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I never go the "mask" that they talk about but that is probably because i wash my face every other day (with only water now)
You're very lucky. I think you get the mask when you go cold turkey. When you use water every other day your skin doesn't freak out on you. I started using water every other day so my face feels more clean. Praying my skin heals by the end of summer 
@ yourworstnightmare
From all the posts so far it seems that the dead-skin mask would fall by itself much earlier than the end of the summer if you don't mess with it at all. Most of the ones that undergone the whole process reported that after the second month of the no-water regimen the dead skin stopped coming back. So don't worry 
Just be strong, stick with the regimen and in the end your persistence will pay off!
This is the fourth day for me and right now I don't have much info for an update - less and less irritation. Only one visible pimple that I would not mess with, a few blocked pores. The rashy shit on my forehead is still there but hey - I've scrubbed it viciously for one year. I'm not expecting that this will resolve so fast. Also, I'm starting to feel that the dead-skin mask is forming on my face, too. This is especially in the places where I'm most oily - the T-zone. I could also report a slight decrease in the overall oiliness of my face. Also, I haven't shaved for maybe ten days and I might consider not shaving for at least a month to ease the healing process as much as I can.
Additionally, I've been reading about how bad shampoos are to our hair and scalp. I will probably abandom them as well and just use baking soda and apple cider vinegar. That does not mean that I would not bath daily 
Still doing that and enjoying it very much!
How all of you guys doing? Give us a report on your condition.
I have quit using shampoos for the most part, I have only used shampoo once since I started doing this. I have been using baking soda and white vinegar, and I tried just seasalt water last night instead of shampoo (I really liked that) it seemed to do a better job than the baking soda
i'm getting that patchy rash thing you guys have been talking about too. i'm pretty sure this occurs when there otherwise would have been a big zit. any thoughts? i wouldn't care too much, i've given up on my appearance, but my face ITCHES jesus
good luck everyone.
i've been on this on and off for the past month and a half. i usually go about a week with no water and then scrub with a wash cloth. i am going to try to go longer w/o washing though. sometimes i get super itchy and scratch some skin off. the dead skin mask is disgusting but i just want my skin to heal underneath.
on the whole, i have seen an improvement. besides the rashes which are kind of strange, my face definitely has calmed down. the redness of zits has definitely decreased. it's hard because i worry that my face is getting clogged and forming new things. but then again, the new things that form are much milder and usually don't come to a huge, pussing, oozing head like they used to when i was washing regularly.
i must add that i have seen VAST improvement on my forehead.
i started a new birth control about 4 months ago and my face went INSANE. i used to NEVER get acne on my cheeks and then stuff started to sprout up everywhere. it calmed down but now i have post inflammatory hyperpigmentation. anyway, my forehead and chin used to be the problems. my forehead with the no water regimen is definitely looking a lot better. my chin on the other hand still has active pimples, but i have noticed with the no wash they tend to disappear within a few days. again, this may be because of the antibiotic (solodyn) which i am just rounding week 5 on.
i really would like to believe in this regimen. the placebo effect alone would do wonders on my anxious mind. i do agree that it probably takes a while for your skin to get used to this radical readjustment. i think clogging at first will be/was a problem. but after a while, i can imagine that our will find its natural rhythm again!
Well my last post was march 25th so after a month and half, my face just doesn't want to cooperate. However I honestly haven't done this thing as hardcore as some other people. I tend to wash my face like once a week with cetaphil and using only water all other times. I went to the Dermatologist and she gave me some Doryx (antibiotic), Acanya and Atralin. Luckily all this was covered by my insurance. However the only thing I am using is the Doryx. I don't even want to start using that other crap on my face. I also bought a blue/red light which seemed to work at first but now only seems to take away 15 minutes of my day. I honestly believe not putting all these chemicals on my face is the best way to go, but I just get so frustrated. It was so awesome when I didn't even have to worry about this stuff. I would go out have fun, come back home brush my teeth and then pass out on the couch. I didn't even think about washing my face back then because it seemed I never really had to. Also I really believe this is an internal problem so anything I do externally probably won't help anyway. GAHHH! Sorry for the long post
Well, i noticed that the deadskin mask isn't getting thicker it's the same as it was about a week and a half ago which is good. My skin doesn't look that bad, its getting better day by day. Its been on my cheeks since early april so i know by september it'll be gone, maybe even earlier. I have a quick question though, when the mask comes off on its own, your skin is healed and wont get the mask again right?
I don't know if i can do this. the dead skin mask is so disgusting. and the skin is red and rashlike it seriously looks so messed up on my face. can anyone verify that if i wait long enough the tender, rashy-like deadskin mask will calm down? i am just worried that at this point if i try to scrape it off it will leave red, raw splotches all over my face. and it's getting rashy where i don't usually have zits which is really discouraging. especially because the skin mask looks like a bumpy patch of zits. i'm freakin out. anyone else going through this? i look like a FREAK
I don't know if i can do this. the dead skin mask is so disgusting. and the skin is red and rashlike it seriously looks so messed up on my face. can anyone verify that if i wait long enough the tender, rashy-like deadskin mask will calm down? i am just worried that at this point if i try to scrape it off it will leave red, raw splotches all over my face. and it's getting rashy where i don't usually have zits which is really discouraging. especially because the skin mask looks like a bumpy patch of zits. i'm freakin out. anyone else going through this? i look like a FREAK
It'll definitely calm down. give it about a few more months, 2-3. i know its disgusting and i know its hard to deal with but its only a few months and then you dont have to deal with it ever again.
I wrote a post here about a month ago (few pages back), just thought I'd give a bit of an update.
Well I can't say that I went the whole month without touching my face. I think that would be impossible, unless I were to stay inside the entire duration. About once a week I would get rid of the dead skin build up using my fingers/fingernails, and once during week 2 I gave my face one quick splash with cold water while in the shower. I don't think I cheated too badly though, and I haven't been keeping track of days so I think I actually went a bit longer than a month.
So during the duration I got about 2-3 big pimples and a lot of little things that went away within 24 hours. Also, during the last week I began to get what would normally have been a giant cyst, but after a day of being really red and painful it just disappeared, amazingly. Every acne sufferer's dream.
Last night I decided to end the experiment and gave myself a really good cold water rinse and rubbed my face real good. Felt soooo good. My skin looked pretty bad after that, red, old pimple spots really noticeable etc., but I kind of expected that. This morning my face retained its non-washed/natural look, but without all the dead skin.
So to conclude, my skin looks way healthier now with a nice glow, old red marks are much less visible, new pimples are very rare, and oiliness is completely under control. Did it cure my acne? No. I'm still going to get pimples now and again and I'll have to deal with it. But after 10 years of acne, this is the best my face has ever been. Now I think I'm just going to give my face a cold rinse whenever I have a shower and leave it at that.
just a suggestion-- if you are going to rub off dead skin, don't use a wash cloth. too harsh! go to whole foods or trader joes and get 'organic' makeup remover (mine is for sensitive and dry skin, with oats). it works much better! it is already moist and its actual job is to remove shit from your face!
Hey guys
It's been a while since my last post. Let me give you an update on my condition.
So after 8-9 days of no washing, my face looked sooooo crappy that I just had to wash it and take off all that dead skin. It needed some adjustment after that cleansing and within the next few days it was quite red. After that period I switched to water only and I've been doing that for the past couple of days.
I don't regret changing the regimen as those ten days were quite beneficial to my skin - first of all the itchiness I had before (even when I used water only) is gone. My skin is smoother and I have less clogged pores. I've also seen an improvement in my forehead and overall I think that my skin will continue to improve even with the water only routine.
That's it for now
Guys, I did the washing my face with water thing for a year or two, let me tell you it's not worth it. I've started using a face wash again and my skin looks clearer already. My acne is minimal now since i'm 22 anyway, but seriously you need to use a face wash.
I'm using clean & clear cream wash btw.. i've used it since high school, it's the best hands down (and cheap!). I also use olay moisturiser which has spf 15 to prevent sun damage too (essential if you have red marks).
Guys, I did the washing my face with water thing for a year or two, let me tell you it's not worth it. I've started using a face wash again and my skin looks clearer already. My acne is minimal now since i'm 22 anyway, but seriously you need to use a face wash.
I'm using clean & clear cream wash btw.. i've used it since high school, it's the best hands down (and cheap!). I also use olay moisturiser which has spf 15 to prevent sun damage too (essential if you have red marks).
Excuse me sir but don't you think that it is possible that the reason your skin began to clear up after a year or two of just washing with water be because you let your skin go natural for so long that after that it actually allowed the medicine in such a cheap product to be absorbed and do its job alot better?
now I don't agree with washing with just water but not washing at all for at lease a week at a time and then washing with a product that is medicated such as the wash you mentioned, sounds pretty healthy to me.
I am doing and experiment anyone can follow me threw my journey to clear skin if you like... Link below copy and paste into your browser.
[topic=] http://www.acne.org/messageboard/Officially-Starting-Re-t268669.html
i have a question for the people who rub the deadskin off. does the deadskin keep coming back each time you rub it off or does it stop coming after a while?
For me it's still coming back but much slower. Since my last post 5 days ago I only just washed my face once again, which was today, simply because I didn't really need to wash it any more than that. Now I'd say after day 3-4 it becomes a bit noticeable (but still not bad). That's a huge improvement compared to my first few days on the regimen where it was easily noticeable even after the first 48 hours. And I'm sure it will continue to improve with time since my face now has ample time to heal between washings, as opposed to me starting off each day by disturbing/destroying the acid mantle.
i have a question for the people who rub the deadskin off. does the deadskin keep coming back each time you rub it off or does it stop coming after a while?For me it's still coming back but much slower. Since my last post 5 days ago I only just washed my face once again, which was today, simply because I didn't really need to wash it any more than that. Now I'd say after day 3-4 it becomes a bit noticeable (but still not bad). That's a huge improvement compared to my first few days on the regimen where it was easily noticeable even after the first 48 hours. And I'm sure it will continue to improve with time since my face now has ample time to heal between washings, as opposed to me starting off each day by disturbing/destroying the acid mantle.
ohh ok cool, thanks for answering the question .
Im thinking ill leave the deadskin alone for the next few months and if i see no improvment, im gonna remove it every few days until it heals that way. also, is your skin raw when you remove the dead skin?