I could take about a 2 months of this. At first i actually thought my skin looked so much better. After that it really went downhill; Clogged up pores, cysts and many whiteheads. I just coudn't take it anymore.

I cleansed yesterday and my skin looked so much better. I wonder if bp will work for me? who knows, nothing else has lol.

It annoyed me that this doesn't work cos i thought it really was going to. Ahh well. Onto better treatments. I actually think this would work for those who suffer mild acne. By that i mean only a few pimples. I have loads of blackheads and this didn't work for them.

^Yeah I don't think this works for people who genetically predisposed to acne, like me.

I think this is more of a regimen for people who had mild teenage acne and exacerbated the problem by using a whole bunch of products.

^Yeah I don't think this works for people who genetically predisposed to acne, like me.

 

I think this is more of a regimen for people who had mild teenage acne and exacerbated the problem by using a whole bunch of products.

Yes, I second that.

So here is my testimonial on the issue...Started this way back in late October. Went a few weeks doing this only letting water touch my face in the shower and then patting dry when I got out. The flaking and dead skin buildup during this was outrageous! However, I noticed a reduction in acne... at least until I washed all the crap off one day after 3 weeks. The skin underneath was irritated and clogged which means all the dead skin was "hiding" what was really happening which was breakouts in certain areas. So instead of blaming my skin I blamed it on my multi-vitamin I was taking and decided to drop that since I thought it was an unfair experiment because the vitamin might have caused the breakouts/dead skin. So I started over with new hope....but I started using Cetaphil to see if that would help. I continued with this for about a week and half before realizing it was doing more harm than good. So I jumped back onto this regimen only letting water hit my face in the shower. Once again I noticed a reduction in acne and a build up of dead skin, however, the flakeage seemed a little less severe this time. Not being able to take the dull, flakey appearance after two weeks I gently removed the dead skin to reveal once again clogged pores in areas of my face. I just don't understand how my face is the only part of my body that does this. Why not my chest? Why not my biceps? It doesn't make sense to me that my face can't sustain itself as far as shedding dead skin! Maybe it's just because my skin tends to be a bit more dry, but I was really hoping this would work for me since it did throughout the first 14 years of my life....so my question to you all is....has anyone else gone through a simiilar story as me?

My story was not just similar, it was exactly the same. Still experimenting with the "less is more" approach, but definitely need some sort of exfoliation.

Water only/no washing does NOT work for me. I really thought it would since my acne is mainly on my face. Good luck to the rest of you tho.

i dont think this a a good idea.

i agree with less is more, but you should use something on your face atleast

Adam himself said he had problems with flakage for well over a month maybe more if I'm remembering right -- I read all his posts from the beginning cuz I was interested in how things were turning out. I was even cheering him on at times, lol ... well, anyway I think he was right about the dry skin on top being a good thing and to leave it alone till it falls off by itself. You are removing the dead skin too soon. The "clogged pores" you are seeing under the dead skin is the stuff that was already there. I read that that white stuff you can see in your pores is dried sebum (which is just the normal oil in your skin that has dried out) ... if you get hot and sweat it out rather than trying to exfoliate the stuff off it would heal in a better way.

It takes a lot of guts to do this to the fullest extent. Commitment for a lot longer than 2 weeks is required for you to see marked improvement ... but it isn't for everyone -- like me I have other skin problems (psoriasis for one) that prevents me from succeeding with this method, but will try it once it is in remission and post pics on my blog if my light box treatment doesn't work.

From what I've read of others on and off this site: you'll have a yucky flakey mess for a good week after that first 2 weeks of initial healing ... 4th week you'll see improvement in the dry skin (if you've left it alone) since it will fall off on it's own, probably in your sleep (so wash your pillow case often during this time) ... then you may see a rebound of flakes for a few days or week, and then slowly it fades away. Finding a way to keep the sebum in your pores that naturally moisturize your skin from drying out might be helpful ... mild steam, excercise, don't over do the hydrogenized oils in your diet -- the oil that is hard at room temp like margerine might be good to decrease.

Hope this helps.

From what I've read of others on and off this site: you'll have a yucky flakey mess for a good week after that first 2 weeks of initial healing ... 4th week you'll see improvement in the dry skin (if you've left it alone) since it will fall off on it's own, probably in your sleep (so wash your pillow case often during this time) ... then you may see a rebound of flakes for a few days or week, and then slowly it fades away. Finding a way to keep the sebum in your pores that naturally moisturize your skin from drying out might be helpful ... mild steam, excercise, don't over do the hydrogenized oils in your diet -- the oil that is hard at room temp like margerine might be good to decrease.

 

Hope this helps.

For most, I will agree that they will experience this dryness and flaking. HOWEVER... for me this method was literally an instant fix. It is such a liberating experience to just fully let go of all your treatments.

Adam himself said he had problems with flakage for well over a month maybe more if I'm remembering right -- I read all his posts from the beginning cuz I was interested in how things were turning out. I was even cheering him on at times, lol ... well, anyway I think he was right about the dry skin on top being a good thing and to leave it alone till it falls off by itself. You are removing the dead skin too soon. The "clogged pores" you are seeing under the dead skin is the stuff that was already there. I read that that white stuff you can see in your pores is dried sebum (which is just the normal oil in your skin that has dried out) ... if you get hot and sweat it out rather than trying to exfoliate the stuff off it would heal in a better way.

 

It takes a lot of guts to do this to the fullest extent. Commitment for a lot longer than 2 weeks is required for you to see marked improvement ... but it isn't for everyone -- like me I have other skin problems (psoriasis for one) that prevents me from succeeding with this method, but will try it once it is in remission and post pics on my blog if my light box treatment doesn't work.

 

From what I've read of others on and off this site: you'll have a yucky flakey mess for a good week after that first 2 weeks of initial healing ... 4th week you'll see improvement in the dry skin (if you've left it alone) since it will fall off on it's own, probably in your sleep (so wash your pillow case often during this time) ... then you may see a rebound of flakes for a few days or week, and then slowly it fades away. Finding a way to keep the sebum in your pores that naturally moisturize your skin from drying out might be helpful ... mild steam, excercise, don't over do the hydrogenized oils in your diet -- the oil that is hard at room temp like margerine might be good to decrease.

 

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the post, it was quite helpful. I think the key here is not applying any more topicals just water. I will admit that the flakes do seem smaller and less frequent than what I initially saw, but who knows maybe that's just me thinking optimistic. For now I'm going to continue to only let shower water run down my face every night and manualy exfoliate w/o topicals once I can't stand the dead skin buildup. Hopefully by not applying any chemicals to my face, but only brushing off the dead skin that the skin will eventually heal itself to where it's not flaking like crazy! Crossing my fingers.

I believe for the ones who are quitting you are just going to end up digging yourself in a deeper hole than before regardless. Think of the great possibility of a year from now you are clear by doing this rather than continue to keep using all of those BS products that were never around when our parents or grandparents were kids. BP destroyed my face FACT! BP makes your already delecate skin acne prone and goes against what your body is trying to do naturally (read an earlier post on this thread by me). I am looking at a picture of me from a year and half ago and I didn't have acne at all!!! Seriously clear, something I am kicking myself for even putting anything on my face because of a couple pimples. The damn ortho told me to put the chemicals ALL over my face, even on parts that were clear. Now not only does my face look 10x's better than a month ago, but it is stronger and I am never going back to any topical ever again. Redmarks are my only concern right now as they seem to take longer to get rid of because the skin is readapting to doing it all on its own. Think about how much your face and body change from the time you are little. Do you think you are doing your face any good by making it remain the same by day and night literally burning the acid mantle off while it is trying to change into adulthood? I have been inspired by way too many people who have cured themselves doing this - regardless of how long it takes. The point is you are working with your overall body in letting it do what it needs to do until wallah no more! I suggest you guys read user JanCarlo's post on this. It is very inspiring and clearly points out the type of people this will work for. The point is to stop wasting anymore time. This is not an instacure. It needs time and willpower to keep on going to overthrow your old skin to a new and stronger one. Good luck and this is my last post as I hate this place. Once again look up JanCarlo...he tells it how it is

"try to not be a problem solver for once"

Even if this doesn't help you clear your skin, though, it can help you find the culprit of your breakouts.

I found out that my Everyday Minerals makeup which I was SO SURE could not be the source of my recent jawline cystic acne was actually what was causing it all along. Apparently, I am sensitive to mica in large amounts.

Now I am trying something new:

I am washing my face with a VERY gentle exfoliating scrub 2 times a day and then putting bacitracin zinc ointment on my entire face at night so it can help my acne heal and help my skin regenerate.

Technically, you aren't supposed to use that stuff everyday or on large parts of your body so I'll probably only do this every other day or for 7 days on/7 days off. However, there are less side effects associated with simple bacitracin zinc ointment than there are with Neosporin. Neosporin contains polymycin and neomycin which are associated with some SCARY side effects in large amounts like hallucinations and cancer. Also, as a bonus, the ointment helps heal my scars as well as active acne.

Even if this doesn't help you clear your skin, though, it can help you find the culprit of your breakouts.

 

I found out that my Everyday Minerals makeup which I was SO SURE could not be the source of my recent jawline cystic acne was actually what was causing it all along. Apparently, I am sensitive to mica in large amounts.

 

Now I am trying something new:

I am washing my face with a VERY gentle exfoliating scrub 2 times a day and then putting bacitracin zinc ointment on my entire face at night so it can help my acne heal and help my skin regenerate.

 

Technically, you aren't supposed to use that stuff everyday or on large parts of your body so I'll probably only do this every other day or for 7 days on/7 days off. However, there are less side effects associated with simple bacitracin zinc ointment than there are with Neosporin. Neosporin contains polymycin and neomycin which are associated with some SCARY side effects in large amounts like hallucinations and cancer. Also, as a bonus, the ointment helps heal my scars as well as active acne.

Look at your signature. Look how much time and effort you put into your acne. Go through a day and realize how much you think about your face. You literally have a schedule set up for your face.

I beg any of you. Let completely go for a few days. Do this over a holiday break if you are still in school (spring break or Christmas break). Do not wear makeup or anything. When you must return to work or school, put your makeup back on... but NOTHING else.

Very few of you seem to actually be dropping everything. It has to be ALL of the stuff, not just some.

You will be so relieved when you step out of the shower and do not need to apply a bunch of crap to your face.

Even if this doesn't help you clear your skin, though, it can help you find the culprit of your breakouts.

 

I found out that my Everyday Minerals makeup which I was SO SURE could not be the source of my recent jawline cystic acne was actually what was causing it all along. Apparently, I am sensitive to mica in large amounts.

 

Now I am trying something new:

I am washing my face with a VERY gentle exfoliating scrub 2 times a day and then putting bacitracin zinc ointment on my entire face at night so it can help my acne heal and help my skin regenerate.

 

Technically, you aren't supposed to use that stuff everyday or on large parts of your body so I'll probably only do this every other day or for 7 days on/7 days off. However, there are less side effects associated with simple bacitracin zinc ointment than there are with Neosporin. Neosporin contains polymycin and neomycin which are associated with some SCARY side effects in large amounts like hallucinations and cancer. Also, as a bonus, the ointment helps heal my scars as well as active acne.

 

Look at your signature. Look how much time and effort you put into your acne. Go through a day and realize how much you think about your face. You literally have a schedule set up for your face.

 

I beg any of you. Let completely go for a few days. Do this over a holiday break if you are still in school (spring break or Christmas break). Do not wear makeup or anything. When you must return to work or school, put your makeup back on... but NOTHING else.

 

Very few of you seem to actually be dropping everything. It has to be ALL of the stuff, not just some.

 

You will be so relieved when you step out of the shower and do not need to apply a bunch of crap to your face.

 

You obviously didn't read it, though. You just saw that I listed a bunch of stuff.

I barely do anything topically.

I wash and put on jojoba and makeup on in the morning and I wash and sometimes apply an ointment at night.

Most of my skin schedule has to do with taking supplements which really takes all of 2 seconds to do and almost no thought. I don't actually wait exactly two hours to take the psyllium capsules. I just pop 6 to 8 of em at work or school when I remember to do so and make sure I don't take them too close to my birth control.

In fact, the only thing that I take on a set schedule is my birth control and I can't "just drop" that.

Also, I have obsessive compulsive disorder. I can't control how often I think about my skin. If I try to stop myself from thinking about it, I'll just think about it twice as much. I can't "just let go." I tried just taking my showers and "not worrying about it" for 4 days and it didn't work for me. All I could think about was how congested and greasy my skin felt and I was so down on myself that I didn't leave my house for all 4 of those days. It was agony.

I'd rather do my regimen and have the confidence to leave my house.

Even if this doesn't help you clear your skin, though, it can help you find the culprit of your breakouts.

 

I found out that my Everyday Minerals makeup which I was SO SURE could not be the source of my recent jawline cystic acne was actually what was causing it all along. Apparently, I am sensitive to mica in large amounts.

 

Now I am trying something new:

I am washing my face with a VERY gentle exfoliating scrub 2 times a day and then putting bacitracin zinc ointment on my entire face at night so it can help my acne heal and help my skin regenerate.

 

Technically, you aren't supposed to use that stuff everyday or on large parts of your body so I'll probably only do this every other day or for 7 days on/7 days off. However, there are less side effects associated with simple bacitracin zinc ointment than there are with Neosporin. Neosporin contains polymycin and neomycin which are associated with some SCARY side effects in large amounts like hallucinations and cancer. Also, as a bonus, the ointment helps heal my scars as well as active acne.

 

Look at your signature. Look how much time and effort you put into your acne. Go through a day and realize how much you think about your face. You literally have a schedule set up for your face.

 

I beg any of you. Let completely go for a few days. Do this over a holiday break if you are still in school (spring break or Christmas break). Do not wear makeup or anything. When you must return to work or school, put your makeup back on... but NOTHING else.

 

Very few of you seem to actually be dropping everything. It has to be ALL of the stuff, not just some.

 

You will be so relieved when you step out of the shower and do not need to apply a bunch of crap to your face.

 

 

You obviously didn't read it, though. You just saw that I listed a bunch of stuff.

 

I barely do anything topically.

I wash and put on jojoba and makeup on in the morning and I wash and sometimes apply an ointment at night.

 

Most of my skin schedule has to do with taking supplements which really takes all of 2 seconds to do and almost no thought. I don't actually wait exactly two hours to take the psyllium capsules. I just pop 6 to 8 of em at work or school when I remember to do so and make sure I don't take them too close to my birth control.

 

In fact, the only thing that I take on a set schedule is my birth control and I can't "just drop" that.

 

Also, I have obsessive compulsive disorder. I can't control how often I think about my skin. If I try to stop myself from thinking about it, I'll just think about it twice as much.

 

I did read it, and I did mean exactly what I said.

I am not just "don't do stuff to your face." I am completely drop all the pointless stuff you do for acne.

I do not care about your make up, birth control, or even sunscreen. I just suggest people stop doing anything about their acne. Every time you do something for your acne, you are thinking about it.

Just quit taking your zinc and see that miraculous (absolutely none) change in your acne.

I have always had to admit that being a female would throw a curve ball at this regimen. I think for this to work, you must COMPLETELY leave acne and your face alone. No touching at all. Make up does not work here. So I can not really help you. PLUSSSSSS females have to deal with different hormones than males (plus deal with the rise and fall of hormones in conjunction with their periods). In my opinion, males should NOT be doing crap like putting moisturizer on. Girls focus on skin care regardless. Guys can get away with not having silky smooth skin, it is frowned upon with girls.

Oh, I totally forget to take the zinc and the saw palmetto all the time anyway. I mean, the zinc is a pain in the ass because you have to eat when you take it or you get sick. I don't always have time to eat. The psyllium capsules are really what make the difference. The zinc is more for general immune health when I remember it.

I just don't have time to look like shit while I wait for my skin to heal on it's own, haha.

I don't have breaks, really. When I'm not in school, I'm working to save up money for school.

Also, something I noticed when I wasn't doing anything for my skin was that it actually made me think and worry about my skin even more. I was afraid to leave my house because I was worried about running into people I know. Very few people even know I have acne because I'm such a badass with makeup. I worry about my skin less when I have my safety blanket of makeup.

If I were going to give this a real try, I'd have to take a 2 week beach vacation by myself in some place where there is absolutely no chance of me running into someone I know.

Yeah, I understand. It was really hard for me to do it. I am in my first year of college and just decided one day that I had enough. Greatest decision in a while, but not for everyone.

i'm on week 2 of this regimen (well sort of, washing face with water once a day in the morning shower) and it was going really well the first week, my skin tone got better and i had no breakouts. starting on the 10th day or something all of a sudden i started breaking out like crazy on the chin and forehead... the weird thing is i never got more then 1-2 zits on my forehead and all of a sudden its breaking out. my chin kind of exploded all of a sudden and i got maybe 4 big zits and a few little zits around too. right now i have 2-3 active zits on my chin (somewhat painful) and a lot of red marks from the breakout a few days ago. i sometimes pick at my face (squeeze out blackheads and sebum plugs from my chin) but for the most part i don't really do anything to it... i guess i'll just keep going with this since it's not really that much worse then when i was on topicals and i don't feel like going through the 10-30 min process everyday. has anyone been experiencing big breakouts later into the regimen?

i'm on week 2 of this regimen (well sort of, washing face with water once a day in the morning shower) and it was going really well the first week, my skin tone got better and i had no breakouts. starting on the 10th day or something all of a sudden i started breaking out like crazy on the chin and forehead... the weird thing is i never got more then 1-2 zits on my forehead and all of a sudden its breaking out. my chin kind of exploded all of a sudden and i got maybe 4 big zits and a few little zits around too. right now i have 2-3 active zits on my chin (somewhat painful) and a lot of red marks from the breakout a few days ago. i sometimes pick at my face (squeeze out blackheads and sebum plugs from my chin) but for the most part i don't really do anything to it... i guess i'll just keep going with this since it's not really that much worse then when i was on topicals and i don't feel like going through the 10-30 min process everyday. has anyone been experiencing big breakouts later into the regimen?

I am over a month into this. I still get acne. The difference is the acne I get is smaller, less inflamed, and has a shorter life span. Since the life span is much shorter, I have less at a time. I never get painful ones anymore like I did on topicals.

I believe adam had a rocky first few weeks though, maybe he will post here.

I believe for the ones who are quitting you are just going to end up digging yourself in a deeper hole than before regardless. Think of the great possibility of a year from now you are clear by doing this rather than continue to keep using all of those BS products that were never around when our parents or grandparents were kids. BP destroyed my face FACT! BP makes your already delecate skin acne prone and goes against what your body is trying to do naturally (read an earlier post on this thread by me). I am looking at a picture of me from a year and half ago and I didn't have acne at all!!! Seriously clear, something I am kicking myself for even putting anything on my face because of a couple pimples. The damn ortho told me to put the chemicals ALL over my face, even on parts that were clear. Now not only does my face look 10x's better than a month ago, but it is stronger and I am never going back to any topical ever again. Redmarks are my only concern right now as they seem to take longer to get rid of because the skin is readapting to doing it all on its own. Think about how much your face and body change from the time you are little. Do you think you are doing your face any good by making it remain the same by day and night literally burning the acid mantle off while it is trying to change into adulthood? I have been inspired by way too many people who have cured themselves doing this - regardless of how long it takes. The point is you are working with your overall body in letting it do what it needs to do until wallah no more! I suggest you guys read user JanCarlo's post on this. It is very inspiring and clearly points out the type of people this will work for. The point is to stop wasting anymore time. This is not an instacure. It needs time and willpower to keep on going to overthrow your old skin to a new and stronger one. Good luck and this is my last post as I hate this place. Once again look up JanCarlo...he tells it how it is

 

"try to not be a problem solver for once"

I notice your haste to state the fact that the people quitting this are digging themselves into a "deeper hole".

Yeah we're not supposed to put these chemicals on our faces but we're not supposed to have acne. If you got cleared up by this it was probably cosmetic acne, so there are no actual causes of your acne(Stress, diet, etc.). The most i can do is try to prevent my acne, i can't just do nothing. If some people's acne is due to internal causes, doing nothing to the face is not going to help. It seems rather irrelevant. I did this regimen for a while and i just knew it wasn't working. Now i'm eliminating the possible causes(stress and diet) and treating the external acne.

The so-called "BS" products weren't around when our parents and grandparents were kids because there was little known about acne and little known about the various substances that can treat acne.

Many cosmetic regimens have cleared masses of people. You can't just generalise the cure for all acne into this lol. I never use any products on my back or chest and never have. But i still have acne there, this is why i know doing nothing isn't going to work. (Because i've always done nothing to these areas but have some of my worst acne there)

I'm generally really happy this is working for you. One more clear person who isn't affected by acne is better than none. But please in the future try to not tell others of the impending fate of digging themselves into a deeper hole by using cosmetics. You must realise that everyone is different and people can become clear in different ways and that you really don't know best for them.

bump.

i wash with water everyday, put a moisturizer on and my skin has never been better..

my regime,

Morning:

wash with cold water

olay spf 15 moisturizer

night:

Wash with cold water

Aveeno ultra calming night cream OR (i switch off every other night) Aloe vera Gel

for all you guys having problems wiht flaking this might be your solution. This regime is working great for me so i suggest you guys try this.

i wash with water everyday, put a moisturizer on and my skin has never been better..

 

my regime,

 

Morning:

wash with cold water

olay spf 15 moisturizer

 

night:

Wash with cold water

Aveeno ultra calming night cream OR (i switch off every other night) Aloe vera Gel

 

for all you guys having problems wiht flaking this might be your solution. This regime is working great for me so i suggest you guys try this.

I am still going to stick with my stance against even moisturizer.

HOWEVER... I live in southeast Texas. For example today (December 27th, we had 92% humidity). Moisturizer is not really needed here. If you lived in Michigan or something north, I could understand the possibility of moisturizer helping.

The only possible problem I foresee is sun protection. There have been many, many case studies that have proven that sunscreen is a necessity. How are you guys getting around this?

The only possible problem I foresee is sun protection. There have been many, many case studies that have proven that sunscreen is a necessity. How are you guys getting around this?

If ya don't want to apply sunscreen lotion, you can try Polypodium leucotomos ... it is a kind of plant (fern) that you can eat ... I think it comes in suppliment form. It gives natural uv protection, and you can tell if it works for you if your skin becomes less sunburned while out in the sun a while. I don't know how long it takes after taking this that your skin becomes protected ... I'm going to try this out this coming summer. It is also said to help psoriasis -- which is how I came across this info. I was looking for a holistic diatary way to help my skin.

Of course most websites tell you that this "isn't proven" but most natural remedies are never really proven -- you just see if it works for you and if it doesn't then stop doing it. Don't use it if you have an allergy ta ferns, but I don't see harm in givin it a try otherwise. If I get a little sunburn then I know it doesn't work for me. I'll try ta talk to someone who lived in the 70's to see if this stuff really works ... that is what I read on some websites is it was discovered back then. I know a few of my professors are hippies from that time and they could tell me. I'll have ta wait till mid-Jan to ask when the semester starts again.

who here has seen success by letting water touch their face 1X a day like me? Rather than avoiding water all-together when I take my daily shower I have resorted to my younger days when I had no conscience at all of "washing my face". I simply let the water trickle down my face when I shower now.