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Hi everyone so this is my story...
Im 20 and have had acne probably for about 3 years now... but I really didn't care about it at all until about four months ago. I think in the first 2.5 years it was mild and perhaps moderate, when I look back at old pictures I can see cysts on the side of my face & neck and pimples in the chin area. It wasn't until I was in a relationship that I began caring about acne and my appearance. So the first thing I did was try the BP regimen, which was a disaster that ended up drying out and cracking my skin. I also tried salicylic acid but it didnt work much better. After coming into contact with natural skin care sites I decided not to use topicals anymore and instead just use a mild cleanser (Neutron a natural facial cleanser) and honey. This didn't really help much and I felt like my acne maybe got worse. During this whole time, about three months ago, I totally cut out dairy and now only drink water and occasionally orange juice, hardly ever eat any sweets and significantly cut down on rice and white bread and increased fruits and veggies.
With my acne still bothering me, I decided to try the caveman regimen out... I did the extreme version, without washing at all... I lasted til day 29, then washed the whole dead skin mask off with honey and sugar. During this time my acne had improved (or at least I thought) redness was down, I didn't get anymore cysts on the side of my face or neck. My skin was bumpy with whiteheads and just looked gross in general though.
So immediately after i washed was when the horror started... I look in the mirror and see redness everywhere... and red bumps in places where my skin was previously perfect.. The front of my cheeks, my forehead, around my nose.. and my neck / back cheeks where horrible. The ne t day my skin felt soooo dry and terrible and pustules & cysts started propping up in the old places.. side of face and chin under mouth. 4 days after the washing my face still feels dry and tight (I washed with water 2 days after the initial wash). I want to start caveman again but am worried it will not improve, I have lost faith in the regimen since it broke me out (I think by congestion and clogging my pores ) in places where my skin was perfect before. Now my whole face feels thick and dry and rough. I'm so sad. That's the worst part, ever since the wash my acne has become a huge psychological problem... not just because I'm self conscious bit because my face is tight and sometimes even hurts.. I can't distract myself and am hiding from people and can't look them in the eye and hide the side of my face.. This never happened before even when I considered it bad.
I've even started considering using accutane or antibiotics. . Even though I know these are horrible options and don't want to do it!!! Does anyone have a similar experience or would be able to offer advice or encouragement, I'm so sad 
Thank you
Have you read the book that this is all based on?
http://www.amazon.com/Dietary-Cure-Acne-Loren-Cordain/dp/0978510917
The whole idea is that you want to only eat foods with low glycemic load values. Realistically you should aspire to primarily be eating fish, vegetables, eggs and a little fruit. You can't take shortcuts at all on this. If you are drinking orange juice even once a week, or sneaking in a slice of bread, it's going to spike your insulin and you are going to develop acne from all the hormones that were triggered. The no washing of your hair or face thing seems a little unnecessary. I don't see a problem with shampooing your hair and using water and a towel to clean your face.
If none of that works, I will say that accutane will clear up your skin. The problem is that within a few years it is going to most likely come back again. I was on it before and it worked fantastically, until a few years down the road. In my opinion, you should keep experimenting with foods and try to find what is actually causing your acne. A trip to the endocrinologist might also be useful, to see if any of your hormones are out of whack.
Then do something in between. Wash your face with water. Not using cleansers and lotions is a good thing. That dead skin mask stuff is nonsense.
Have you read the book that this is all based on?
http://www.amazon.com/Dietary-Cure-Acne-Loren-Cordain/dp/0978510917
The whole idea is that you want to only eat foods with low glycemic load values. Realistically you should aspire to primarily be eating fish, vegetables, eggs and a little fruit. You can't take shortcuts at all on this. If you are drinking orange juice even once a week, or sneaking in a slice of bread, it's going to spike your insulin and you are going to develop acne from all the hormones that were triggered. The no washing of your hair or face thing seems a little unnecessary. I don't see a problem with shampooing your hair and using water and a towel to clean your face.
If none of that works, I will say that accutane will clear up your skin. The problem is that within a few years it is going to most likely come back again. I was on it before and it worked fantastically, until a few years down the road. In my opinion, you should keep experimenting with foods and try to find what is actually causing your acne. A trip to the endocrinologist might also be useful, to see if any of your hormones are out of whack.
Yeah I try to keep my glucemia load down but come on orange juice isn't going to break me out... Im not sure I believe in the caveman diet but rather cutting out processed foods and sweets which I have done for a month now.
Alternativista- I think I'm going to give that a try. I'm just scared it's going to continue to spread my bumps. Do you have any idea why my face feels thick, rough and tight?? This NEVER happened to me before, but now I can't open my mouth or move my face to look to one side or move my eyebrows without feeling my face... it feels all tight and like I stretch it when I move it..
Yeah I try to keep my glucemia load down but come on orange juice isn't going to break me out... Im not sure I believe in the caveman diet but rather cutting out processed foods and sweets which I have done for a month now.
Alternativista- I think I'm going to give that a try. I'm just scared it's going to continue to spread my bumps. Do you have any idea why my face feels thick, rough and tight?? This NEVER happened to me before, but now I can't open my mouth or move my face to look to one side or move my eyebrows without feeling my face... it feels all tight and like I stretch it when I move it..
There are a lot of claims made by paleo dieters that are nonsense. i.e. those that avoid perfectly good new world foods because we didn't evolve eating them. And that grains are pure evil and weren't eaten before we developed agriculture. But people would not have learned to cultivate them if they didn't eat them. And they aren't pure evil. They are however seeds high in harmful anti nutrients and shouldn't be as big a part of our diet as they've become today. Some are worse than others. And all should be prepared properly. However, Pale is a good subset of a healthy diet. You won't go wrong on it. Because the key is to eat mostly nutrient dense, anti-inflammatory, whole foods.
That rough and tightness could be that 'dead skin mask' thing caveman people tell each other is an 'essential' part of healing the acid mantle. I would stay hydrated and be gentle.
I don't know. i'm having a strange phase right now myself. My skin feels tight and I have some strange bumps that are only slightly raised and some are slightly red. And the ones near my jaw/mouth itch. I think it's a rash of some sort and when it first started, I assumed it was a heat rash or something because it began shortly after I spent a day out on one of Houston's hottest days so far. but it gradually got worse and that's not how it ever worked before when I got what I figured was heat rash. This is now nearing the end of week two. I also have some tiny closed comedones on my forehead, something I've rarely had in all my decades of acne. The only time I know of was caused by topical use of almond or jojoba oil. And I've noticed a loss of elesticity in the skin on the back of my hands & feet.