Acne.org Products
So ive basically altered this regimen to only washing my face once a day (before work/social outings) and have seen improvements.
My main acne probs are around my chin line, cheek bone area, and sometimes outer cantus of eyebrows.
Day 1
Didnt wash face entire day. Pretty oilly face throughout day. @ end of day 1, did feel like 2-3 day old acne was clearing up. when showering, tried to avoid getting water to face by washing hair w head tilted back. (i HAVE to wash hair everyday unless i want to walk around w that hair BO smell). Note: didnt wash face today AT ALL.
Day 2
Same oiliness as day 1, but some of the more dried acne and dried up blood from prior pimple popping (which ive stopped since on this regimen) has started to see signs of wanting to slough off ma face. Note: still didnt wash face
and NO new breakouts
Day 3-5
Day 3 was the first day i washed face and have continued to do so since (once a day only due to social/work obligations). Forehead is area of most oil production, but has been look great since this regimen (then again, havent had acne there for months) By end of day 5, ive noticed with every wash of my face, face has been less oily..nice... Still no new acne. A little itchy though in areas of more oiliness.
Day 6-8
Cheek and chin areas are less red, but became quite dry by day 7. So dry that ive purposefully did not wash there for 2 full days and theyve been just as dry with considerable flaking...looks like all the dead skin is trying to come off, but its kinda tough since some areas are more prone to pick than others...like, they're there popping out saying "HELP ME COME OFF" but ive only picked out the ones i can rub off with my fingers, applying small pressure (just as much as if u lightly scratch an itch...if they cant come off with this pressure, i dont even pursue it). Sweated PROFUSELY in 2hr indoor soccer game. Let the sweat air dry and did not wash face til next daY b4 work. Still no breakouts yay
Day 7
3 new breakouts. Im certain its from the pullups i did @the park since my hoodie's metal zipper brushed vs face a bunch of times...broke out a few hrs after that... one breakout on each side of my chin and one of my cheek. Also, almost certain the moment of relapse from a redtube session last week stirred up my hormones to new acne prone heights. However, the areas around my new breakouts are pretty smooth and clean looking...
[Note: im 100% convinced masturbation has a major part in having individuals more prone to breakouts. For me atleast, when "it happens", the next morning, i kno i will pay the consequences with atleast 1-2 new breakouts. Those heal after a fww days. A week later, i'll get 1-2 new ones; maybe 2-3 other new ones by week 3. Atleast from my male prespective, ive noticed it takes my face a good 3-4 weeks of recovery and not masturbating to go bak to what it was b4.]
By end of the day, I couldnt resist not popping my new breakouts. They were ready to burst so i applied raw honey aftwerwards and left it overnight. Still only washed b4 work.
Day 8
New breakouts i popped last night are healing decently with the honey applied. Face is still slightly oily, esp around forehead, but not as bad as days 1-3.
I tried this for about five weeks, and had partial success. I stopped using all soaps and topicals, everything, and perhaps once a week splashed some water on my skin. My skin texture improved dramatically in a few days, much smoother and softer, and much less oil. But, my actual breakouts did not seem to decrease, which was disappointing. I did not get any dry skin mask, I think perhaps because what I was doing to my skin before was not too extensive, sulphur soap and acv toner.
I have not gone back to using soap, because quite honestly I didn't notice feeling any cleaner using soap, and ultimately it just seemed like a big waste to have been using it all these years, when my skin texture is so much better without it. Another thing I noticed is that my skin doesn't exfoliate as much, there just isn't much build up of dead skin, which I used to have a lot of before. When I wear foundation, I oil cleanse.
As far as bathing, I still partially bathed skin that is not acne-prone, but I could easily get away with a sink of warm water and a washcloth, quite liberating for someone who falls apart on a camping trip without a daily shower.
I am happy for all the people that this that really worked for, wish I was one of them 
Hey peeps. I've been doing this no wash method for about 5 months now. Before this I had bad acne throughout high school, and I would wash my face with all kinds of products 3-4 times a day. Over winter break of my first semester of college I thought to myself, why is my skin so damn healthy everywhere except my face? Literally, every part of my body is extremely healthy with a nice tan and no spots or anything. What did I do my whole life? I never washed my body with any kind of soap product, only used water. You may think this is disgusting because it isn't socially acceptable, but it has no scent to it and is SUPER healthy.
Ok, back to winter break revelation. Once I thought of this, I started researching it and came to this page. For the first 2-3 months I just showered and used a towel and wiped my face with it (bad mistake). Nothing really improved because I rubbed it with a towel every day. After reading this forum page more I realized what I had to do. I never washed my face and let the skin build up. The first time I did this my skin built up dead skin really fast, and I had scabs on my forehead and little white things would stick out of my nose and on the side of it (this also started on my cheeks). I also continued to break out and get large pimples and cyst acne. After 2-3 weeks a lot of people started noticing the dead skin and mentioning it to me, so I broke down and wiped it all off with water and cotton pads. After doing this I continued with the no wash method and the dead skin like before started back again (again with pimples etc.). After another 2-3 weeks again people started noticing, so I washed it off like before. Now this third time I did this, I didn't get that many pimples when my mask started again. I can't remember like 4-5 average to small pimples for another two weeks. I washed it off with pads etc.
Anyways putting it in fast forward. After doing this for a couple months like 4 or so, I stopped getting acne! Yes I do get the ocasional whitehead, but no cyst acne on my forehead or jaw line or any large white pimples that stay for like a week. Right now I havn't had a pimple for three weeks now, just a small whitehead on my chin. (still going through puberty, don't even have sideburns lol).
Anyways, its summer now and my skin on my face still isn't like the skin on the rest of my body though. I wiped off another build up of dead skin on my face this morning and I can still feel that it is delicate and gets burnt really easy. So this time around i'm just going to let the dead skin just build up like no other and see what happens. Just wanted to let other people know who has bad acne, that this method does work, it just takes a very long time.
Thanks for listening to my experience, hope it helps and I will come back and check if anyone has questions with this no wash method.
I just wanna ask when the dead skin accumulated again after u removed it, did the dead skin built up getting lesser or just the same amount as before?
Didnt ur skin become red and raw if u removed the dead skin too early?
U see, when i removed the dead skin too early, my skin underneath are red and raw. I need at least 1 month before i can remove the dead skin. By that time, the dead skin become too obvious. And it make me self conscious. 
Umm if it did lessen it wasn't enough to notice. And yes after I wipe off the dead skin my face is really red and raw for a while but by the afternoon its back to normal.
Believe me i'm in the same boat. I get really self conscious after a while, not because of the dead skin mask but because its so bad on the side of my nose and cheeks there are like little white things that come out and are noticeable.
I don't think wiping it off every month is bad and doesn't "restart" the process like I read someone's post before, because as you read before I had bad acne like 6 months ago and now i'm clear. But I do believe the skin healing process takes longer than normal. The only thing now is that I want the skin on my face to be like the skin on the rest of my body. Right now its still really sensitive and gets burnt easily. I think the entire healing process will take a year for me.
How did u wipeout the dead skin without irritating existing acne? After u removed the dead skin did u put moisturiser or u left them alone?
When i removed the dead skin, my skin is raw shine and red. And it persistant. I didnt go back to it normal colour. This really discouraging me.
I'm happy that this really working out for u. I hope i hv the same resuly as urs.
Thank you btw and sorry for asking so many question.
This thread has been fascinating, it reminded me alot of Skins in that there are basically "generations" of posters. It seems to be on generation 12 or 15 now descending from Waterwater and the beginning ilk.
Anyway, i am doing this caveman regiman although adhering more to freeliving's regimen of using cold water. I'm on my second day of taking cold showers, not letting the shower stream hit my face, no q-tips, no dairy, no shampoo, no anything except for shaving, which I accomplish through shaving cream and a manual razor.
By Jove it itches like mad around the nose, nearly all of my mental activity is being directed towards resisting the urge to itch. Other than that my face has erupted into whiteheads, which I know is the red marks resurfacing and cleaning themselves. I think that the cold showers I take, and the cold water splashes, are the thing I would recommend most to others doing this regime, for they help in great measure.
I wish I could see Waterwater post back once again (the hero to us all).
How did u wipeout the dead skin without irritating existing acne? After u removed the dead skin did u put moisturiser or u left them alone?
When i removed the dead skin, my skin is raw shine and red. And it persistant. I didnt go back to it normal colour. This really discouraging me.
I'm happy that this really working out for u. I hope i hv the same resuly as urs.
Thank you btw and sorry for asking so many question.
Yep same exact thing for me. I just used one of those cotton make-up removal pads and put a little water on it. Then I just wiped down my face, not up. The pads would just gently take off the first layer of what seems to be a build up of brownish looking dead skin. It is always a little red after I do this and a lot of oil builds back up especially around my nose and cheeks. I remember that last time I did this I did it in the morning and it became really oily by night, but after a couple hours like 4 the redness went away, then over night my cheeks seemed to like soak up the oil. It did become a little oily the next day but it did the same thing and by the third day it was fine.
My cheeks and nose are still a little red, probably cause that is where I did the most damage. Like I said I did this for around 5 months, and I still have a little while to go. Probably another 5 months for it to be completely normal. But over those 5 months of leaving it alone, it has made a huge difference.
So I read this about two months ago and tried the no face washing thing. Id like to share what I found:
I was very uncomfortable when I did not wash my face at all. Even after making it a week I did not get use to it or anything. However my skin was clearing up. I started washing with just water every 3 days but still didnt like the buildup.
Then I thought about the logic of it. Human beings have been washing regularly as long as they have existed. It doesnt make sense that I should discourage myself from washing. So I began washing whenever I felt like it but with just water.
Everything was good except I kept getting white heads by my mouth. After a while I finally figured out that it was toothpaste residue which was the only "chemical" that touched my face. I switched to baking soda for a while but oh my god that is not a pleasent taste in your mouth when you are trying to go to sleep. So now I just use toothpaste but I carefully rinse around my mouth after brushing.
My acne before was not terrible but it was surely noticeable. I almost always had a couple whiteheads. Its been weeks since I have had anythig at all though. And I do not touch my face with any chemicals.
Hope this helps someone. If you have puberty acne you probably just need to deal with it. I am 24. Good luck!
Oh and I also always end my showers with cool water to close my pores. I dont get out of the shower until im sure my face feels cooled off. I think most of the other stuff that the skin care companies say is lies but cold water does close your pores and warmth opens them.
I hardly have any acne anymore, but my derm told me i had seborrheic dermatitis and she said there was no cure too this... it can be oily or flaky red inflamed enzema in your skin. I have it around my nose and on my lips down my cheeks and so on.. its horrible very oily and red so i have tried everything there is so then i decided to go with this method, my mate told me something about this a long time i ago but i just ignored it. However now im on day 2 and my face is shining of oil i guess that's a good thing.. I will keep this up for a long peroid and drink lots of water every day.
Im on day 6 my skin is terrible oily aswell as slightly red/pink on affected areas, i have started working out twice a day aswell now and on top of that 1 hour sun each day. I have insane itching at times and pain on my nose/eyes, tho it does really feel like something is happening to my face as before i had blurred vision etc now its not as bad anymore!
How long do you guys reckon i should wait before i wash my face?
I dont think this method will work for soborrheic dermatitis(SB)
I've read this whole thread. People who didn't hv SB before developed SB after doing this method.
I think i hv developed SB too but im not sure. My eyebrow is flaking.
Wow its been like a month 1/2 of not touching my face and i have so much dead skin on my face especially on my cheeks by my nose, side of my nose, eyebrows and some on my forehead. Also a little brown discoloration on my cheeks from less dead skin build up.
Pretty noticeable, but I have always washed it off after 2-3 weeks in the past and it came back the same so i'm just going to let it keep piling on I guess. Whatever, people can judge, just hopefully it all flakes away eventually.
Well I changed that since I got an interview for a job next monday. Anyways after I did this it was red for a little but after thirty min. my t-zone was far less red that that last previous time I cleaned off the mask. I'm so excited over this improvement! Also I'm going to change a little something in my routine. Instead of not letting any water touch my face i'm going to splash cold water on my face in the morning and let it air dry.
Hi
I joined because I've been doing something similar every once in a while, and then I saw this post. The only thing preventing me from doing this full time is that even showering irritates my skin a lot. So, I'm just wondering if showering irritates anyone else's skin, and if so, how do you get by that? Do you just try to keep your face dry while showering, or is there any moisturizer to use before or after?
Thank you!
Hi
I joined because I've been doing something similar every once in a while, and then I saw this post. The only thing preventing me from doing this full time is that even showering irritates my skin a lot. So, I'm just wondering if showering irritates anyone else's skin, and if so, how do you get by that? Do you just try to keep your face dry while showering, or is there any moisturizer to use before or after?
Thank you!
y
yes it was the same for me, just tilt your head backwards to rinse your hair, dont let the water touch your face, thats all. take cool showers, i would recommend a bath instead, not irritating at all.
Im gonna try this out! Day 1! Only for men is how do you shave?
electric razor
This thread has inspired me make some dramatic changes to my regimen. First here's some background.
I've had acne since I was about 12/13, I'm now 21. I've been on roaccutane twice, both times during high school. It worked at the time but my acne always came back.
Other than the times I was on roaccutane I've always used a number of spot fighting products on my face, I wouldn't be surprised if they are indeed the cause of my acne.
I don't think diet affects my acne, I certainly haven't been able to attribute any spot breakouts to particular foods.
My acne is moderate to severe, I get little-ish cysts and plently of whiteheads and other red marks.
I've noticed that when away camping for example my skin would always be happier than I expected, despite the lack of washing.
I'm not going to try the no washing regimen, but I am going to try a water-only approach. I will be washing my face very gently with cold water either once or twice a day. I guess I'll just see how that goes for a while.
I started this just last night. I'm really enjoying the novelty of not putting much effort into washing, I don't want to imagine how many hours/days/months I've wasted scrubbing and rubbing my face! It's really ridiculous how long I used to spend in the bathroom.
Today I went for a run to build up some sweat on my face, the purpose of this was to aid the build up of so called acid mantle on my face. I've only just learnt about this.
Hopefully I washed gently enough afterwards and avoided rubbing it all off.
I do expect my acne to get a bit worse before it gets better. (If it does) I might also buy some zinc and other tablets to see if they help in any way.
I really hope this works out, it would be truly amazing!
I'll try to keep y'all updated.
Well. I don't know if this update is useful for anyone but I'll post it here anyway. If my water-only based regimen works out really well then I'll probably make a thread about it.
My skin seems to be recovering after all those years of misguided over-scrubbing. It might be a bit early to say that my skin is looking better but I do believe there has a been a small improvement after the first few days of my water-only routine. The biggest most immediate change was the reduction of oil on my skin, it's still a little too oily, but so much better than it used to be.
Its a great start, I'm really positive about the future.
I've also started taking omega-3 and vitamin-c+zinc tablets to help the inner systems do their work, I don't want to be taking these every day, maybe every second day would be good for a couple weeks.
I'm on day four, and I realised that since I stopped with my antibiotics aswell, I'm just going to do this on my forehead where I never get acne anymore. I'll continue washing my cheeks once a day (not two) since I'm too scared of getting that "after ab breakout" alot of people are talking about. If nothing crazy has happened after 2 months, I'll try this on my whole face. Nothing crazy going on but flaking on my forehead though.
