! 

[clark4488]

As an update, I very highly recommend the water-only method. I can't stress enough the importance of using cold water though, as the anti-inflammatory effects are immense. I was simply splashing my face with cold water before and letting it air dry, but unfortunately dead skin and sebum plugs were slowly building up. I've now incorporated using a wash cloth each time I wash by gently wiping my face of the build up and then letting it air dry. I'm not overly anal to be honest on using a new wash cloth each day and things haven't gotten worse. There has been no initial breakout, only continuous improvement. For what it's worth my diet has included many of the common triggers I thought were aggravating to me before and they now haven't had a negative impact.

I'll update again if anything changes, but otherwise I'm ecstatic with this regimen and hope it helps out anybody else willing to give it a chance. Best of luck.

Edited by clark4488, 18 March 2013 - 05:45 PM.

[ohnelly]

@clark, How far along are you? 

 

My face broke out severely towards the end of the 30 days.  It's now healing immensely since I stopped the method.  I totally agree with the acid mantle thing, though, I read that researchers find your acid mantle recovers within 60 minutes of washing if you use a gentle cleanser.  Not sure if it matters though if your acid mantle has been damaged like mine was.

 

Wish it would've worked for me but the blackhead and sebum plug build up killed my skin.  I have tons and tons of hyperpigmentation from attempting it (sometimes I think my scars fade quicker when it's a pimple I popped.  I've left almost everything alone and I think it made them take longer to heal).  The scars are slowly fading and thank goodness I've gotten my breakouts to stop.  The daily gentle cleanser/sensitive face lotion is working wonders for me. I feel like the mistake I made on the water only method was not using some type of moisturizer.

 

Good luck to you.

[lostinthefog87]

I'm still doing the cleansing only method....everything looked good until week 2.  I have now developed within 2 days mind you, a cyst on my cheek, a very oily pimple covered nose, and a large nodule under my beard.  I am sticking through this though.   In the past I would have run to my medicine cabinet and smothered my face in BP and moisturizer and this and that and I never saw improvement.

 

One thing I am noticing?  Pimples coming and going in like, days time, when I used topicals like BP they would linger for weeks.

[alternativista]

I'm still doing the cleansing only method....everything looked good until week 2.  I have now developed within 2 days mind you, a cyst on my cheek, a very oily pimple covered nose, and a large nodule under my beard.  I am sticking through this though.   In the past I would have run to my medicine cabinet and smothered my face in BP and moisturizer and this and that and I never saw improvement.
 
One thing I am noticing?  Pimples coming and going in like, days time, when I used topicals like BP they would linger for weeks.

Interesting. They heal faster without the BP.

[clark4488]

@clark, How far along are you? 

 

My face broke out severely towards the end of the 30 days.  It's now healing immensely since I stopped the method.  I totally agree with the acid mantle thing, though, I read that researchers find your acid mantle recovers within 60 minutes of washing if you use a gentle cleanser.  Not sure if it matters though if your acid mantle has been damaged like mine was.

 

Wish it would've worked for me but the blackhead and sebum plug build up killed my skin.  I have tons and tons of hyperpigmentation from attempting it (sometimes I think my scars fade quicker when it's a pimple I popped.  I've left almost everything alone and I think it made them take longer to heal).  The scars are slowly fading and thank goodness I've gotten my breakouts to stop.  The daily gentle cleanser/sensitive face lotion is working wonders for me. I feel like the mistake I made on the water only method was not using some type of moisturizer.

 

Good luck to you.

 

Sorry to hear you stopped, I also had the same outcome and gave in the first time I tried the water-only method years ago. However, I washed my face with warm water only and always dried it off with a towel. In the end my face just kept getting more inflamed and built-up with dead skin which led to more pimples. Nothing healed quickly like you mentioned in your own experience.

 

As for moisturizers, I've never been able to use them as they've all given me whiteheads or incredibly oily skin. That's why I was determined to try this again in a way that would alleviate dry and irritated skin.   

 

I started my recent approach over a month ago and I'm still only seeing clear skin. I don't want to beat a dead horse here, but I can't urge you enough to give it another go with only cold water and a washcloth to gently remove the dead skin and sebum plugs. Then let your face air dry, always. You mention the acid mantle, well quite clearly a higher temperature in water aggravates mine from functioning properly. I can't be the only one.

 

If your new cleanser/moisturizer method doesn't work out and you feel compelled ditch the chemicals again, try an altered water-only approach with cold water. This is the first time in 10+ years of having acne that I've been able to maintain such a level of clarity for so long. Good luck to you too. 

 

 

I'm still doing the cleansing only method....everything looked good until week 2.  I have now developed within 2 days mind you, a cyst on my cheek, a very oily pimple covered nose, and a large nodule under my beard.  I am sticking through this though.   In the past I would have run to my medicine cabinet and smothered my face in BP and moisturizer and this and that and I never saw improvement.
 
One thing I am noticing?  Pimples coming and going in like, days time, when I used topicals like BP they would linger for weeks.

Interesting. They heal faster without the BP.

 

I've noticed the same exact thing, hardly anything lingers. Its actually taken me off guard as I've never experienced it. I tried Dan's regimen a long time ago and the BP definitely didn't clear up a pimple in the same haste. 

Edited by clark4488, 25 March 2013 - 08:23 PM.

[sleptember]

October 2011 - May 2012 Went full caveman and didn't let water touch my face. A thick crust of dead skin covered my face (luckily I was unemployed and didn't have much of a social life so the unsightly mess on my face didn't bother me). When I eventually removed the crust by rubbing it off, several people reported that the skin texture appeared "healed." I still got pimples as usual but the quality of the skin had improved and I no longer suffered from oiliness.

 

May 2012 - present I wash my face two to three times a week with water. I like to go several days leaving my face untouched. I regularly use honey or avocado masks that I wash off with plain water and cotton wool. I exfoliate by rubbing dead skin off using my fingers. People tell me I have healthy looking skin despite excessive post inflammatory hyperpigmentation.

 

The caveman routine did not prevent acne from forming (eating right did that). What this all-natural method did was give me healthy, glowing skin and relieve me of my dependence to chemical 'treatments,'

[lostinthefog87]

Update on my cleansing only method...almost week 3 and I now have a total of 27 nodules/cysts on my face, half of which have come in the last few days.  It is incredibly painful and I am considering going back on topical clindamycin.  I honestly could deal with the disfigurement but the pain is too much, I can barely open my mouth up when I talk and it is hard to eat, as most of the nodules and pimples are around my chin and mouth area.  Very disappointed and depressed with all of this.  I try to limit certain foods, dairy, etc and it just hasn't done a whole lot.  Sure, I am not perfect but I would think a 75% change to my diet would help, but my acne actually has gotten worse.  Very upset right now and in pain.

[sleptember]

Update on my cleansing only method...almost week 3 and I now have a total of 27 nodules/cysts on my face, half of which have come in the last few days.  It is incredibly painful and I am considering going back on topical clindamycin.  I honestly could deal with the disfigurement but the pain is too much, I can barely open my mouth up when I talk and it is hard to eat, as most of the nodules and pimples are around my chin and mouth area.  Very disappointed and depressed with all of this.  I try to limit certain foods, dairy, etc and it just hasn't done a whole lot.  Sure, I am not perfect but I would think a 75% change to my diet would help, but my acne actually has gotten worse.  Very upset right now and in pain.

 

Don't give up. What is your current diet like? What foods have you eliminated and what are you still eating?

[lostinthefog87]

I know it's easy to say, "Stick through it, wait it out"  But last night, I just could not do that.

 

I had to apply BP and clindamycin last night to the area, I HAD TO.  I woke up at 5 in the morning with my chin and mouth area pulsating with so much pain I could not believe it.  There are 3 or 4 deep cysts intertwined below my skin starting below my lip down to the middle part of my chin.  The pain made it impossible to sleep.  It felt as if I had been punched and cut up all over my chin at the same time and I could not sit still because the pain was so bad.

 

I was up for 4 hours with ice on the inside and outside of my lip. Sorry, but when i'm in so much pain I have to pop tylenol, I can't eat, I can't sleep,  I have to do SOMETHING .   This water only, cleanser only, whatever regimen is great for people who have mild/moderate acne and maybe some bad cases, but not for those who wake up in extreme pain due to severe cystic acne.  Once I applied BP and clindamycin, the swelling went down and the cysts started drying up a little.  Sure it took half a day but it worked.

 

I hate topicals and treatments like antibiotics, I truly do.  But when the hell am I supposed to do when I can't move my mouth to talk or eat and my lips are blown up from inflammation like food poisoning?  Maybe once I get over this bout I can try it again, but until then I think I need to take the topical bp and clindamycin or else I will not be able to eat, work, and sleep.

 

Sorry guys, but I am officially out of this experiment for now.  Good luck to the rest of you.  I am going to use the time I am on the antibiotic cream and BP to get my diet consistent (I try to avoid dairy, refined carbs, frozen foods, fast food, etc but I am not perfect), my blood sugar regulated, to practice exercise, etc and hopefully find maybe a holistic type derm in the area who isn't going to try to put me on poison pills that give me psychosis. Ha!  A holistic derm, somewhat of an oxymoron isn't it?

Edited by lostinthefog87, 27 March 2013 - 05:48 PM.

[Tarra.]

Heya!

I've been clear for over two years and have been on the water only regimen. I dig it and will allow you to refer to my "signature" for my view on it.

I will emphasize that I have not changed my diet, though for some people this seems to help with acne matters. I had moderate acne to begin with and it took about 2-3 months before I really began to see results. As the year went by Ibecame amazed with the fact that I did not require products to control my acne, but mine had to do with touching my face and being stressed. I must agree with clark4488, I use cold water to "presumably" close up mypores after I take a hot shower (allowing the water to run over my face and not touching it at all, then patting it dry gently with a clean towel after).

I wish you the best in your quest for a clear face, and one day I know you will succeed

Edited by Tarra., 31 March 2013 - 07:21 PM.

[LewisS]

I'm back on this regimen...again. A couple of weeks back something lured me into using BP again and I did, causing my face to return to being a flaky mess. 

 

This time I won't be using moisturisers or any other products, just simply water. I remember my skin being absolutely flawless when I went through a stage of being lazy and barely washing my face, then as soon as I started using cleanser BOOM...acne.

 

I definitely won't be going back to chemicals any time soon. My acne.org BP has been thrown in the trash (it was out of date anyways) and I've given my moisturisers away. Hopefully my skin will start to heal itself again.

[Thehoper]

Try washing with raw organic honey 1-2 a week and nothing else.  Seriously, might be your favorite cleanser ever.  Leave on for about 15 min if ya can, then wash off.  No moisturizer or anything else needed.

Edited by Thehoper, 01 April 2013 - 10:37 AM.

[Lee1234]

I'm still using this method (water only), but I've recently made a change. I've read that oil is required on the face (or body for that matter), in order to activate the process that produces vitamin D. I've also read that this oil must remain present on the skin for 48 hours, in order for your body to absorb the vitamin D fully. With the approaching summer, that leaves me with only one option (I considered washing my face on the third evening, but it seems risky) and that's not to wash my face AT ALL, during that period (Complete caveman). I'm taking a break from chemical peels after this week and will stop washing my face from Thursday evening, so that I won't be forced to wear sunscreen during the coming months. I am kind of worried about my marks (though that's probably residue thinking from my "The sun is my enemy" days), but as I live in England, the sun is an abstract concept to us 75% of the year, so I HAVE to get as much vitamin D as I can, whilst I can. If this thread is still alive around November, I'll try and update you guys on any changes.

 

Ps- I hate how methodical, acne has made me >_>.

Edited by Lee1234, 01 April 2013 - 11:01 AM.