Acne.org Products
Okay, so I am new as a member, but I have spent the last 4 days reading all 60 pages of this thread (I know, I have no life, lol). I am currently on day 3 of this regimen, but will be stopping tomorrow for a couple reasons I will explain later. I have spend the past few days observing the changes in my face from day 1 up until day 3 (I know what you all are thinking--not enough time, but you will see later on) and thought I would post this in case it helps anybody--or if this thread is dead, idk.
Day 1: I was sure to exfoliate my skin the night before to ensure a squeaky clean start and so that there would be zero makeup and other gunk stuck in my pores, but this obviously increased the oil production the next day. Fine. My face was VERY oily the next day, my forehead contributing to most of the oil production. What was weird though was the fact that the oil kinda sat on the surface and my face still felt kinda tight. My face looked red and irritated where my spots were and my cheeks were pink, but, by the end of the day, some of my color had returned. My face was still pretty oily when I went to bed.
Day 2: Observing my face, the oil production had gone down somewhat and the irritation had decreased, so my cheeks were not pink, but my blemishes were still red. Showed that night and washed my hair, making sure not to get water on my face--somewhat impossible--still got splashed, but let it air dry and didn't disturb the oil layer. Otherwise no change.
Day 3: Significantly less oil, just mainly on forehead and inner cheek, but everywhere else looked matte. The redness had gone down significantly and the postules (sp?) started to dry up. Around 7:00pm, my face was itchy around my nostrils and so when I scratched it with my (probably dirty) pinky nail, I saw flakes. Then I tried to get them off and ended up creating more flakes around my entire face. So I got some toilet paper and balled it up and stared to rub the flakes away gently. This though absorbed the oil and my entire face was matte. I was expecting my face to get super oily again, but it is 5 hrs later, and my face is still matte (woohoo!) and is no longer tight after the flakes were removed.
My reason for quitting this is because I was doing a ton of reading about the pH/acid mantle/cleansers because I was curious as to why this all works. I'm sure a lot of you guys and gals did a lot of reading like this as well, because we are all nerds right? lol 
so I won't go into detail about all of that, but I will say that you don't necessarily have to go without washing. The key is to find a cleanser with the same pH as your skin. This is one reason why Cetaphil is recommended by so many dermatologists--because it has a similar pH to the skin, thus it doesn't strip the acid mantle. I did some research on some other cleansers like this, and the only other on the seemed worth trying was the Neutrogena Extra Gentle Facial Cleanser. I think using one of these cleansers should prevent the "dead skin mask" which seems like a continuous problem. I might also add that what I read also said that even splashing water on your face alters the pH of your skin which is why the original regimen calls for not allowing ANY water to touch it.
Now, after that long explanation, I will explain my plan after this short experiment. Since I do enjoy wearing makeup, I plan to only clean my face once a day at the end with Neutrogena cleansing cloths to take the makeup off. That will be it--no rinsing. It might sound gross and unhygenic, but after 3 days of not washing my face, I don't think it even compares, jk, jk... yeah....I'm glad I did this whole thing in the end, even thought I didn't leave my house for 4 days, lol, since I'm so embarrassed by my no-makeup-face. Hopefully my oil production stays like this because is awesome not having an oil slick on my face, but if my face ever gets worse, I'm returning to this regimen, and from now on, I am sticking only to pH balanced cleansers!
Anyway, that is my long explanation as to why I'm stopping this regimen if anyone bothers to read this ultra long post. I know this thread really helped me and if my post helps anyone else at all, I will be happy. If your curious, I'm an 18 year-old girl and have had acne since 6th grade. I've been on a sh*t load of acne medications before and finally quit every prescription last September and only used OTC stuff, and random cleansers. My acne wasn't bad to begin with, but yeah, after starting medications, it steadily got worse. Then oral antibiotics cleared it up, and when I stopped those, all hell broke loose. I have tried every diet, cleanse, you name it--probably everyone on this website has a similar story to mine so ill stop there. I'm going to college starting next September, so I want my acne to clear up before starting (that would be a dream come true!). Anyway, feel free to ask any questions, i don't know when I'll check back--might be a week, month, or year idk....yeah...kinda lazy like that lol. Take care everyone --smiles!
Hi there
So it has been two weeks now. My skin looks the best it has ever been. In about week and a half I built up some dead skin, not much so it didn't look all that bad. One thing I find hard to stop doing is picking my face when I am stressed so that's what i did about two days ago - I scratched my face all over with my nails, scraped all the dry skin off. I was very much surprised to find my face looking pretty good next morning. No dead skin so far. My face looks better and better every day. Dark post acne spots are fading. I still have little bumps along the hair line and behind my ears - they have been there even before I started the regimen. They might be aggravated by shampoo foam, that is why I gave up shampoo couple days ago - I am using an egg yolk with honey to wash my hair. I should say it works pretty good besides I noticed that I stopped loosing hair like crazy, so my hair might be as well sensitive to cleansers. Thinking back now I realize that in 10 years my hair went from very think and curly to very thin and frizzy. I should say I have always been loosing a lot of hair. But that's away from the topic
As for my face: I wash once a day with tap water, no lotion needed since my skin is oily( not as horribly oily as it was with cleansers). I use mary kay mineral powder foundation some blush and mascara (only when I go out, not every day). I remove mascara with coconut oil, the rest of the make up - with water. I also use a SPF moisturized for oily skin when I have to spend some time in the sun.
That's about it
I will try and stop by to let you know what's happening with my face a coupls weeks later.
Good luck to all of you:)
And by washing my face I mean rinse it with water when taking a shower.
One more thing that makes me happy in this regimen is my lips - they are never dry anymore. I used to have dry chopped lips as long as remember, no lipstick looked good on those lips and no balms helped. I was always so jealous of everyone around me with nice silky lips. This problem is gone and I hope for good:)
This is INGENIOUS. I have not washed my face four days, and already the results are significant. It's crazy that the whole time I have been scrubbing my face vigorously for over four years only to discover that it was the washing that led to my downfall. Makeup, facial washing products, and acne meds seem to only make it worse. But as for my back and chest, using meds does actually helps- but my face is another story. My skin may look a little, well, not so glowing, but at least it is free from the always present, gigantic Rushmore- shaped pimple (or pimples) that appear. I was afraid to try this because I thought it would make it worse, but now I'm convinced that it will help me. I'll update you with the progress in a month or so. Be patient! The only things I use are moisturizer (like a suncreen), acne pills, acne cream- for my back and chest- and for my arms- not acne, but a condition that causes little red bumps to appear. Very treatable- you guys might want to try it- 85% of teens have this. Use Tretinoin cream- that's what I was using for my face. DO NOT USE ACCUTANE. I don't care what they say- that drug is a killer. I just read a special article about how multiple teens JUMPED OFF BRIDGES, HUNG THEMSELVES, ETC. just because they were traumautized by their acne and wanted a quick fix. (No, committing suicide will not solve this problem. And if your acne is that bad, I feel for- really, I do. Because people cannot see the real you when it's hidden beneath acne scars, blemishes, and pimples.) Best of luck. <3, K
and how does this work when you have to shave everyday and sweat alot from training ??
looks interresting as i never ever wash my forehead and it s baby smooth ... but everywhere else i m washing is where i do break out...mmmmm...
thanks !
I am exactly the same way, which is why I am not washing my face anymore. I have a friend who has completely clear skin and I asked him how he washes his face. His response "I don't, I just shower." Then I asked him if he lathered up his body wash on his face or anything, and he said no. SO, makes you think a little bit doesn't it?
I've been doing this for now, well over a month. It has definitely been a rocky road, but it feels so much better to not rely on products. Something as simple as washing my face at a friend's house was such a hassle. At the time, I was pretty heavy on the products (I even resorted to using lemons), which would've been embarrassing to take over to a friends house. The pimple problem has definitely slowed down. I do still break out, though they heal a lot quicker.
One problem I'm still facing is just uneven skin tone. 
I'm actually stuck on this one and have no idea how to remove the problem without resorting to products (which this routine doesn't favour). I should probably add that I do not use anything on my face, I simply rinse it with water morning and night and it does get wet in the shower.
Something as simple as washing my face at a friend's house was such a hassle. At the time, I was pretty heavy on the products (I even resorted to using lemons), which would've been embarrassing to take over to a friends house.
Lol oh god YES. I hate this. Bringing over my huge bag of skin care items and disappearing in the bathroom for a half an hour washing my face and putting on creams and lotions while my flawless skin friends sleep in their makeup... fun times.
So, I'm back with depressing news. My skin is just continually going downhill. I don't know what to do anymore. I can honestly say that my forehead is worse than when I started the water only routine. I am so sick of waking up with new problem areas and I really have been frightened to look at myself in the mirror. It sucks. Even if I am on a routine that supposedly puts acne in the back of one's mind by not doing anything, it is always on my mind. I'm sick of the ups and downs and I am sick of having my mood dictated by how my skin looks that morning.
I'm going to give this a few more days, but I can see myself giving up soon.
Thanks. I was just thinking... I remember back in high school having a conversation with some friends about washing your face, I said I didn't wash my face, and they said if I don't I'll get pimples, so I started. It was a long time ago so can't remember how long after it was, but I ended up getting acne at some point not too long after I started washing.
I just started doing only water in the morning, this is my 4th day. This morning it was was drier around my mouth and cheeks but my foreheads and sides of my nose are still oily. One thing I noticed is that the texture of my forehead is really rough, I'm guessing this is dead skin? Doesn't dead skin clogging your pores create breakouts? So how would you get rid of all the dead skin without exfoliating or washing? Also, I was curious if blotting the oil with tissue has an adverse effect. Are you supposed to let the oil soak into your skin to repair the mantle?
After much debates, I've decided to continue the routine. It's been roughly a month and three weeks now, I'd hate to give in defeated. All things come to an end (...right?). I probably wouldn't advise this routine for anybody who is a control freak, seriously...possibly the hardest thing I've done! My skin/ appearance is such a high priority in regards to my everyday life (sadly), it's just stripping that back and literally not doing anything that is the hardest. Admittedly, throughout I have spot treated with calamine lotion for any serious whiteheads. It makes me feel a little bit at ease.
My forehead, which has gone through stages of looking worse than when I actually started seems to be on the mend. In general, the skin everywhere is a lot more uneven and redder than when I started. I'm not sure why, but take away any uneven complexion (asking for a lot here), my skin would look incredible. So far I've got a few dried up whiteheads. I don't pick, UNLESS it is an extremely obvious whitehead and I plan on going out (thankfully these don't come too often). The skin around my nose, that is a few centimetres outwards is probably the most consistently irritated. I think it might be dry, which is the cause of an influx of lurkers.
Must...continue.
Lame! Your adjustment seems to be taking a while. How were you washing your face for these past 6-7 weeks? It could just be that because you didn't keep it consistent the whole time that it is taking a while to resolve. Are you at all attempting to exfoliate and such? I think I'm a bit more red than when I started, but I also take really hot showers now, and am often overheated due to the weather. When I was working out I was less flushed, so I think that contributes. The redness is almost identical though, I think I view it as worse because of my red marks.
No, it's been relatively consistent throughout. I started off washing it with water in the morning, having a shower around 6pm and rewashing whenever I went to bed (usually 11pm). Now, I just wash in the morning and use my night wash as the shower one. So, instead of 3 washes I'm doing 2. I am dying to exfoliate, but I haven't for the whole time I've been on the routine.
I could understand if the transition was slow for somebody who was using BP and the works, but I wasn't. I was using a gentle cleanser morning and night and that's all. 
Maybe your skin is taking longer to adjust because you've been washing it more often than I do. I just do it once a day. I was only using a gentle cleanser last year when I first did this. Seemed that the more often I'd try to wash my face, the longer it took to look good.
So you mean currently you're only wetting it once a day? Was that morning or night?
Yeah, I just get it wet once a day, currently whenever I shower in the evening. Once my skin adjusts to it, I'll likely be able to get it wet without issue however often it gets wet, like when I was younger. I could easily spend the whole day in the water and not have any issues.
Ah, that's interesting. The past week I had been considering skipping the water wash in the mornings, mainly because there is an hour after wetting it my skin just looks red, dry and disgusting. In the back of my mind I was thinking "WHAT WOULD ASHLEY DO?" Interesting you say that though, I think I might keep the washing in the shower too.
Ah, that's interesting. The past week I had been considering skipping the water wash in the mornings, mainly because there is an hour after wetting it my skin just looks red, dry and disgusting. In the back of my mind I was thinking "WHAT WOULD ASHLEY DO?" Interesting you say that though, I think I might keep the washing in the shower too.
This is exactly the case with me, even though I have been doing this only for 12 days. But earlier, for a month, I was still on water only-with cheating(natural products) and sometimes, I used very extreme stuff as well, offcourse natural, but extreme( lets not talk about that blunder).
But yes, my face is a lot redder than when I started. The problem is, if I take hot showers, my face becomes red and dry after an hour, but if I wash with little warm towards cold water, my face doesnt become red. But then, if I used warm or cold water, I feel dirty after 4-5 hours of washing the face...
I left BP long time ago, and even I used a gentle cethaphil cleanser day and night, and my face looked nice, not awesome, but nice..But now, its so red, its more red than a person who may be using 10% BP.
Hi,
I've just hit upon this thread in a moment of curiosity. I'm in total agreement with some of the previous posters and I'd like to add my thoughts/experiences...
Firstly my best advice for fellow sufferers..:
DON'T DO ANYTHING TO YOUR SKIN.
Why? Well briefly, I'm a 31 year old guy and I once had mild to moderate acne - particularly during my late teens but I am still prone. However, years ago I found a 'solution', and a very simple one as it turned out! I would still (and still do) get the occasional spots, but not upsetting 'acne' in the way I once did. At times this was quite debilitating for me and it ruined my self image and my social life. My reaction to getting spots was always to follow the standard advice and cover myself in products such as pore cleansers and BP, with plenty of washing with soaps and then the use of moisturisers to follow. The spots would only ever seem to get worse, with brief interludes such as during the summer holidays. For years I was constantly looking for new products/regimes that might do the job better -but in the end all this actually did was exacerbate the acne. I now realise that over-washing was actually the main cause of my problem skin. And looking back, I remember that my worst suffering friends seemed to use gallons of BP and other chemicals which one could smell a mile away!
The solution was not instant but highly effective, as others have found... Leave your skin well alone, let it look after itself and, eventually, it will naturally heal and revert to its natural, balanced state. In it's natural state the skin is, on the whole, free of debilitating acne.
This was all years ago but I am still prone to breakouts if I wash my skin too much and strip it. I found that by not washing my face (except to remove obvious dirt!), and by not using any products on my face or back, except very occasional mild moisturisers when very dry (such as in the winter), my skin would, simply, look after itself. My regime is/was that simple - to use only a splash of water to my face when in the shower, if at all, and use soap only the sweaty areas of the body (armpits, groin, feet, hands/wrists and neck). Anything more will irritate my skin, including my back. This took a while for me to accept. Especially as it takes a while (weeks) for the skin to recover from over-washing, regain its own balance and heal. The best soap I found for my body is a very mild shower gel containing tea tree oil, and used with great moderation. For shaving, I use an electric razor - again, wet shaving will strip my skin of it's own defensive layers and the result will, invariably, be spots.
The above now seems common sense to me (in hindsight!) but I think the problem lies with it going against our instinct to want to interfere and 'make' things better. Oil and dead skin looks 'dirty'', particularly on the face, so one tries to wash away the problem and feel 'clean'. When then acne then worsens, products tempt us with their quick chemical 'fixes'.
Nobody fully understands the highly complex interactions of bacteria, however what we do know is that we have evolved with a skin that has it's own methods of growing, defending and healing itself. The skin is a complex organ which (in it's natural state) is surrounded by vast numbers of naturally occurring bacteria, only some of which are known about. The interactions of these bacteria, along with the chemicals naturally produced by your skin (including sebum), effect to defend and maintain the skin in a healthy state. Of course, it is natural for the skin to react to irritations/pollutants, invasive (bad) bacteria and clogged pores by forming spots but these are, in the vast majority of cases, part of a natural self-healing process and are best left alone... Which of course is the hardest thing!
The more I think about it, the more obvious this seems. As others have said, and I am only repeating, travel abroad to a third world country - one where people have little water to wash with and even fewer chemical cleansers to use, and what do you find? Most people tend have very good skin, if sometimes a little weather worn! Their skin might look oily but rarely do they have bad acne.
I think the best 'solution' (for most people with mild to moderate acne at least), is to go back to basics, resist temptation and leave well alone. That's the hardest thing (I know from experience). The long-term approach is always best and your skin will improve on its own. Besides all the other obvious advice as to living a healthy, active lifestyle and eating well.. And I'm sorry if any of the above comes across a bit 'preachy'.
Tom
Tom, I definitely think you're right. My acne has been getting progressively worse the past two years, and although I definitely feel like stress and hormones are also a factor, I also know that washing my face with harsh cleansers and such is not helping. I was browsing the internet and saw this thread, so I decided to join and try it! So, i'm on day 2 of this no face washing 'routine'. My face actually feels really good, not too oily- and my old spots are healing nicely. I'm excited to see how this goes.
I had been using honey to wash my face twice a day for almost 2 weeks, but I kept breaking out throughout. I am kind of hoping that I was just purging old spots at that time, so that it didn't go completely to waste so to speak. I decided to stop washing my face (after a few days I plan to use just water) to make sure I wasn't further irritating it. I think the two weeks of honey helped adjust my skin to not using products and made me less oily in the long run, so i'm hoping this turns out really well. 
I'm also trying to stop using shampoo, so i'm also seeing how that goes!
Hah, the experiments I try when I have too much free time during summer vacation. 
I'm hoping that my skin at least improves (or at the verrrryy least, doesn't get worse) before I start college in the fall!
Yeah, I decided to splash some water on my face, and will probably keep doing that once a day or whenever I shower or something. My skin isn't bad to start, but i've had an increasing amount of breakouts the past couple years, and I found they've been taking a lot longer to heal and are now leaving marks. So I think this will help!
Yeah, i've been using water 1-2 times a day now. Ugh though, I cracked a little and put moisturizer on this morning. My spots were just so irritated from being dry, because I would usually moisturize like twice a day. Hopefully i'll resist doing that again, and my skin will slowly adjust to just water.
Right now I look absolutely awful, and it's a bit disheartening. I was dragged shopping yesterday, and those bright fluorescent lights made me feel like shit. My spots were from before I started this regimen at least, besides a few small ones along my hair line, but I can tell i'm going to purge or break out around my nose and jaw line soon. :/
Ehh also, quick question... it seems like i'm breaking out all around my face, but not with big zits or anything. Like, areas where my skin is clogged or has bumps under the surface or blackheads and such I have some of those tiny red spots or small whiteheads. So my skin looks pretty bad right now, especially considering I usually have pretty clear skin inbetween breakouts. This is probably normal right? Like..it should eventually clear up? I do want to get rid of the crap under the surface, but i'm also kinda afraid that this isn't going to stop!
I probably just need to relax, right? It kind of makes sense to me that it would get worse before it gets better. I don't know.