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alright, day 5 (i think)
i rinsed my face for about 5 seconds under cold water for the first time since starting this "do nothing" regimen 5(?) days ago. i have a lot of clogged pores on my nose (i've had them for a while actually) but i'm noticing more clogging on the skin between the nose and cheeks. how long does it take for the skin to clean itself? i also have 4 new pustules on both cheeks but i'm telling myself it's cleaning itself out. hmmm.
I;m day 5 too and today I just popped a cyst that wasn't ready and totally fd up my face. I put BP on it to kill the core, cause I couldn't get it out, and ive never squeezed my face so hard... sigh big mistake. now my face is burnt from the BP and all irratated. Otherwise I'm starting to get a deadskin mask and I really wanna peel it off but I know thats bad. I jus wnat this to end
realone2,your skin doesnt actually clean itself lol its healing itself. it can take a few months to a year depending on your acne. and yes the pustles means its cleaning everything out. good luck!
i meant healing i think:) my skin is really flaky after rinsing it in water this morning and i feel like i need one hell of an exfoliation, so i think i'm going to let it chill a bit for a few days. thanks, good luck to you too!
Dear Cavemen and Cavewomen,
Day 45
So yea, I've been getting a ton of pimples lately. I couldn't figure out the cause, I've been eating as healthy as ever, I exercise everyday, etc. So I decided that the dead skin mask needed to come off.
My skin is ravaged, to say the least.
On the plus side, I figured out that if I get really really close to my webcam I can take a picture with good resolution. Is that good news? lol, here goes:
I really don't know what to do at this point.
My face hasn't looked this bad since high school. Soooooo yea, I'm done with this regimen.
Anyway I've been doing a bit more research on seborrheic dermatitis, and I probably have it. There are numerous causes for it, and one of them is poor skin hygiene (lack of washing face).
So J,
Do you regret going on this regimen and wasting nearly 2 months of your life? - Anonymous
No not at all!!! This regimen was a great experience. Its taught me to stop caring what my face looks like. To just live like I don't have acne, and to stay busy to keep my mind of things of this nature.
If your wondering what regimen I'm going to partake in next. None. I'm not going to have a regimen, I'm just going to use cerave cleanser every few days, whenever I feel like it really... I'll keep the healthy lifestyle up, and I certainly wont go back to topicals.
Peace
j
I've been doing this for about 12 days now, all the while I've been drinking lots of water, eating mostly healthy foods, exercising daily, etc. The first week wasn't bad at all, no new pimples came up or anything, even the oilyness wasn't too bad after the first couple of days. Throughout the second week however, many little whiteheads and odd little red bumps started coming through all over my face. I think my skin is freaking out due to lack of BP, which I've been applying daily for over 6 years. A few days ago, I went on a walk and got caught in the rain, which soaked mainly my forehead, so it broke out with many more little whiteheads. Then yesterday I went skiing and got snowed on, which had a similar reaction but not as bad. Today it seems as though many of the whiteheads and bumps are subsiding, and the dead skin mask is starting to become more apparent, but it's still hard to tell at this point. Either way, it's still better than when I was putting on BP. That kept the overall condition of my face clear, but I would get these huge inflammed cystic-type pimples, which were huge and ugly and would take at least a week to heal the scab. I've noticed without BP, my skin heals much faster. Even though my skin looks rough right now, I feel better knowing it's not dependent on chemicals, which were definitely damaging it more then helping it. If I have to live with acne, I guess that's just the way it'll have to be. It's really not so bad so long as I don't get those huge ones, which I haven't on the two weeks of being on this "no-wash" regimen. I just want to let my damaged skin heal properly, then go from there.
Just to note, my bacne was extremely bad just last Christmas. Then during the year, without doing anything to it (I don't really care as I hide it under a shirt most of the time) it almost completely cleared up all on it's own. I think the acne on my face isn't as bad as it once was either, but while my back cleared up, my face didn't. Perhaps this is due to my applying BP to it so much, perhaps not. The workings of the human body (and especially mine) are too complex for me to comprehend, but I'm determined to see what happens when I allow my skin to heal.
Good luck to all of you trying this. Though this is a hard regimen to endure, may we all find it beneficial in the end.
*sigh*- lapse in judgement, day 7 (or day 1)
i was plucking my eyebrows (i'm female 
) and little flakes of dead skin were coming off with every. single. hair. so, i decided i should maybe exfoliate in the shower.
bad life decisions.
then instead of a few bigger flakes, my whole face was covered in little flakes after exfoliating. i then had to moisturize because it felt so rough.
i will not be doing that again. evidently, doing nothing is better than exfoliating with st. ives exfoliant. sad day.
*sigh*- lapse in judgement, day 7 (or day 1)
i was plucking my eyebrows (i'm female
bad life decisions.
then instead of a few bigger flakes, my whole face was covered in little flakes after exfoliating. i then had to moisturize because it felt so rough.
i will not be doing that again. evidently, doing nothing is better than exfoliating with st. ives exfoliant. sad day.
Why can I not find any info about not washing skin on the net? It's like no one has ever done it before. Every time I do a search the only real result is this thread and others on this site!
I have so many questions but can't find the answers.
I have been doing this for almost 2 weeks and my face looks great but I am now getting the odd spot here and there.
My neck and shoulders have acually got worse in these last 2 weeks but I don't know if its going to settle back down?
I really miss having a shower, it's so cold here and I really want a nice hot bath with just hot water and no soap to relax but I can't if I want to get anywhere with this.
But does it mean I can never have a bath in water again? I can never go swimming again? What about when it rains? If I get rained on will everything go back to sqaure one?
I don't understand how this method can be practical in the long run?
Does anyone understand it better?
Something dawned on me last night. I was looking up on sebum and I found out things I didn't understand before. If you tell any norm that you are not going to wash anymore they would think you mad. Most people tell you that you need to wash off the bacteria from your skin and hair or you will get sick. But while looking into sebum I realised that sebum is our natural defense. It moisterises skin and hair keeping it from drying and becoming cracked, it makes us waterproof and it actually protects agains bacteria and other microrganisms.
Now unless Im getting this completely wrong it seems that washing the sebum off our skin and hair is what is doing all the damage! Now I always though something was wrong with my body because it created acne, now I am not so sure. Could it be that my body is completely healthy and acne is simply a REaction to over washing and removing the sebum? I always though my body was broken but maybe I'm causing the acne by messing up what my body naturally needs to have on the skin.
No one seems to know the reason for acne or how to cure it, and you always hear people say the medical companys are scaming us out of money when they make us buy these over priced acne washes and what not when in actual fact washing is the only thing that is causing acne!
I don't know if any of that is true because you wonder 'well if washing causes acne then why doesn't everyone have it?'
I have no idea. I would love to know why some have acne and some don't, what makes us different from normal skin people? What is it exactly that is so different in our bodies that some can wash all they want and eat what they want and do what they want without ever having acne but the rest of us can't do a damned thing?
*sigh*- lapse in judgement, day 7 (or day 1)
i was plucking my eyebrows (i'm female
bad life decisions.
then instead of a few bigger flakes, my whole face was covered in little flakes after exfoliating. i then had to moisturize because it felt so rough.
i will not be doing that again. evidently, doing nothing is better than exfoliating with st. ives exfoliant. sad day.
Why can I not find any info about not washing skin on the net? It's like no one has ever done it before. Every time I do a search the only real result is this thread and others on this site!
I have so many questions but can't find the answers.
I have been doing this for almost 2 weeks and my face looks great but I am now getting the odd spot here and there.
My neck and shoulders have acually got worse in these last 2 weeks but I don't know if its going to settle back down?
I really miss having a shower, it's so cold here and I really want a nice hot bath with just hot water and no soap to relax but I can't if I want to get anywhere with this.
But does it mean I can never have a bath in water again? I can never go swimming again? What about when it rains? If I get rained on will everything go back to sqaure one?
I don't understand how this method can be practical in the long run?
Does anyone understand it better?
Something dawned on me last night. I was looking up on sebum and I found out things I didn't understand before. If you tell any norm that you are not going to wash anymore they would think you mad. Most people tell you that you need to wash off the bacteria from your skin and hair or you will get sick. But while looking into sebum I realised that sebum is our natural defense. It moisterises skin and hair keeping it from drying and becoming cracked, it makes us waterproof and it actually protects agains bacteria and other microrganisms.
Now unless Im getting this completely wrong it seems that washing the sebum off our skin and hair is what is doing all the damage! Now I always though something was wrong with my body because it created acne, now I am not so sure. Could it be that my body is completely healthy and acne is simply a REaction to over washing and removing the sebum? I always though my body was broken but maybe I'm causing the acne by messing up what my body naturally needs to have on the skin.
No one seems to know the reason for acne or how to cure it, and you always hear people say the medical companys are scaming us out of money when they make us buy these over priced acne washes and what not when in actual fact washing is the only thing that is causing acne!
I don't know if any of that is true because you wonder 'well if washing causes acne then why doesn't everyone have it?'
I have no idea. I would love to know why some have acne and some don't, what makes us different from normal skin people? What is it exactly that is so different in our bodies that some can wash all they want and eat what they want and do what they want without ever having acne but the rest of us can't do a damned thing?
hi! i have to say i think some of it is genetic, both my parents had acne as teenagers, though my dad always told me to just stop washing my face, smart man. I feel like society today like you said wants to scam us into buying anything and making a buck off us at our own expense, ie fast food, stuff like that. how did people survive in the past without showering? i can honestly say that most people i've talked to that have clear skin don't do anything to it. or they wash with a mild cleanser.
i think it would be ok for you to get wet, just not on a day-to-day basis. i still shower everyday, though i don't have body acne, but i think you should be ok, there's nothing wrong with water, it's everything else that irritates.
that's interesting about sebum, i've been meaning to look that up for a few days lol.
best of luck!
i wish i had the guts to do this - i mean my sister, wears make-up never washes her face. She just splashes water on her skin at night and her skin is perfect... i mean perfect. She doesnt even get black heads. My boyfriend used to wash his face every day and he always looked really oily and spotty on his face with the occassional few pimples, stopped and he never gets a pimple and the texture of his skin is amazing- and not to mention about 15 friends that I know do not use a face wash, just water in the shower and splash water on there face at night. I wish you all the best of luck with this process... The way my face looks now I really dont think this will do it but maybe after i get it under control Ill test it out...
I'm on Day 8 or so of not washing my face, and am experiencing a bad breakout and seriously dry skin. Things were great for a week, but now I'm kinda freaking out. This regimen is hard when your skin is seriously prone to scarring.
I'm on day 15, and it was the same for me. The first week was fine, then the second week came and my skin went through a sort of "purging", at least I hope that's what happened. Suddenly there were tiny pimples all around, coming through with a vengeance. It was weird, my forehead and right cheek had the most, there were a few on my nose and chin, whereas my left cheek and mustache area was almost completely clear. Usually it's more like the opposite. But either way, my skin is calming down a lot now, so hopefully it's starting to get used to this, and can begin healing. The dead skin mask isn't obvious yet, but if I scratch certain areas of my face, there's usually some dead skin on my fingernail. I feel quite nasty, but it seems to be important to go through this for a few months in order to heal from years of chemical damage. Even if my skin isn't perfect when it does heal. I've noticed a significant increase in the healing time since I've stopped using BP, and even though the pimples are more frequent, they're way smaller that the big ones I'd still get while using it.
Ah I know those tiny pimples you are experiencing.. those are the rashlike things I also got sometime in that regimen.. Don't worry those will dry up then scab then fall off leaving healthy smooth skin.
Good to hear. Actually it was your log that inspired me to do this in the first place, so if it works out, I'll have you to thank. Even if it doesn't, I'm glad to be off of unnatural methods of treatment that only mask the true, underlying problems. At least it'll push me to get to the root of this, once and for all.
Anyways, after I wrote that last night, I poured some distilled water just over my forehead. It remains as the worst area on my face right now, and so I decided it couldn't get any worse by doing so. If it did get much worse, I figured I could just wear a beanie for a while to cover it up. But actually it stayed pretty much the same, no new breakouts, and feels and looks a bit cleaner too. I'll still have to wait and see to be sure, but I figured I'd see how it reacts compared to the other areas of my face which haven't been washed in weeks. The other areas are taking care of themselves, so I'll let my skin do it's thing for a few more weeks before introducing any more water to it. That is, of course, if the weather doesn't do it first. I like to ski and so if it's snowing/raining when I go up, I can't really avoid getting my face wet.
Acne, as much as we all hate it, does make life kinda interesting.
K so its day 11 for me and last night I couldn't handle the deadskin so I rubbed off all the build up on my beard area because I'm going to shave there anyways, sooo much skin came off it was disguisting, so tonight i'm going to rub off the rest of the build up all over my face. I can't see how this would hurt, as it's already deadskin and just bound to your face. I'm not sure if I'm going to continue with this regimen or go back to retin-a. I'm seeing my derm on the 22nd so i'll see what he has to say. I got a pretty bad breakout on day 9 so i felt the deadskin would only conitinue to clog more pores. I'm going to wash my face with soap tommorow. im so excited!
I'm on Day 8 or so of not washing my face, and am experiencing a bad breakout and seriously dry skin. Things were great for a week, but now I'm kinda freaking out. This regimen is hard when your skin is seriously prone to scarring.
I'm on day 15, and it was the same for me. The first week was fine, then the second week came and my skin went through a sort of "purging", at least I hope that's what happened. Suddenly there were tiny pimples all around, coming through with a vengeance. It was weird, my forehead and right cheek had the most, there were a few on my nose and chin, whereas my left cheek and mustache area was almost completely clear. Usually it's more like the opposite. But either way, my skin is calming down a lot now, so hopefully it's starting to get used to this, and can begin healing. The dead skin mask isn't obvious yet, but if I scratch certain areas of my face, there's usually some dead skin on my fingernail. I feel quite nasty, but it seems to be important to go through this for a few months in order to heal from years of chemical damage. Even if my skin isn't perfect when it does heal. I've noticed a significant increase in the healing time since I've stopped using BP, and even though the pimples are more frequent, they're way smaller that the big ones I'd still get while using it.
Did you stop washing and using topicals cold turkey? My forehead is getting hit the hardest as well, and it is usually the clearest area (thank God for bangs). It's good to know that other people pushed through some form of "purging" when starting this. Unfortunately, I'm still getting some big zits as well as the swarm of tiny ones like you got, but I'd be getting about the same amount when using a topical cream and washing so why bother?
EDIT: Just had a serious breakdown and scraped all of the dead skin off of my chin. The skin underneath is smooth aside from indented scars, and pink. Hope that is a good sign. I don't have dead skin elsewhere on my face, though.
so day 12? I just washed my face for the first time and it felt soooooo good. I first rubbed off the dead skin with my finger that was oily and it just slid right off. Then i steamed my face preparing for a shave. THen I shaved (where ever I shave is always so clear) then i took a bath and washed with olive oil all over, including my face.. and I feel so good now. My skin on the other had is worse than it was 12 days ago, but feels great
But oh well, I know most people don't give a shit about things as superficial and uncontrollable as acne. You just have to try and have an extra good personality to make up for it, which might be a blessing in disguise for some people.
I've found this to be the case as well. People tend to be more off-put by the self-consciousness and insecurity that some people with acne project than the acne itself.
Sounds like this no-washing business is going well for you. Great! It's a nice feeling to not have to slather chemicals on your face everyday, that's for sure. :)
But oh well, I know most people don't give a shit about things as superficial and uncontrollable as acne. You just have to try and have an extra good personality to make up for it, which might be a blessing in disguise for some people.I've found this to be the case as well. People tend to be more off-put by the self-consciousness and insecurity that some people with acne project than the acne itself.
Sounds like this no-washing business is going well for you. Great! It's a nice feeling to not have to slather chemicals on your face everyday, that's for sure. :)
Very nice. My skin is getting better day by day. I still get the occasional zit, but my skin deals with it so much better on it's own than when I was applying BP. I'd still like to figure out a good natural healer to spot treat with, just to help them along. If anyone has any suggestions, your input would greatly be appreciated. Turmeric juice seems to be highly recommended, but I've yet to try that.
The dead skin mask isn't flaking very much yet. It's really stuck to the skin, you can't even see it but I know it's there. Hopefully it will start peeling soon. I can't wait till I can introduce water back to my face. It will be better than Christmas!
Very nice. My skin is getting better day by day. I still get the occasional zit, but my skin deals with it so much better on it's own than when I was applying BP. I'd still like to figure out a good natural healer to spot treat with, just to help them along. If anyone has any suggestions, your input would greatly be appreciated. Turmeric juice seems to be highly recommended, but I've yet to try that.
The dead skin mask isn't flaking very much yet. It's really stuck to the skin, you can't even see it but I know it's there. Hopefully it will start peeling soon. I can't wait till I can introduce water back to my face. It will be better than Christmas!
I wouldn't recommend Turmeric juice if you have fair skin, as it leaves a lovely yellow stain that can be hard to remove without irritating the skin. At least that's what I found. Have you tried a dab of tea tree oil? Sulfur is good for spot treatment as well. Both tend to dry pimples out.
How do you know you have a dead skin mask if you can't see it? I can't tell if I have one yet. My skin is just getting these weird red and brown blotchy patches and some flakes here and there.