I think not washing your face with soap for a month is a BIG mistake.. you are just asking for trouble with bacteria and clogged pores and build up of dead skin flakes etc.!!! not to mention the mite microbe population on your face would skyworkcet with all the food that they can eat! (these mites eat oils and nutrition from skin cells).

I think I felt that way for a long time as well, and I totally respect that opinion, but dude have you read this thread? Its compelling. Honestly, I doubt I'll stop washing it completely on the regimen I'm going to try, but eventually I would like to get to the point where its minimal. I think the whole point of this regimen was to kind of point out, you can wash your face and get rid of the bacteria and the oil build up, or you can not wash and avoid the irritation. I believe its a catch 22, but honestly, I think people outgrow it, but continue to wash with cleaners that just cause irritation, and ultimately you are part of the problem. So this regimen is stating, you might need to wash, or you might have skin that isn't not suppose to be cleansed, and the only way to find out, is to stop using chemicals. If you read dan's description of his regimen, he says "irritation" over and over. This regimen is trying to pin point the source of your acne, and every single person is different. How the hell do we really know whats causing the acne, either then that damn description of sebum getting into the hair follicle. christ, really nobody knows, or else we would have a cure. Don't even get me started that there probably are better ways that no professional wants to investigate, theres no money to be made on a cure. All I know is I wish I was like everyone else I knew who just showers once a day and they don't even think about washing their face! And you know what, I'm going to go ahead and strive for that, and if I get to the point where I'm no longer using cleanser, and my face breaks out, at least I'll know I need the cleanser. Common sense is just that, a belief held by the majority of a population. And as for modern science, what the hell have they actually done for acne, it seems like it can help acne, and then snowball a ton of other problems. This thread is about believe in the human body, the same body that heals itself after a cut or sickness. Waterwater was the deviant of acne, and man he kicked social conventions ass. I wish I was at a point in my life where I could drop everything like him. I think my plan has logic though, and if the weening process works, I'll be happy for the rest of my life just knowing how shitty it has been to wake up every morning worrying about what my face looks like and being a slave to commercial products. I think those of us who have been on the 5+ year plan are all sick of the shackles. I'll see you in hell acne!

@GVG

I don't know where to get a TeaTreeOil so I'm not bothering about that much. I have ACV here so I will give that a shot one of these days. Everything seems to be going fine as of now so I don't want to change anything much really.

@adamrodrigue

Well, I still do cleanse man whenever I need to. And I use the most basic, safest thing man ever had. And it's called water. It's pretty cheap and do wonders man, from keeping me alive to keeping me free of acne. And I have these wonderful mantle my body produces for free. It's called acid mantle that kills bacteria. And I'd be glad to have those mites all over my face to keep the oiliness in check.

Don't worry much man, I have been doing this for the past 77 days and seriously and miraculously I'm still kicking and my face is still intact. In fact, it has never looked this healthy for ages. I'm so glad!

I have read your post about moisturizing, it's very informative especially for those who are in places that have harsh winter climates. I guess I'm lucky that we don't get that much cold here in our place.

Here we go, new regimen for me, I'll keep you guys updated because I have just been doing a ton of research since this breakout (Haven't had one in like 3 years) but I have been so concerned with what BP has been doing to my skin. There has been mention on this thread about the loss of the acid mantle. I believe BP destroys it over time. Hydrogen Peroxide regenerates the acid mantle and kills bacteria, probably better then any other product on the market. Its got one ingredient, not a bunch of them. Its also produced naturally. Why this hasn't been widely pushed on people? maybe it does not work, or maybe its because it cost less a dollar to buy...not much profit there. The reviews of the product on this site are astonishing, and the evidence on the net is beyond encouraging. I will wash my face with dans cleanser, apply the HP with a cotton ball, and moisturize when necessary, twice a day. I'll adjust the cleanser if I think I can not use it. Please, don't bother with the warnings of free radicals and that nonsense, there's just as much in BP. For the record, after 7 years of acne, I'm hoping it does bleach my skin. I'll start a new thread and I'll start updating daily, wish me luck.

I'm posting this here because I believe those considering the wash free regimen are concerned with the same thing, overuse of BP.

@GVG

Yep, I wish you luck!

why dont you just wash your face with the hp without the use of the cleanser? if dan suggest using BP then i dont see why his cleanser should work.

Hey guys...I'm back, lmao.

I told Wapak I was quitting this regimen because I didn't feel it was right for me YET. At age 17, I'm still experiencing hormonal acne as well as stress acne...

But I really didn't ENTIRELY quit, haha.

After about a week of my skin getting worse and worse, I used an exfoliating scrub to get rid of the excess dead skin. I expected redness and irritation but that didn't happen at all!! Since then, and STILL not washing my face, only hair and body, my skin had been clearing up...

I figured, I'll let the pimples that I got doing this regimen heal (because they DO heal MUCH faster on this regimen than any other one I've been on) and then I'll just go back to my old routine. So to help the other breakouts other than the healing skin, I took a napkin or some tissue with Witch Hazel on it, and gently dabbed my trouble areas.

So far, this has been working, but I skipped it last night because I was boxing, and sweating pretty hard. I heard sweat helped, so I didn't wanna get rid of it.

In conclusion...It's obvious this regimen can work for everyone. We really all just need to apply our own modifications as we experiment with it, like with our new poster, he's choosing to do a very personal modifier on this regimen, and I HOOOPE it works wonderfully for him.

So to everyone STILL trying this regimen, KEEP GOING!!! I really thought it wasn't going to work...But now it is. The main thing I like about this regimen is how my complexion looks...I used to hateeee when people told me I looked darker, or tanner...Now it's lightening up, and my skin is clearing as well!!

Good luck to you all!!

this is my second day. i started because i have spring break. yep.

i washed my hair though so some water ran down my face/forehead and that might cause some problems. i have a few pimples that stand out for me. one each on my left and right cheeks. one on my forehead and one on my chin. the one on my chin hurts by itself. the one on my forehead hurts if i touch it and the two on my cheek do not hurt. the rest of my skin just looks like it's filled with clogged stuff. which scares me because i don't want them to become inflamed. they are just like little white heads. my nose has whiteheads. ugh ahha....yeah .... sooo .... thats my update. my skin is itching also.

i'm going to stop washing my hair for a long while. just to see if that helps any.

@Cubed

Have you tried the bending over when you wash your hair? And try to wash your hair at least twice a week. I know it would smell if left longer than that, because I did the same. Though give it a try if you want. There's nothing wrong with that anyway.

@duchamp

Because the skin is too damaged from using all those topicals and to let even the gentlest cleansers touch it will cause irritation. And sometimes even water will irritate that damaged skin. So the aim of doing nothing for 30 days is to recover your healthy skin then using only water as your cleanser when you recover your healthy skin.

I was thinking about this lots today, and was thinking back to about 2 years ago when my face was completely clear (when I was 16 and didn't use anything on my face whatsoever) then I started using this Clean and clear moisturiser, I started getting a spot or two here and there. So I used more of it. then I got onto really cheap cleansers, then I got more spots, then I moved onto a face scrub, then a face wash (both being clearasil) then I tried Freederm which seemed to work alright but nothing amazing and stupidly expensive. Then I started using oxy products, and have been doing so for about half a year and my skin gets less spots I think but I still get 3-5 at the most. Since my acne is mild and I had clear skin before, im convinced this just may work.

My first night of not washing in 2 years....I pray to GOD this eventually pays off. I'll let ya'll know.

I'm giving this a shot as I believe it does have merit.

I'm a guy, I broke out in high school around the normal times (thus probably hormonal at the time), and have gradually progressed in using different and harsher topicals. Back in high school I didn't really think about it much, just showered once a day with soap. I had some acne but otherwise my skin was fine. I'm 21 now and still have mild to moderate acne with very oily skin, and it's gotten much worse in the past 6 weeks. The more topicals I used, the more oily my face has become over the years. I'm at the point where if I shower and scrub with soap, I come out of the shower with ok skin in between the blemishes, but my skin is coated heavily in oil within 15 minutes at the most (NOT good). I also have some back and chest acne, and have been showering twice a day for several months.

I haven't been prescribed anything nor seen a dermatologist (nor do I plan to), but I have used most any OTC product out there, as well as Proactive and a more natural Tea Tree Oil topical and anti-inflammatory oral medication. Proactive actually did work for a while (age 18 until just after turning 20), then started fading in effectiveness for some reason; I got rid of it (which saved $50 a month), and have since been experimenting with different OTC's. The last product I used was Equate Medicated Scrub, which was very harsh (essentially felt like sand). This led to the worst looking skin I've ever had. Blackheads, whiteheads, nodules and cysts, all over my face, most of which took many weeks to heal. I quickly got rid of the Equate scrub and tried a heavy dose of Vitamin A daily; this immediately caused my neck to erupt, and I've never had neck acne in my life. I've since gotten rid of the vitamin A, but now I continue to get huge nodules on my neck that feel like there's a marble under my skin, as well as blackheads and whiteheads.

Hours of research eventually led me here, and it made me remember a time when I was 100% clear for about 3 weeks: January of 2008, I broke my collarbone (was 20 at the time, having been off Proactive for a few months). I was on break from school, so when I broke it I stayed at home for about a month before returning to campus. During the first week, I essentially sat on the couch drugged to hell watching TV. The LAST thing on my mind was my skin, so I did not do anything. I didn't touch it, I didn't shower, I didn't do anything for one week. After that week, I finally showered; I stepped out of the shower and looked in the mirror and was stunned. I was 100% clear after having mild to moderate acne just a week earlier. As my collarbone gradually healed, I began showering a few times a week, eventually making it back to twice a day. As you can probably guess, my acne followed suit and worsened over time.

I'm currently on day 7, having taken a few showers since starting but only getting my face wet once. Normally I have good cheeks, but a very oily forehead and nose, and a somewhat dry chin and jawline, with acne on the T zone and jawline. After 7 days of no washing, my chin and jawline are much better, my nose is about the same (some redness and heavily clogged pores, but little acne), and my forehead no longer has several large blackheads and whiteheads, but seems to have lots of very small white bumps (which might just be dried sebum, but as I have been showering twice daily for many months, I'm not really sure what dried sebum looks like) and some acne. My neck also seems to be getting a little better; no more nodules, and the redness is fading.

My diet is moderately healthy. Tons of fruits, few vegetables, good balance of protein and carbs, little sugar, whole wheat bread/pasta, but maybe a bit too much processed salty foods, like chips and crackers. I also take a b-complex multivitamin (no iodine) and I shave with an electric once every 3 days. I have also noticed somewhat that weight loss my play a small role, as my skin was better when I had a bit of fat on me, but over the last 6 months I've gone from 6' 160 lbs to 6' 143 lbs.

I will probably update every few days, and my goal is 2 months without washing my face besides water from washing my hair. Questions or opinions are welcome.

@ihatespotsdude

Welcome to the club! Keep us posted!

@lewl

I see, in my opinion, I believe your 1 week clearing is due to your recovery system on over drive trying to heal your collar bone which also healed your skin. Because when we don't have anything drastic to heal, our body tends to save energy and our recovery system is not working 100% all the time.

Well, if that is the case, then you will benefit from reading this: Click Here!

Good luck and yeah, keep us updated!

update, day 10:

the most noticeable thing first: my oil production has decreased DRAMATICALLY. Normally both my forehead and nose are dripping oil, but now my forehead is approaching what I would imagine most people enjoy. My nose is still somewhat oily though, if there has been any decrease it's been minimal. My jawline/chin are still not oily.

now concerning dryness/dead skin: my forehead has been slowing but steadily collecting what appears to be a layer of white skin, which is very obvious after I get it wet, but not so much otherwise. Thankfully I've grown my hair out for a few months so it's completely hidden. I'm assuming this is the "dead skin mask" that others have experienced. As such, I'm going to leave it for a few more weeks before removing it to expose healing/healed skin underneath. It is there, but to a lesser degree, on my nose and a bit on my chin, but nothing too bad. I've been forced to remove some of it with a washcloth as I am a student and have small group discussions and things. It's also very very itchy : <

the acne itself: I still have a few actives which have appeared after starting this regimen, but only about 5 or so, as opposed to about 15 before I started. Two on my forehead, one on my upper lip, and two on my chin. I have definitely noticed that they heal faster when I do not touch them nor put any cleanser/lotion/bp on them. My neck has gotten NO new actives since starting, and it is quickly healing overall. My cheeks are also much more naturally colored; they used to be somewhat red all day long.

And I'm enjoying not having to spend time washing and applying creams and such : )

I'm showering about every other day, and when I do I only use soap on my armpits and feet, and some shampoo on my hair (it gets much too greasy otherwise).

It's also getting warmer soon, so as soon as it's warm enough to jog outside I will be doing it about 5 times / week, and I won't be showering afterwards for a while unless it gets really sick/smelly.

I'll probably update around day 15. Looking ok so far

hey lewl, try not washing your face at all, not even water. it speeds up the healing process and water is still irritating/drying. i would introduce water after your face has healed. good luck

Hey, I wanted to ask any of our members that are pretty further along in the regimen...With summer coming up and all, how well does this regimen fare on swimming?

Ocean, pool, lake, springs??

Please let me know when ya can!!

Good luck to all of the new members trying the regimen!!!

HONESTLY, best thing I've ever done for my face.

Hi guys, i have doing this caveman regimen since January the 10th, basicly from then I only let bottled water rinse over my face every 2 weeks. But I was still experiencing acne, especialy after going out drinking.

I am currently on day 19 with no water touching myself at all and no shaving (thats how determined I am for clear skin-I have a beard-basicly so no1 can c the dirt on my face as im a builder lol) Ive also set my excuses for this beard, by betting with my mate that I can last 35 days without shaving- so 35 days will be without water aswel. Bet is A100 lol!I tell you one thing I could never do the bet if I didnt have acne!!

Wapak help!!!!

Question 1. I did 18 days without water touching my face previously, but I had 4-5 bad spots on my forehead within a few days after I only let water run down my face on day 18, so kinda shows that my skin hasnt gained its acid mantle do you agree wapak? I use to take vitamins etc, but I have been off them for 3 weeks now so currently taking nothing at all just eat as much fruit as I can (usualy 4 a day) Ive been through a lot of different topicals in the past including salicic acid, bp,glycolic gel, clearsil gel and taken b5 vitamins and different crappy medications from the doctors!!

Q2. On day 35 I am going to cut all this beard off and hopefully wash my face which I havent done at all since January 10th,(im a builder as you know lol) Do you think il be back where I started?Or do you think my face will be strong enough?Also if you think its a good idea to wash my face with some kind of wash?if so what kind of wash?

Thanks for the help guys including Wapak

MAt

God I'd love to try this but I'm too chicken.

Day 19

-didnt wash face for 15 days, not even water

-face started getting blotchy and dry, so i decided to put on aloe vera gel straight from the plant

Day 20

-took a shower and washed my face with water only

-saw alot of dead skin all over my face except forehead and chin. decided to leave it on longer

-decided to just ditch the aloe vera and wash face with water when dead skin gets messy, which may be once a week

-going to scrape off dead skin in maybe 10-20 more days or when it gets really thick

-so far very pleased with this regimen. the skin underneath the dead skin mask is healing. the parts where i have the dead skin was where my face was most damaged and irritated/red. i never had problems with forehead and chin so therefore i have no dead skin over it.

Day 21

my skin is getting messy because of the dead skin mask. yesterday i washed my face with water in the shower for the first time in 16 days. after i came out of the shower, i saw my face covered in dead skin. i think im going to have to scrape it off this week, possibly today.

edit:

i decided to wash my face with water and scrape off the dead skin mask. however, i faced some complications. when i tried to scrape it off, it would just stick to my skin. so i had to use my hands and rub it all off. now my the skin under the dead skin is real red. *sigh. so i put on some aloe vera on it again. now back to no washing until it builds up again. hope i didnt irritate my skin.

edit#2: the redness died down after a couple hours. the aloe vera helped

Hi guys, i have doing this caveman regimen since January the 10th, basicly from then I only let bottled water rinse over my face every 2 weeks. But I was still experiencing acne, especialy after going out drinking.

I am currently on day 19 with no water touching myself at all and no shaving (thats how determined I am for clear skin-I have a beard-basicly so no1 can c the dirt on my face as im a builder lol) Ive also set my excuses for this beard, by betting with my mate that I can last 35 days without shaving- so 35 days will be without water aswel. Bet is ‚£100 lol!I tell you one thing I could never do the bet if I didnt have acne!!

Wapak help!!!!

Question 1. I did 18 days without water touching my face previously, but I had 4-5 bad spots on my forehead within a few days after I only let water run down my face on day 18, so kinda shows that my skin hasnt gained its acid mantle do you agree wapak? I use to take vitamins etc, but I have been off them for 3 weeks now so currently taking nothing at all just eat as much fruit as I can (usualy 4 a day) Ive been through a lot of different topicals in the past including salicic acid, bp,glycolic gel, clearsil gel and taken b5 vitamins and different crappy medications from the doctors!!

Q2. On day 35 I am going to cut all this beard off and hopefully wash my face which I havent done at all since January 10th,(im a builder as you know lol) Do you think il be back where I started?Or do you think my face will be strong enough?Also if you think its a good idea to wash my face with some kind of wash?if so what kind of wash?

 

Thanks for the help guys including Wapak

MAt

Hey there Mat....I know I'm not Wapak, but I'm gonna try and give you a little of my input and see if that helps =PP

Lots of alcoholic beverages contain HIGH amounts of sugar, so depending on what you're drinking, that could be one of the reasons you're still experiencing break outs. My advice would be to quit drinking for 2-4 weeks and see if your acne doesn't get any better.

What kind of fruits do you usually eat?? I know firsthand oranges clear my skin really well. I've heard the same of apples, but not too big of a fan of 'em..hehe. The fruits are taken to flush your system out, and clean your stomach out, which in turn, will clean your skin. I read an article on one of our beloved Wapak's posts (hahaha) that said if your stomach wasn't being treated well, your skin wasn't going to look good.

➡ Another piece of advice from that article was to eat foods containing olive oil. The oil would lubricate your intestines, making it easier for your system to cleanse itself. This lubrication also caused bowel movements more often, but not the regular that we're used to, haha. It's much more gentle, and your skin really does clear up doing so.

Umm...shaving...HMMM. I thought (I may be wrong) that in order to keep your breakouts in control whilst shaving, you'd have to maintain a regular routine of shaving. Supposedly this would allow your skin to get used to the minor irritation when shaving and you'd gradually breakout less from it. And also, try using an electric shaver, if you can.

As for the washing...I personally have been on this regimen for nearly a month, and I found what works for me is an exfoliating scrub every once in awhile, and sometimes dabbing my face with several cotton balls of Witch Hazel (a natural product). I can't recommend you do this however, because our skin types are most likely not the same...

WHEW. Sorry for the long post...But yea, I really hoped I helped you out.

Again, GOOD LUCK to anyone trying this regimen!!

I've been on it for nearly a month and have only one active white head which will be gone by tomorrow!!

~Shonnie

@carmarthenshire

Shonnie pretty much got it.

Is the acne your still getting is as bad as the one your getting before you tried this? Do they go away faster than before? Did you experience any dead skin buildup? How about reduction on oiliness? On that day 18 you mentioned, what water did you use? That breakout is probably because of that type of water.

After your 35 days, wash your face with bottled water and scrape off any dead skin buildup. That should do it.

Btw, nice bet.

Thank you for all the useful information Shonnie, it has helped, I will try and eat foods with olive oil more often.

Wapakand Shonnie and any1 else please comment!

No my acne isnt half as bad as before, I currently 2smal spots that are healing as we speak. Yes they go away realy quickly, I recently had a pretty big coleslaw (howeva u spell it!!) on my lip and I didnt touch it at all, the scab fell off on its own yesterday after about 7-9days. MY skin is extremely dry but the worst bits is on each side of my nose, sort of just before my cheek, and also in middle of my forehead, its kinda dry yellow dry skin, that looks stuck to the skin,looks dirty mind!!What do you think this is?just dead skin?

I havent seen any oilness at all from january the 10th,some experience eye stinging I havent experienced any oil!!!Why is this?

I used bottled water on day 18, so pretty natural.

I dont think I can just scrape off the dead skin on day 35 wapak as my skin is pretty dirty now as from dust from the building industry. Im thinking of washing my face but leaving my forehead dry if you get me, as I think my forehead needs extra time as its not very flaky at all. Any comments on this and everything else would be suberb EVERYONE!

Cheers Guys

Brilliant help

Mat

Oh, I see. Don't use bottled water then. Try filtered ones. About the worst bits on cheeks and middle of forehead, let them be. They will flake soon. I experienced them too. If you want to use a cleanser then use a goat milk soap. Or the gentlest cleanser you can have. Just don't use a cleanser specifically made for acne or acne prone skin. About the oil, did you experience eye stinging? Do you experience oiliness before when you were not yet into this regimen?

Btw, wait for those worst bits to flake until they are gone before you try to wash. Good luck Mat!

the dry yellow messy skin that is stuck to your skin is most likely the dead skin piled up. if its thick and messy then like wapak said i would scrape it off gently after a shower. then after that, i would continue to not touch/wash your face at all (not even water). this allows your skin to heal.

also if you experience dry skin in general, i would try adding flax seeds (omega 3) in your diet.

I havent used any soap on my face since January 10th, I dont think i can just leave my skin un touched after shaving this beard off (thats in 15days time!) My face is pretty god damn dirty know, I can see if I look carefuly in the mirror, and you definately will see it plain after I shave. What do you think would happen if I wash my face from my nose down, also wash the dry skin in between my nose and cheeks?I never broke out where the dry skin mask is by nose and cheeks, but I did where I have it on my forehead!I guess after 15 days again theres a good chance the yellow dry skin mask would flake ?

No I havent had any stinging at all. I have never realy experienced oily skin ever always use to be dry after a wash (in past) and had to put moisturiser on!

Also would you consider Dan's cleanser gentle enough for the skin?

Thanks for all the support guys, especialy Wapak, Shonnie and rand0m. Everyone is welcome to leave a comment or any useful info.

Mat

no dont use dans cleanser i think it contains bp. and the yellow dry skin mask will not flake on its own, you have to gently scrape it off after you wash your face with water.