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uh .. I wear foundation and coverup all day because I have rediculous dark brown acne scars everywhere + I'm a student in highschool. Do you think I should wait until a week or so when I can wear no make up to try this ?
If ur gunna truly do this, your gunna have to commit to it for more than one week. Right now I'm a month and half in.
I have been using the no wash method for about two weeks now and my results have been great. I have had flakiness also, but nothing too unmanageable- I use pointed-tip tweezers to gently pull off any noticeable dead skin, and shaving (electric) seems to help exfoliate also. Take it from an educated person who has spent thousands of hours researching and tens of thousands of dollars on treatments (I have used every treatment I could get my hands on through the years), I am convinced that this is the best thing that I have ever done for my face. Since switching to this method, I have been seriously assessing all of the other chemicals that I regularly put on my body (i.e. shampoo and soap).
Additional info about me:
I am a 25 year old male and I have had acne (mild to moderate with very oily skin) since I was ~12. In my teen years my acne was mild, but very oily. My skin looked its best during my senior year when I wasn't doing much other than washing every day, however, at some point it got a little worse and I started using a bunch of crap again (I honestly can't remember which came first- the acne or the chemicals). In my early twenties my skin was at its worst (moderate), which was very very depressing. Prior to switching to this method my skin was fairly clear but very oily and acne prone. My current status is about 97% clear, and the amount of oil on my skin seems to be a lot less, plus it sits much better on my skin. As a result I have a much more normal looking complexion. I also wanted to mention that I have gone out drinking twice this week...
I have read through most of the related threads, and there isn't a whole lot more that I can add that hasn't already been mentioned, however, if you have any questions feel free to ask.
- C.
I shower everyday,but don't wash my hair everyday(every 2-3 days). When I do wash my hair, I do let the water gently wash my face. I normally splash my face again afterward to wash any shampoo residue.
im thinking about doing the same thing, just letting the water touch my face and hair, and shampooing the body, but when you get out of the shower do you rub your face with a towel or pat dry? thanks.
hey guys i enjoy reading your posts and its good to know that other people are trying this method and it is working out for them.
I have been doing this regimen for 39 days now and its been going good up until a week ago. Its not that im breaking out its the dry dead skin mask that is absolutely killing me. I really hope it goes away soon cause sometimes i just feel like ripping my face off.
i have only washed my face maybe 4 times since i started the regimen and when i did i only let the water gently run down it in the shower. When i have done this i noticed my face looked a lot worse mainly because the dry dead skin looked more apparent.
for you guys who are farther into this regimen then me my question is when does the dead skin eventually subside and when can i start washing my face normally again?
dude, I think there is very low chance that someone who have been on this regimen for a very long time to answer your question. First and foremost, doing nothing on your face and not touching it and not looking at it will make you feel as if you don't have acne which makes the thought of posting here unnecessary. I myself felt this for a week making me unable to follow up my log. Many who have tried this 2-4 years ago simply disappeared and no one came back to report. I believe it is because they now live life as if they didn't even have acne. And they probably don't want to be reminded of acne and what they did in the past is very radical that it seems absurd to most people and if they keep posting here they would most likely be ridiculed.
Anyway, about the flaking, it would stay there as long as it needs to. Healthy skin wouldn't flake so it's a cue for me about the state of my skin. When your flaking stop, wash your face only when you need to and not routinely like every night or every day or whatever.
I'm sorry that I keep posting long paragraphs, it's just that I can't express everything I want with a couple of sentences. :l
So this is my two month update(1 month update on pg 14).
Results have remained very positive. I now am basically acne free with the occasional zit(I call them zit because its one and these are scattered to one every 1-2 week). I continue to avoid using any products on my face. When I do get a zit, I apply a bit of aloe vera gel to help speed up the healing process. All that really remains of my acne days are a few faint scars. I have continue my healthy diet, although I have eaten alot more candy and chocolate than I use to with no negative results. Milk however seems to trigger my zits,so avoiding that. Whole grains, fruit and lots of water is a good part of my diet,although I eat everything really(I'm a college student,cant be too picky haha). I wash my face with water about once every 2 days. I have been reading alot of people who treat their face as if it will break out if they dare touch it one bit. From my experience(and this is MY experience), I splash my face with cool water and then gently massage in a circular motion using my hands to exfoliate any places on my face with dead/flaky skin. This is how I control that problem and my gentle massage has not irritated my skin. I then get a paper towel,pat dry,and throw it away(wash cloths are just breeding ground for bacteria IMO).So take from that what you want, but I don't think you have to take avoiding touching your face to such extremes. This regime is about letting your skin's natural oils do its job.
Wapak has a point about older poster not returning for I don't plan on doing monthly updates(maybe one at the 6 month mark), but I do plan to visit back once in a while to help answer any questions for I know how its like to feel that you have no control over your own skin and want to help. I really believe that it was my cleanser and use of skin acne products that resulted in my acne for I had good skin before I started using it(started using it to control zits) and my acne has cleared up after I have stop using it. If only it didn't take me over a year to put two and two together..... I strongly advise people to give this at least try this for a good month(don't expect significant results until maybe the 2nd-3rd week) before giving up. Your current regime doesn't seem to be working, so why not give this a try.
Good luck everyone and read my lengthy post on page 14 before asking me any questions.
Who all is doing this???
I'm on day 21 and I'm not lookin too great. The first 8 days I was looking really good then a breakout, then the ol' pimple or 2 a day. Then last weekend another breakout and we're on to the pimple a day again. Red marks were fading fast and now its like they are refusing to fade even the slightest bit.
Perhaps this is the aftermath of suddenly quitting BP? I don't know but this shit sucks. Anyone who was on BP notice things getting worse around the 2-3 week mark?
This just has to be the right path cause i'm 23 and don't have acne anywhere else. Nobody else in my fam has it. Theres only 1 other person i even know that has it. Oh well I guess...
hey tyrant im on week 6 day 42 and i am the same age as you. I used bp for 7 years before this regimen so we are in the same boat. Up until week 4 my skin was doing great the dryness wasn't that bad and my skin was radiant and glowing. Around the end of week 3 maybe the middle of week 4 my skin just went downhill. You would not understand the amount of dead skin I have plastered on my face. This is the most uncomfortable my face has ever been in my life.
Everything was fine and then i just woke up one day and the dead skin was all over. I cant even open my mouth without feeling the tight pulling of the dead skin and the cracking, flaking.
Im gonna stick it out another 2-3 weeks but this is getting totally ridiculous. People on the regimen say they see the dead skin start to go away gradually but i have had this dead skin mask for 2 weeks now and NONE of it has gone away. It is totally not normal to have dead skin like this plastered to your face for this long. Sometimes i wonder if maybe this is harmful because i feel kinda a burning/tingling feeling under the dead skin.
Oh well like i said im gonna give it 2-3 more weeks, if this crap is not gone im taking it off myself.
If you have been damaging your skin with harsh products for years you can not expect it to heal within a few months. I quit bp for a few months before I stop washing my face with the cleanser, so your recovery time will likely be more than 2 months, but seriously stick with it. Like I said, I have been able to use my hands to gently massage any dead skin away when washing my face without breakouts,so try that.
I understand what your talking about with it taking some time to heal after the fact that i have been on bp for so long.
As for gently messaging it away in the shower when do you think I should start to do this or just start exfoliating altogether? Even though i detest the dead skin, im worried about exfoliating to soon.
In some other posts on this subject i have read that people have exfoliated and removed the dead skin to soon and they have regret it because they had to start the entire process over.
I suggest leaving the dead skin there until you have noticed a decrease in your breakouts. Then you could try and experiment with it. Everyone is different so what works for someone might not work for you.
I've been on this for 2 months+(washing with water only once every few days) and breakouts are still pretty common. I just leave the dead skin on all the way without doing anything to it. (except probably pick a few small ones off....i know...its hard to resist 
)
I had some minor peeliness in the first few days but nothing like what you all are describing. I suppose I have that to look forward to. My problem right now is red marks mostly. The active stuff is small which is a major plus, but amongst the red marks it looks none too good. I do enjoy not having to worry about slathering stuff on my face in the morning and at nights. I can just crash out, wake up, and be on my way. 
Fingers crossed
Hi, I've been following these threads and I think you guys are right that facial acne is a result of weakened facial skin.
From my perspective, I used to think I had hormonal imbalance and this caused my facial breakouts (I'm pretty clear at moment b.t.way). However, these breakouts don't appear to be linked to hormones at all. I say this because I now get a few spots on my kneck after doing serious exercises like the deadlift and squats but my face remains the same. Similarly, if eat much dairy I breakout on my kneck and sometimes jawline (I discovered this when I took a lot of whey protein for a period).
The only time I've got bad spots on face was when I was taking too much pantethine (really dried me out) and then freaked out and started washing with a harsh acne cleanser 3 times a day. I've always used lots of products and looking back I think my face has been worse when I used more, not less.
I don't think we skould be breaking out from eating food allergens, eating too many carbs etc., I think this is a sign of weak skin.
Anyway, 5 days without washing face and looks and feels fine - but I stopped overwashing long ago so I'm not expecting a huge change immediately (but I'm beginning to think I still wash too frequently.
Sorry for the long intro but I wanted to add a few possible suggestions and see whether you guys think they would help:
If we're trying to establish a strong skin acid mantle, is it worth dabbing on (not scrubbing) apple cider vinegar to the face at night to increase the acidity? Or will this be too irritating? This may help with dead skin removal?
Similarly, I've seen the skin biology website mentioned in these threads. Is it worth using copper peptides while we're doing this to build stronger skin. Pickart seems to be fully aware of the damage standard products can cause, and he indicates that as well as being antiaging the copper peptides he sells help to rebuild the skin's protective mantle.
Is it worth using oils like coconut oil or emu oil to help protect the skin? Apparently coconut oil dissolves dead skin, so it may help some.
Thanks
Ed
yeah. confirm the 27 day skin renewal cycle then remove the dead skin patch in the morning once you get up using nothing but your finger nails alone. No exfoliation or wetting needed. This is what I did to the dead skin patch on my nose(check my log). Just be gentle and don't force it. Just remove it little by little. It is important to do it right after you wake up so that it is not sticking much. But if it is really hard to scrape off then stop.
Edit: I saw that you just recently started getting the dead skin mask. if that is the case then wait for 27 days before you forcefully remove the dead skin.
I'd say no to ACV. I don't know about copper peptides though. Well, in this regimen, we do almost nothing to make sure we don't do anything that triggers acne. If we still breakout after doing nothing for some time then this means that you are eating something that causes you to breakout. Or it is also possible you are still doing the thing that causes you to breakout.
you better meet kate_the_valkyrie. though she isn't always online. she was able to do this even when doing makeup. check my comments and find her name there.
hey wapak thanks for the response, its been about 18 days since i initially got the dead skin mask, and 46 days on the regimen. Today when i woke up the dead skin mask was so flaky i just has to take some off on my right side of my face. I only took a little off but my skin looks great in the spots i have removed. I have to go to the bank then im gonna shave when i get home(i look like grizzly adams lol red beard and all). After i do this i know my entire face will be full of flakes maybe i will remove some more but we will see. I am deff gonna wash my face when i take a shower today considering i haven't had water touch my face in about a week and a half
We have the same thing when we wake up in the morning. Loose flakes over our faces. I simply scrape them off until the sticky ones seem unnoticeable. Try shaving without water or any lubricant. That's what I do and it's doing great so far that I don't irritate my skin at all. I haven't let water touch my face for 2 weeks now since the last time I did try. It looked horrible afterward.
Good luck on you dude!
so i shaved today and after i did my face was just full of flakes! i mean my entire face besides my forehead. So what i did was i used my electric trimmer to take the dead skin off which i think is better than using your fingernail. Now i have to say i scraped off 90% of the dead skin mask and my face is kinda red but not as red as i thought it would be. My face actually feels good, like its finally breathing.
I know i should of kept the mask on longer but im almost 50 days into this regimen and i think it was about time to let my skin breath
Im pretty sure the redness will subside in a few hours to a day. When i scraped some of the dead skin mask away about a week ago the spots where i removed it were red and the color came back in only a few hours.
I really hope this is the beginning of the end for this regimen. It has been rather annoying to deal with (dead skin), and has made me so self conscious about people looking at me when i go out.
This is kind've off topic but in all seriousness.....
How do you think quadropolegics (or anyone w/o hands or arms for that matter) wash their face? Or what about a person who is stuck in a hospital bed for days or even weeks w/o attending to their skin? Just a thought. And also, I wonder what percentage of the population doesn't wash their face at all (physically capable or not).
The same thing when I removed the patch of dead skin on my nose. A little bit red at first and then it calmed down later on. For me it is a sign that it is a fresh new skin. 
Very interesting questions you got there! For quadropolegics, I think they probably have someone else who clean them. XD
Thanks for the reply wapak.
I've been about 10 days and no change for me really - not better or worse (as I say I'm pretty clear anyway). I had a steam room yesterday which I couldn't really avoid for social reasons - skin looks pretty good today.
Anyway, good luck to all of you, and I'm going to keep going because my skin tone does look pretty nice.
Waterwater said:Why am I doing this, honestly, it's because I'm frustrated. I never had acne until turning 20 and am now almost 23, everday I wake up I want to rip my face off and go back to the days when my face was normal. I've tried all different regimens, things that are too harsh dry my face, take a simplistic approach and I have oil and dead skin everywhere. I've been to 3 derms and they all give different things that never really work. I feel like I have every symptom or diet problem that all these forums proclaim and it just makes me crazy to the point that I have no idea what is really good for my face anymore, so basically I'm quitting, since my face doesn't want to be clean and clear than I won't make it, I'm going to teach it a lesson by not washing it for a month starting actually two days ago the 10th. I know that whatever the outcome will be it will be interesting along the way and I'm trying to look at it as a scientific experiment, maybe leaving it alone will help healing weak acne prone skin? who knows, I don't. As of right now my skin isn't breaking out very badly, I never really have bad acne just bad skin texture and little bumps but if I wash too much than I break out. So my nose is oily and has alot of dead skin and my cheeks are oily and have little bumps I have some dry skin around my mouth too, so we'll see what happens when leaving it all alone for a while.
I have done this but not for a month tho i will say at least a week or so and nothing happen, except only few more breakouts. I know a really really good cleanser that is so gentle that you can use it every day twice. Hope you got some MONEY!! [Edited link out]
k so i did something diff. i took off more dead skin and splashed my face with water and then i lightly put on some moisturizer.
Reason i did this because like some of you have experienced, the dead skin already started to come back from when i removed it. In general i have always had dry Irish skin and maybe i just need a little moisturizer to give the recovery process a lil boost.
I will let ya know how it goes