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hey man, how much active pimples did you have before you started this method, what do you think for me, I only got acne on my chin and around my lips, my cheeks and forehead has only ever had like one pimple so all thats fine, but for my chin and around my lips I get like alot white heads and some time just big red pimples. my skin never oily its more dry ill say, ive only been on BP for 4 days now, before that I just use cepthaphil face wash and washing my face alot and that dint improve anything, but do you think doing your method will benfit me?
i began this a little over a month ago. i had just turned 20. i was getting pimples usually on the chin and jawline, and sometimes in other areas. BUT the breakouts were nowhere near as bad as they were when I was 17. when i was 17, i didnt have a chin. my chin was messed up. full of pustules. it was terrible. i saw your pic and noticed that you're 17. btw you're is skin is much better than mine was.
Looking at your pic, the irritation on your skin is more noticable than the few pimples. this is good news in my opinion! it means that it is likely that your skin is irritated and needs time to rest, so this will work wonders for you i reckon. another reason is that you said your skin is dry not oily - so was mine! oh and by the way i dont think you're skin is dry (skin type) but dehydrated (skin condition). i bet your skin wasnt dry befor acne and the meds.
now, you're 17. you're young. you are learning about all these different products like the beauty of bp etc and beginning to be attracted. I dont blame you. i shared the same affection when i was your age. HOWEVER, i want to warn you right now that the bp will tear YOUR chin apart because it looks irritated already!! you're prob already noticning the burning, flakes and the rest of it.
here's the thing: YOU my friend were never meant to be an acne sufferer. Nor was I. we were meant to have the odd pimple and that was it. Like you, my face (apart from chin) has been generally clear my whole life. so what about my chin?? I got a couple of big pustules on my chin induced from drinking excessive amounts of milk, i popped them, starting using products, and so here i am today (i only leant that in hindsight).
if i were to give you my advice: get rid of the dairy (that's what CAUSED my chin breakouts), dont touch your face and let your skin heal. my redness went away really quickly!!! for maximum results dont use any water on your face for a few days. btw i understand if you dont want to do this - i am in the minority. the media/experts tell you to use bp, wash your face twice a day etc so i understand if you are unwilling to try this.
Peace mate, wish you all the best.
thanks for the tips man, Yea my skin been soo irratated on the parts ive put the BP eg, my chin an around my lips, its all dryed out and I must been allergic to the moisturizer that dan has because everytime I put it on it burns like anything and its even made me have a big swallon lip on the bottom left side of my lip., I go swimming alot, and go to beach atleast twice a week because summer time here, would this affect the cave man regim and also what foods do you eat?
thanks for the tips man, Yea my skin been soo irratated on the parts ive put the BP eg, my chin an around my lips, its all dryed out and I must been allergic to the moisturizer that dan has because everytime I put it on it burns like anything and its even made me have a big swallon lip on the bottom left side of my lip., I go swimming alot, and go to beach atleast twice a week because summer time here, would this affect the cave man regim and also what foods do you eat?
i live near the beach and summer is approaching. i plan to get in the water heaps because my skin seems to be much stronger. i'll have the acid mantle back very soon if it dont have it already. during the transition phase from no cleanser/moisturiser to nothing, i wouldnt have gone in the water though because the salt would dry my poor skin out and without the acid mantle, it would be preventing the skin from repairing. so my recommendation is that it is best to go swimming once your skin is strong again but maybe wont be too bad to swim now..im not sure.
i was on a very strict diet (semi paleo) prior to doing this nothing regimen. but once i started the regimen i eased off the diet dramatically because i just knew that the main reason for breakouts was irritation, and not the food i was eating. so i went for about 3 weeks of eating lots of tasty treats (oh i binged so much!) and i didnt breakout, and still havent. however, my energy levels became pretty terrible quite quickly and i wanted to study/exercise again so i went back on the diet like a week and a half ago.
during that time of eating treats (all kinds of stuff - fast food, chips, chocolate etc) i didnt have any milk though. for one, i dont like it and two, i have a personal thing against it (because im convined that it gave me those pustules on the chin when i was 17). thats why i recommended not to drink it but yeh.
Okay thanks heaps for your help, Im glad to say im going to start this regim, because I cannot stand the irration, dryness and flakyness from this BP, I also read about only eating when your hungry dont stuff your face with food even if it's healthy, so im going to try that aswell and for the beach every time I come out my skin feels better and looks better every time and I like to bodyboard so ill never let acne make me give up that and is okay to shower in cold water and let that run down your face? After few weeks ill post some before and after pictures.
Okay thanks heaps for your help, Im glad to say im going to start this regim, because I cannot stand the irration, dryness and flakyness from this BP, I also read about only eating when your hungry dont stuff your face with food even if it's healthy, so im going to try that aswell and for the beach every time I come out my skin feels better and looks better every time and I like to bodyboard so ill never let acne make me give up that and is okay to shower in cold water and let that run down your face? After few weeks ill post some before and after pictures.
yeh sounds good. yeh the shower thing sounds fine. hot shower wont be too bad IMO as long as hot water doesnt touch your face. cold showers arent fun haha. i have a hot shower but only wash my body.
Man I want to try this but I just don't know how to deal. Whenever I go more than like 1 day without washing my skin is an oily/dry/red/irritated/flakey mess with basically a huge layer of dead skin built up. It looks terrible. I can't even imagine going like two weeks like that in public waiting for the dead skin to fall off or whatever.
Then theres the horror stories of people who tried the "no washing" and were dealing with the consequences of the breakout for like a month.
I just don't know, like u mentioned I never had dry flakey skin as a child. But I never went apeshit with topicals either, here and there briefly maybe, but since my skin always dried so easily I have always used really gentle stuff and moisturizer and what not.
Do u have any suggestion for removing the built up dead skin without washing, and how many days did it take for the majority of it to come off without using even water?
Sorry for the questions, but this whole thing just seems daunting.
Man I want to try this but I just don't know how to deal. Whenever I go more than like 1 day without washing my skin is an oily/dry/red/irritated/flakey mess with basically a huge layer of dead skin built up. It looks terrible. I can't even imagine going like two weeks like that in public waiting for the dead skin to fall off or whatever.
Then theres the horror stories of people who tried the "no washing" and were dealing with the consequences of the breakout for like a month.
I just don't know, like u mentioned I never had dry flakey skin as a child. But I never went apeshit with topicals either, here and there briefly maybe, but since my skin always dried so easily I have always used really gentle stuff and moisturizer and what not.
Do u have any suggestion for removing the built up dead skin without washing, and how many days did it take for the majority of it to come off without using even water?
Sorry for the questions, but this whole thing just seems daunting.
yeh i understand. like i said i only got dead skin in certain areas like the chin etc. it was pretty hectic but bearable. some have recommended using like a wash cloth to get rid of dead skin. that might be a good compromise?? im not sure if that would irritate or not. took like 2-3 weeks for most to come off without water - like somedays would be better than others..most of dead skin around my mouth/chin so if i opened my mouth real wide my chin would look all flakey. i hate that. but yeh im not too sure what to say. yeh maybe a washcloth?? or babybrush (i saw a thread somewhere about that i think)
I think the dead skin part is the toughest to go through. I remember that week where I had REALLY bad dry/dead skin everywhere. It was terrible, I didn want to leave the house. After a week though, it started to subside, so just have patience and keep faith in ywhat you're doing. Essentially, you're not doing your skin any HARM, that's what people need to understand. The shit you were putting on your face before? Yeah, THAT'S doing the harm. Simply putting water or not putting anything on your face cant do anything bad to your face....your skin just needs time to adjust to it.
If you're going to do Adam's approach or even my approach, do it for atleast a month. It's worth the results IMO, plus you figure out what rwally triggers your acne. In my case, its stress. I'm not one to ever put pics of my self on this site, but maybe next week I'll put up a pic of my skin to show you guys how its coming along.
Sorry about the terrible typing, I'm kind of tipsy as I type this lol.
Man I dont see how not putting any hot water on your face will get rid of the acne? Before I started this regim, I let hot water all over my face and its only my chin and around my mouth that has acne, so I think there something more to it than not washing.
not showering is just another way of minimising irritation. im not sure whether it will get rid of your acne. the main thing IMO is to give your skin a break because it looks irritated. irritation makes you acne prone. btw i rarely get zits other than on my chin too and this has worked wonders for me. im 20 though. hormones prob started all this but irritation makes it far worse IMO
SO i still dont get it. WHen you guys say "not wash with water" do you mean like not taking showers or not letting water touch your face at all for 2 weeks?
people are doing different things. initially my intention was to not wash at all (including water/just body wash) for 10 days then wash face every 2-3 days. i found that it is better to not wash at all. and i mean not at all. so thats what im doing currently. even washing with water from time to time i found irritating (wont be in the future because ill have my acid mantle back).
so yeh, many people have spoken about using oils etc/water only/certain creams for the dead skin/flakes, i do literally nothing.
Well this morning I woke up with a record number of 15 full white heads popping out on my chin/around my mouth like there no tomrorow, Ive never counted that many ever, so right not my acne at it's worst, I really can not go out in public with 15 huge white heads hanging on my chin/around my lips, so I popped them, I use a pin to pop them but I needed to wet my face to get it off, so I used cold water is that okay?
yeh waters fine but i highly recommend that you dont pop "pop" but just use a needle to prick then gently let the pus ooze out...popping is one thing i forgot to mention.,.it smashed my skin when i was 17
edit: actually now that i think back to those days i reckon that the popping, as distinct from gently squeezing (which ive done in recent years), was a much more significant factor than ive made it out to be. i used to use my bare hands to try pop the unpopable...that def lead to some VERY nasty pustules. omg just thinking about it makes me cringe
Okay can I ask did you ever drink on the weekend while on this regim, because my weekends have been soo boring going to partys not drinking because I dont want to wake up the next morning broken out.
im currently on study vacation so havent been out for a while. next weekend is my first night out for sometime. i havent had a drink whilst ive started this and to be honest, im looking forward to seeing what happens. i reckon alcohol broke me out when my skin was damaged. it used to be really dry/dehydrated and alcohol-induced dehydration (to add to that) broke me out i reckon. well thats my theory anway. im not 100% whether alcohol made a difference but im leaning towards yes. i used to think that everything was breaking me out. it prob was becasue my skin was so damn fragile. anway, drinknig is up to you but yeh thats my experience.
also, its likely that your chin has become infected. mine was when i was 17. doing nothing may help because it allows your acid mantle to repair and fight the bacteria on its own. salt water may even be beneficial for you for healing purposes..as long as it doesnt disrupt repair etc (im not sure)
edit: i think the catch with salt water is that its great for drying out/healing existing acne lesions but maybe not so great for helping the acid mantle to repair itself (i honestly dont know)
You don't have to read it all, it's basically how products absolutely destroyed my naturally clear face.
Alright,here's my story. I just turned 20 and am a sophomore in college. When I was 17-18 years old during my senior year, my acne was extremely mild. I would only get like one, occasionally two pimples at a time (Inflamed whiteheads). Occasionally I would get a big nasty pustule, but overall my acne was very light. The only area I would breakout was around my mouth, mostly the chin. My skin tone great and always had perfect skin balance (never dry nor oily, normal). I never really "washed" my face, when I would get a pimple I would just dab a little BP on it and it would go away. Then about halfway through my senior year, I just wanted to get rid of my light but persistent hormonal acne all together. I heard great things about ProActiv, so I ordered the basic three-step system and proceeded to apply it all over my face (even though I only broke out around my mouth). The first few days I started using it, I broke out all over my chin. They said an initial breakout was normal so I continued. After about a month of it, my face was a mess. I was so upset, I start searching all over the internet for a solution and I came across this site. So I ordered the cleanser and the BP, and proceeded to go on the the DK Regimen (cleansing and applying BP to my entire face, 2x/day). After a while, it began to keep my acne at bay, but I still would break out a lot more than I used to. But worst of all, my skin was dry, very dull and lifeless, and very sensitive. I went on to use the DK Regimen for about 9-10 months and stopped about February of this year. I was so depressed of what my skin had become. I stopped the DK Regimen because I came across this "acne free in 3 days" regimen. As gullible as I am, I did it. It consisted of eating only apples, doing enemas, and applying castor oil to skin every night for three days straight. WORST DECISION IN MY LIFE. I BROKE OUT EVERYWHERE IN HUGE PUSTULES AND CYSTS THAT LASTED FOR SO LONG. Then I started taking crazy amounts of supplements each day (i.e. 10,000 IUs Vitamin A, etc.) and applying a shitload of natural remedies out of desperation to heal my skin (i.e. lemon juice, honey masks, tea tree oil, etc.), but nothing worked. I decided to try using a gentler approach, just cleansing with gentle face wash, nothing else. I continued to break out in nasty pustules through out this summer and left terrible scarring. Then I decided to add AHA in September and really got my skin under control after about 5-6 weeks, but had to stop because of the sun sensitivity. I found a thread on the water only method and restoring your natural skin barrier so I gave it a go washing with water day and night. After about 4-5 weeks or so my skin was really dry and dead skin really started to build up in a rash-like form so I started the baby brush method and tape method. Which brings me to this day, I have now been on water only for 8 weeks now, while exfoliating every other day. I no longer breakout like I was over the summer since stopping the AHA, but the water-only method has my skin dry, dull, and extremely flaky. The whole reasoning for me doing the water-only method is to restore that acid mantle you are talking about, but my skin is still dry,flaky, and dull after 8 weeks.
Sorry for the long post, I needed to get that off my chest. LOL
To sum it up, products ruined my skin and my life. I want my naturally clear and even toned face back.
I want to give "doing nothing" a shot.
Why do you suppose my skin never adjusted after using water-only for the 4-5 weeks prior to exfoliating with baby brush and tape? Will 'doing nothing' help if 'water-only' didn't?
How long did it take for the dead skin and flakes to go away?
Also, I have to shave every other 2 days, what should I do in regards to shaving?
Sorry for all the questions,
I'm just upset with how drastically my skin has worsened over the past year and a half.
Thanks
there is, in my opinion, a big difference between water only and doing nothing. i had been doing water only for ages but still broke out. i couldnt understand why? maybe the water was hard and therefore irritating..i don't know. all i know is that my face wasnt liking it.
tom: i suggest to try this. when i was doing water only for like months (whilst on a very strict diet) i just couldnt get rid of those damn flakes. they just kept coming back. whilst doing nothing, the flakes flared up initially but have just about gone. i actually have a bit of dead skin buildup on my right cheeck which im very excited about because its only happening where i have a few red marks (which have been there for over 18 months!!! just imagine if doing nothing - including no water -- healed those marks????? that would be unbelieeeeevable. i dont really have any long lasting red marks anywhere else which is fortunate
shaving: i recommend electric if you can get your hands on one. otherwise, do your best with manuel.
finally, i wouldnt exfoliate ever again. in my opinion (and my experience), but removing the flakes through exfoliation or someover means they just keep coming back..let your body heal! people on this thread are using natural oils for flakes/dead skin but i reckon that doesnt help because the flakes will just keep coming. in my experience by doing nothing the flakes get a chance to leave on their own and dont come back (well so far anyway)..it took like 2-3 weeks for a noticable decrease in flakeage. however early on i was using a bit of water so that might have prolonged it further
Thanks for the replies. I'm going to start this in a day or two, and will post my progress in a week or two.
Adam: What shape is your face in now (skin tone, acne, dry, flaky, etc)? Ever since the disaster I had earlier this year, my nose is full of persistent blackheads. Has it helped with blackheads?
Thanks for the replies. I'm going to start this in a day or two, and will post my progress in a week or two.
Adam: What shape is your face in now (skin tone, acne, dry, flaky, etc)? Ever since the disaster I had earlier this year, my nose is full of persistent blackheads. Has it helped with blackheads?
i dont really get blackneads. i do have these black things on my nose which dont bother me. maybe they are blackheads? prob are..? i dont know. not sure if they've been affected.
skin update (walks to mirror, has decent look, returns): one inflamed whitehead on jawline bearly noticable (now healing fast). skin not dry - feels normal like i was 16. (goes to mirror again): still a little bit of flakeage on left side of chin but again barely noticable. a little dead skin has appeared, like i said, where i have a couple of red marks on my right cheek (which i gave up on like months ago). not too bad though and def doesnt bother me considering the possibility there may be a healing process going on. skin tone amazing.
yeh, so in summary, my face looks pretty damn good at the moment (4 and a half weeks in)