Week 5:

My face has been very dry, lately. I also have quite a few breakouts, and it was looking so good around the beginning of week 4. I have not let anything touch my face for 4 weeks (aside from the odd drop of water here and there, from showering). I'm debating whether I should rinse my face. I've started jogging everyday and let the sweat dry on my face.

I'm getting a bit discouraged about this regimen. But for some reason, I think it might be the only way to really cure my face. I'm going to stick it out for another month or so. I will say that the last few days have been extremely stressful. I'm also convinced that something(s) I'm eating is causing breakouts. I'm basically eating, beef (grass fed), chicken (organic), sourdough wheat bread, broccoli, coconut oil (only oil I cook with), extra virgin olive oil, Romaine lettuce, carrots, onions, garlic, ginger, brown rice (which I think might be causing some breakouts, along with the bread).

I'd love to hear some stories about people who had trouble the first month or so, and then got better. If anybody can point me to those stories or can share one, that would be awesome.

I can attest to this method working. Don't knock it until you've tried it. I thought it seemed logical that everyone (everyone!!) of us have used OTC washes and other chemicals to 'clean' our face. Hell, I used C&C and Neutrogena one after the other. The fact of the matter is that our skin KNOWS how much oil needs to be produced to protect it. Oil isn't a bad thing. Read up on acid mantle for the skin to get an idea of the complex processes that our skin employs to resist the environment. Anyway, I tried the regimen and did not use any water for the first couple of weeks. My skin healed up nicely and did flake a lot. It was pretty disgusting but I kept at it. I now just use cold water to wash my face whenever I feel like it. This regimen is not for the weak!

I tried this cavemen regimen and it worked on me like a miracle. I tested everything before, BP and all that stuff, for many, MANY years of my life, thinking that the key to curing Acne was by washing it, cleaning the face oils as much as possible. But I was wrong, very wrong. I'm glad I found this thread and this forum.

Now, after a month and some weeks, my face doesn't have a SINGLE ZIT for the first time in many years.

But, as my skin is very VERY white and sensitive, now it has many Post-inflammatory-hyperpigmentation dots (PIH), due to the fact that I used too many chemicals and had the bad habit of picking on the pimples back then. Now I hope they will fade away with the time. Does the cavemen regimen also fasten the recovery from PIH ?

Is there another natural product or habit that I should take for clearing the dots left by acne?

I tried this cavemen regimen and it worked on me like a miracle. I tested everything before, BP and all that stuff, for many, MANY years of my life, thinking that the key to curing Acne was by washing it, cleaning the face oils as much as possible. But I was wrong, very wrong. I'm glad I found this thread and this forum.

Now, after a month and some weeks, my face doesn't have a SINGLE ZIT for the first time in many years.

But, as my skin is very VERY white and sensitive, now it has many Post-inflammatory-hyperpigmentation dots (PIH), due to the fact that I used too many chemicals and had the bad habit of picking on the pimples back then. Now I hope they will fade away with the time. Does the cavemen regimen also fasten the recovery from PIH ?

Is there another natural product or habit that I should take for clearing the dots left by acne?

 

Awesome! Another believer. I noticed my scars going away faster when I was on the Caveman Regimen. They will fade away with time although if I look up close at ,u skin, I can still see the scars. You should drink green smoothies and work out. These two things have kept my skin glowing and my mood on the up and up! Good luck!

@Kalki and @numbaunstunna do you guys use water or are you doing nothing? If you do use water, what temperature and is it tap? Thanks.

Update: My skin is middling, I'm fairly discouraged by this regimen, but I'm still hopeful. I'd love to hear from someone who has done this for more than a month. Maybe you have some encouraging words. Hit me up. I still believe in this whole thing.

@Kalki and @numbaunstunna do you guys use water or are you doing nothing? If you do use water, what temperature and is it tap? Thanks.

Update: My skin is middling, I'm fairly discouraged by this regimen, but I'm still hopeful. I'd love to hear from someone who has done this for more than a month. Maybe you have some encouraging words. Hit me up. I still believe in this whole thing.

 

I do use water. Normal cold tap water, because I live in Brazil, a tropical country, so, I can't even think of passing one day without water (cold water) over my body.

And I also suppose even cavemen bathed, so, i did too.

I guess it depends on the country you live in.

I'm starting this today. I started this about a month ago, but I've still been using water in the shower and still using moisturizer and still rubing my face in the shower becasue the flakking has been so terrible. But now I realize that even using just water is irritating to my skin, so I'm going all in and not doing ANYTHING to my face.....I don't care how this goes becasue nothing else has helped in the past, I just want my face to stop hurting and being irritaed, someone else start this with me tonight!!!!

Ok so a little (ok huge) update.

I did the caveman regimen for over 2 months, no water. I started with pretty bad cystic acne, mixed with regular acne. Here's what I observed.

1. Skin was really greasy for the first 2 weeks or so.

2. Oil production normalled after those initial 2 weeks.

3. Skin got a bit better in the first month, might have been a placebo effect.

4. Because I stopped focusing on my face I felt psychologically better.

5. After the first month, my face gradually got worse.

6. At the end of the second month, my face was the worst it'd ever been.

But there was light at the end of this tunnel (a very dark one, indeed)... My face hasn't looked better in months. It truly is a miracle, I think I've finally found something natural that works. Here's what I'm doing now, which involve internal and external treatments.

DIET: (Read these books for more insight into my choices and to better your overall health and acne, The Maker's Diet, by Rubin and Sugar Blues by Dufty, Nourishing Traditions, by Fallon)

Do this for 2-4 weeks, and if you don't see a change, I'll be shocked.

1. No sugar - this includes, fruit, artificial and natural sweeteners, honey, etc.

2. No grains - none

3. No starchy vegetables - this includes, potatoes, sweet potatoes / yams, root vegetables like carrots and beets

4. Pasteurized dairy

5. Non-Organic / pasture raised meat

Ok now for the stuff you can eat.

1. Organic / pasture raised / wild meat - I've been eating a lot of Trader Joe's 100% grass fed ground beef, wild fish like king salmon or ahi tuna, organic chicken, lamb from New Zealand (trader joe's had this, too), these are all good sources of meat / protein.

2. Organic pasture fed eggs - Farmer's market or just read the label. I eat 4 a day

3. Organic cold pressed extra virgin coconut oil - buy a huge one gallon tub for around $50. This is the only oil I cook with.

4. Organic coconut milk

5. Organic vegetables - Anything green is good, I like broccoli, zucchini, onions, garlic (especially raw, very anti bacterial), lettuce, spinach (but it is better for you cooked), cucumber, cabbage (cooked is better), radish, etc.

6. Homemade lacto fermented vegetables - Sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, perserved vegetables, etc. (very easy to make, and outlined fairly well in Nourishing Traditions)

7. Fermented Cod Liver Oil - Blue Ice is the name, it's a bit pricey, but it's really the only source, in America that's made the right way. A bottle should last around 3-4 months, depending on serving size. Buy it at - greenpasture.org.

8. Probiotic - I take Garden of Life Primal Defense (3 morning, 3 night)

9. Enzymes - Garden of Life Omega-Zymes (one at each significant meal)

10. Bentonite Clay - 1 tablespoon morning and night

11. Lemon juice in the morning (this is one of the exceptions for fruit)

12. Extra Virgin Olive oil - for salads and homemade mayonaise.

13. Goat Yogurt - I like Redwood Hill Farms brand, if you can source / afford raw yogurt, that's even better

14. Broth - Chicken, fish, beef (Nourishing traditions and Maker's Diet explain how to make this, it tastes amazing)

TOPICAL:

Here is what I do.

Morning

1. Wash face very gently and quickly with Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap (tea tree)

2. Apply fresh lemon juice and leave on, rinse off at night.

Night

1. Wash face very gently and quickly with Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap (tea tree)

2. Apply fresh lemon juice and leave on, rinse off in the morning.

That's it done!

After doing this for a month, I noticed that I haven't gotten one cyst (before, getting about one new one every day or so) and that I've only gotten a few minor pimples. My skin also is less inflamed, feels smoother, and looks brighter. I only have one or two active breakouts and those are fading fast. The only thing left is to fade and heal the previous red marks left by the terrible cysts I once had.

It's too difficult to walk you through step by step, on this forum, but PM if you'd like to discuss this further. The main things to remember are, no sugar, no grains, no pasteurized dairy, no root vegetables, add a probiotic, take Fermented cod liver oil, take an enzyme with each meal, and eat a lot of coconut oil and raw garlic, and wash your face with Dr Bronners and apply lemon.

One more thing, you might get a few breakouts for the first few weeks... I did. It was super discouraging, but the reason for this is because toxins are being released from your body, you might also feel sick at times. It's called a herxheimer reaction, look it up. It should subside after a 2-3 weeks, might even last only a few days.

That's all for now, but be encouraged, you will find a cure, if you search long enough. I was determined to heal naturally and simply, and I believe that I have found a way. Hopefully this will work for others.

Ok so a little (ok huge) update.

I did the caveman regimen for over 2 months, no water. I started with pretty bad cystic acne, mixed with regular acne. Here's what I observed.

1. Skin was really greasy for the first 2 weeks or so.

2. Oil production normalled after those initial 2 weeks.

3. Skin got a bit better in the first month, might have been a placebo effect.

4. Because I stopped focusing on my face I felt psychologically better.

5. After the first month, my face gradually got worse.

6. At the end of the second month, my face was the worst it'd ever been.

But there was light at the end of this tunnel (a very dark one, indeed)... My face hasn't looked better in months. It truly is a miracle, I think I've finally found something natural that works. Here's what I'm doing now, which involve internal and external treatments.

DIET: (Read these books for more insight into my choices and to better your overall health and acne, The Maker's Diet, by Rubin and Sugar Blues by Dufty, Nourishing Traditions, by Fallon)

Do this for 2-4 weeks, and if you don't see a change, I'll be shocked.

1. No sugar - this includes, fruit, artificial and natural sweeteners, honey, etc.

2. No grains - none

3. No starchy vegetables - this includes, potatoes, sweet potatoes / yams, root vegetables like carrots and beets

4. Pasteurized dairy

5. Non-Organic / pasture raised meat

Ok now for the stuff you can eat.

1. Organic / pasture raised / wild meat - I've been eating a lot of Trader Joe's 100% grass fed ground beef, wild fish like king salmon or ahi tuna, organic chicken, lamb from New Zealand (trader joe's had this, too), these are all good sources of meat / protein.

2. Organic pasture fed eggs - Farmer's market or just read the label. I eat 4 a day

3. Organic cold pressed extra virgin coconut oil - buy a huge one gallon tub for around $50. This is the only oil I cook with.

4. Organic coconut milk

5. Organic vegetables - Anything green is good, I like broccoli, zucchini, onions, garlic (especially raw, very anti bacterial), lettuce, spinach (but it is better for you cooked), cucumber, cabbage (cooked is better), radish, etc.

6. Homemade lacto fermented vegetables - Sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, perserved vegetables, etc. (very easy to make, and outlined fairly well in Nourishing Traditions)

7. Fermented Cod Liver Oil - Blue Ice is the name, it's a bit pricey, but it's really the only source, in America that's made the right way. A bottle should last around 3-4 months, depending on serving size. Buy it at - greenpasture.org.

8. Probiotic - I take Garden of Life Primal Defense (3 morning, 3 night)

9. Enzymes - Garden of Life Omega-Zymes (one at each significant meal)

10. Bentonite Clay - 1 tablespoon morning and night

11. Lemon juice in the morning (this is one of the exceptions for fruit)

12. Extra Virgin Olive oil - for salads and homemade mayonaise.

13. Goat Yogurt - I like Redwood Hill Farms brand, if you can source / afford raw yogurt, that's even better

14. Broth - Chicken, fish, beef (Nourishing traditions and Maker's Diet explain how to make this, it tastes amazing)

TOPICAL:

Here is what I do.

Morning

1. Wash face very gently and quickly with Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap (tea tree)

2. Apply fresh lemon juice and leave on, rinse off at night.

Night

1. Wash face very gently and quickly with Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap (tea tree)

2. Apply fresh lemon juice and leave on, rinse off in the morning.

That's it done!

After doing this for a month, I noticed that I haven't gotten one cyst (before, getting about one new one every day or so) and that I've only gotten a few minor pimples. My skin also is less inflamed, feels smoother, and looks brighter. I only have one or two active breakouts and those are fading fast. The only thing left is to fade and heal the previous red marks left by the terrible cysts I once had.

It's too difficult to walk you through step by step, on this forum, but PM if you'd like to discuss this further. The main things to remember are, no sugar, no grains, no pasteurized dairy, no root vegetables, add a probiotic, take Fermented cod liver oil, take an enzyme with each meal, and eat a lot of coconut oil and raw garlic, and wash your face with Dr Bronners and apply lemon.

One more thing, you might get a few breakouts for the first few weeks... I did. It was super discouraging, but the reason for this is because toxins are being released from your body, you might also feel sick at times. It's called a herxheimer reaction, look it up. It should subside after a 2-3 weeks, might even last only a few days.

That's all for now, but be encouraged, you will find a cure, if you search long enough. I was determined to heal naturally and simply, and I believe that I have found a way. Hopefully this will work for others.

 

Nice to hear you found something that works, good work!

In my personal experience caveman does work, however, there is a need for daily rinsing of the skin, I splash cold water on my face morning and night and it rinses it clean, while it also leaves the natural oils and acid mantle to help nourish itself. I am 100% clear now. I did a thing with no water and found similar results. At first it was great, but then all the dead skin just built up and gave my skin an uneven tone, it was terrible and didnt cause acne, it just looked like smeared on makeup kinda, so yea totally out of place for a guy. The cold water rinses/splashes indeed slightly exfoliate my skin, just enough to rid the excess skin and not enough to remove those oils and acidic layers that help kill bacteria.

i do notice that i am clearer and pimples heal faster when i don't wash. But since you are just splashing water or rinsing a bit, do your faces smell? I find that my face smells rather bad and I believe it's the oil. We're not supposed to wash it enough to get rid of the oil but I feel that my face is causing a bad smell. Anyone else have this problem? What do you guys do?

i do notice that i am clearer and pimples heal faster when i don't wash. But since you are just splashing water or rinsing a bit, do your faces smell? I find that my face smells rather bad and I believe it's the oil. We're not supposed to wash it enough to get rid of the oil but I feel that my face is causing a bad smell. Anyone else have this problem? What do you guys do?

 

the oil smell is stronger when you first begin this process, after two weeks time it dies down, and trust me i have asked people to smell me before to tell me if i smell bad.

ive been doing this for at least 3 months but it just smells bad.. of course there are days when i still just break out (usually occurs if i try to remove dead skin/get rid of oil). but it really does smell bad and i'm just worried that when making out with my gf if she'll smell it.. a bad smell like an unwashed face for several weeks can be quite a turn off..

ive been doing this for at least 3 months but it just smells bad.. of course there are days when i still just break out (usually occurs if i try to remove dead skin/get rid of oil). but it really does smell bad and i'm just worried that when making out with my gf if she'll smell it.. a bad smell like an unwashed face for several weeks can be quite a turn off..

 

i would recommend a salt water rinse or soak. Simply mix a bowl of salt water, stick your face in it for a couple of mins, of course get air. After this rinse your face with cold water from the tap, should help you out with any smells. ive never needed to do this, but its what i would do if my skin smelled.

so i wouldnt be exfoliating with the salt water? more like just letting it hang out on the skin? when cold, how cold are you talking? and why cold?

i dont know why isn't anyone else experiencing this. It would make sense for the face to since you are keep oil for such a long time and just leaving it there. Especially if you do gentle rinses, it would be like a wet towel that is never washed..

so i wouldnt be exfoliating with the salt water? more like just letting it hang out on the skin? when cold, how cold are you talking? and why cold?

i dont know why isn't anyone else experiencing this. It would make sense for the face to since you are keep oil for such a long time and just leaving it there. Especially if you do gentle rinses, it would be like a wet towel that is never washed..

 

your skin naturally sheds the skin, so no it would be more like a snake, lol. cold water is what i recommend becuase hot/warm water can irritate skin, loosen and move oils, and dry the skin out to a flaky state, which is prone for bacteria.

i have large nose pores, what do you guys do about the crap that gets in there? if i dont wash, crap builds up in there and there i have the pore congestion and still break out. i feel a pimple coming on and i just leave it but then it becomes this massive monster.. i've been doing this for a few months and the effectiveness has been on and off.

what can i do about the stuff that gets in the pores? and the smell of the oil left on the face is a bit nauseating, what do you guys do about it?

i have large nose pores, what do you guys do about the crap that gets in there? if i dont wash, crap builds up in there and there i have the pore congestion and still break out. i feel a pimple coming on and i just leave it but then it becomes this massive monster.. i've been doing this for a few months and the effectiveness has been on and off.

what can i do about the stuff that gets in the pores? and the smell of the oil left on the face is a bit nauseating, what do you guys do about it?

 

You are doing something wrong, your face should not be that oily and smelly, after the first couple of weeks of using COLD water the oil balances and there is no smell. Secondly, I had large pores on my nose when I use to wash my face or use hot water. Use cold/cool water to shower, and just simply splash your face morning and night bed, do not irritate your face with hot/warm water or any soaps.

yeah but stuff get into my pores/oil and when i happen to press on my nose to like blow my nose, i can see the junk coming out of the pores and im just wondering what does everyone do about those. do you guys regularly clean out the pores or just let that stuff build up in there?

yeah but stuff get into my pores/oil and when i happen to press on my nose to like blow my nose, i can see the junk coming out of the pores and im just wondering what does everyone do about those. do you guys regularly clean out the pores or just let that stuff build up in there?

 

I have no idea what you are talking about? Are you talking about black heads? I would recommend not touching your nose if it is giving you issues. Initially when I had large pores it looked as though I had massive black heads as well, I never knew what it was, but once the pore returned to a it's original relaxed size it was fine, and the pore was smaller with nothing inside of it. I would say to just leave it be. Use shower water to rinse the face and take it from there. If you get zits on your nose thats a different story.

washing face with water will increase skin's pH? will it break the skin's acid mantle?

Hi, I've been doing the caveman for one week. I'm pretty discouraged by the OP's post because he said it didn't work since his skin was so messed up from creams. I'm kind of in that boat. I used a ton of creams last year that made my skin unbelievably thinned and sensitive to sunburn. It's recovered a lot this year but it still seems to be very troubled and I think that washing it constantly and using topicals has been slowing my progress.

Does anyone think the caveman could help my skin to get back to normal? After one week it feels a lot better and it seems to look better too. I've gotten 0 breakouts this week but acne isn't really my main problem anyway - its the insane sensitivity and roghness of my cheeks and nose. It's only my cheeks and nosetoo. If I go out in the cold, my cheeks and nose get super red and distressed looking, but the rest of my face looks perfect..

I'm EXTREMELY torn between either doing the caveman to build up a lot of dead skin and oil and resistance to allow my skin to heal itself, or exfoliating and moisturizing like crazy. Ive had mishaps with exfoliation in the past - my skin is so sensitive and even one exfoliation can make my skin red for weeks. And like I said my face feels better after 1 week on caveman, but I just don't know...

washing face with water will increase skin's pH? will it break the skin's acid mantle?

 

If you switch to washing with water only... most of us live in areas of fluoridated water. Along with chlorine and numerous other contaminates. So if you go this route, you really only need to rinse your face. If you shower, and use shampoo, you might think about using either an all natural shampoo or baby shampoo, as these are much less irritating if they wash over your face.

But even water can be aggravating to certain skin types. It really depends on your supply and if you have filters. I never rubbed my face with water. I always just let the water run over it at warm temperature. And my showers don't last longer than 5 minutes, because i don't trust my water supply.

As far as acid mantle is concerned, it really depends on your method of washing. Hot or cold, rubbing or not, and condition of water supply. All these factors can play into whether or not you disrupt it. Cooler, with less rubbing, and from a clean supply (free of chemicals/contaminates) would be ideal for preserving the mantle. Though i don't think warm water will destroy it on it's own. But when you get into hot temps, it's easy for the oil to run off your face. Just like when you use cool water to rinse and oiled pan, it doesn't work. But hot water gets the oils moving and they run off much easier

I don't ever take the time to post on the internet but I had acne for a long time and wish someone had told me about this earlier. I know this will help a lot of people and feel like I need to pass along the knowledge that made my skin perfect. I am male who suffered from acne for over 10 years. It started when I hit puberty and I used many different creams and lotions. I was obsessed with finding out what worked and spent a lot of time and money on different products. I used neutrogena on the spot and cetephil wash which worked really well for about 5 years. I had fairly clear skin but still got the occasional pimple and my forehead and nose were always really shiny. But it was better than using anything else including prescriptions that I used which included retin-A, minocycline etc. When the on the spot stopped working I thought I needed a stronger dosage and so thats what I did and each time my skin kept getting worse. So I went back to the On the Spot and my face still was getting worse. Around the same time I had a friend of mine who had really bad acne. He was younger than me and his face was all of a sudden a pizza face. His acne was horrible. I suggested to him that he use what I used but the guy didn't really give a shit and was too lazy to use anything or wash his face. His face kept getting worse and he still refused to use anything and after about a year I noticed his face was starting to clear up. I asked him if he used anything and he said never. A few months later and his skin looked perfect. Thats when I google "clearing acne by not using any products" and I found "the caveman" I started reading it and read the whole thing and remembered how my friends face went from being completely shit to perfect and it all made sense. So I started it and for about the first 4 months my face looked worse than it had ever been but I had proof from my friends face and from the posts here that made me stick to it. After about 4 months my face started to slowly clear. Now after nine months my skin is absolutely perfect no pimples and scars have faded. I haven't got a pimple in a few months. I didn't do the full caveman because I did take showers and washed my face with just water in the shower. It feels so good to go to sleep and not have to worry about if I missed putting on my medication or if I will wake up with a new pimple and walk around with an oily face all day. I hope this helps out a lot of you guys.

I have really oily skin, and hoping this method does something for me. I started about 5 days ago and only splash water on my face in the morning and pat dry as I work in the morning. I kind of suckered up and just dealt with the oilyness at work hoping it would pay off sooner rather than later. So 5 days and my skin is still very oily, is this normal or should I just quit this regimen? I have heard some people see results after 3 days or so, but I'm not seeing much. I think the oil production may have gone down a small amount but its hard to say since my face is so finicky.

every morning I take a shower to wash my hair as that is really oily too, and like I said, I just splash some cold water on my face afterword and patdry. I've been taking chemicals for 5+ years, so thats why I'm kinda trying to this. Problem is I work during the week and I'm very self concious about my face being so oily.

Any tips or help in general to get through this?

bump