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i have pulled myself off of this program this morning, because my acne got severly worse. my skin was back to being dry again on days 3 and 4. This morning, I wet my face in the shower. when i got out of the shower, there was a lot of peeling - not dry skin, but dead skin. It was horrible. I'm happy for those of you who were able to make this work for you, but it didn't work for me.
alright, well maybe not "root". poor word choice. but for many, including waterwater who started this thread, have found that it was the constant washing that was actually causing them acne. and had they just given their face time to heal on its own, they wouldn't have a problem.
i have a question. if it is irritation that is the root of acne, then why is it that some people grow out of acne around 25?
I believe it's a vicious cycle with irritated skin. No, it's not the root cause of acne -- but it can make it worse.
Irritated skin gives the face a red appearance, which probably affects oil glands. So what do you do but wash more to alleviate the oil, which dries out the skin and leads to the oil returning several hours later.
People that grow out of ance around 25 probably have hormonal acne. Typically this is seen around the jaw line. I believe Waterwater even mentions that the no wash regimen probably won't work for people with hormonal acne. I'm sure I don't, so I thought, what the hell?
i have pulled myself off of this program this morning, because my acne got severly worse. my skin was back to being dry again on days 3 and 4. This morning, I wet my face in the shower. when i got out of the shower, there was a lot of peeling - not dry skin, but dead skin. It was horrible. I'm happy for those of you who were able to make this work for you, but it didn't work for me.
Any increase in the severity of acne can't be because of the regimen. That's the beauty of it. It can't be because of irritation because you're not doing anything, and it can't be because of cleansers/BP/SA reacting with your skin because you're not using any chemicals.
If anything, the peeling you've observed is probably a good sign the skin is healing. Only problem here, and it's quite an issue, is you can't go out in public like that. Was everything good up until this morning? If I were you I'd do it again for another five days, hopefully trying to extend yourself.
I remember when I tried a water-only regimen several months ago and by Day 4 my skin had a dull appearance to it. This was because of the skin which was peeling. After washing it off, I went right back to old habits. If I experience something similar now, and I dont see why I wouldn't, I'll just keep going 5 days (or whenever) and continue trying to extend the dyas.
I took myself off this today as well after about 14 days.....I started breaking out again and getting black heads and inflamed zits all over again...I believe the washing my face twice a day isn't a problem with my acne...I hope this works out for some though...
This isn't encouraging. Did you atleast notice a difference in skin tone over those 14 days?
Yes I do believe I noticed a difference, my skin was naturally moisturized but oily as hell....but I was buying glasses today looking in the mirror and I just had a bunch of stuff that was clogging up on my forehead (not my problem area) and I just looked like a grease ball.
I don't know if maybe waterwater experienced a bit of a break out or not but I just kept breaking out.....maybe if I went longer say for a couple months washing not very often improvement could have been attained..I do not know..at this point I am not willing to sacrifice as I have parties to attend this summer 
.....
hope all is well...I will continue to follw along with this thread
i have pulled myself off of this program this morning, because my acne got severly worse. my skin was back to being dry again on days 3 and 4. This morning, I wet my face in the shower. when i got out of the shower, there was a lot of peeling - not dry skin, but dead skin. It was horrible. I'm happy for those of you who were able to make this work for you, but it didn't work for me.Any increase in the severity of acne can't be because of the regimen. That's the beauty of it. It can't be because of irritation because you're not doing anything, and it can't be because of cleansers/BP/SA reacting with your skin because you're not using any chemicals.
If anything, the peeling you've observed is probably a good sign the skin is healing. Only problem here, and it's quite an issue, is you can't go out in public like that. Was everything good up until this morning? If I were you I'd do it again for another five days, hopefully trying to extend yourself.
I remember when I tried a water-only regimen several months ago and by Day 4 my skin had a dull appearance to it. This was because of the skin which was peeling. After washing it off, I went right back to old habits. If I experience something similar now, and I dont see why I wouldn't, I'll just keep going 5 days (or whenever) and continue trying to extend the dyas.
Everything was not good up until that morning. I can assure you that my acne was many more times bearable before I "started" not washing. I could wear makeup. Now, the appearance of my skin is shocking. After just four days. I cannot even wear makeup. I do not agree that this regimen had nothing to do with this most severe breakout that I've seen in my 30 years of life. I returned to work after a few days off - in tears. I was actually scared to go out in public. With the encouragement of my boyfriend and coworkers, I did come back to work. But let me assure you, I look like a different person than I did one week ago. Like I said before, I really think that it's great that this no washing thing worked out for some people. It most certainly didn't work for me and I regret trying it. That is my two cents, grain of salt, whatever.
Yea I would say this might be harder for women than men, because we don't wear makeup or anything...
Today I washed my face for the 2nd time in over a week. After I dried it was a little flakey. I can only assume that's good as my old/bad skin is coming off and new skin is replacing it.
Also my red marks are fading rapidly. It is awesome.
I've been taking Taurine a little daily and it is helping with keeping my oiliness down - it's practically normal.
Anyways, I'm going to keep up at it, since it seems to be helping me more than hurting.
Day 9 i believe. rinsed for the first time in an epsom bath last night. This is workin great so far and definitely sticking with it for at least a couple more weeks to see what happens. The biggest problem is that I'm still flaking around my mouth and beard area but it seems to be getting better...
I would like to know if ANYONE who has tried this with any success is a girl? It seems like everyone who has had any success is a guy. Now, I realize that this may be because a lot of girls wear make up, and although I am a girl, I don't wear make up. However, it might also be because girls have more hormonal issues that contribute to acne than guys to (my worst flare ups are always right before my period and right around ovulation).
I am currently using the DK BP regimen, so I am a little afraid as to how my skin will react when I stop using BP (I've been on it for about 2 years). However, *IF* I decide to try this, I imagine I will do it something like this:
Washing once or twice a day with warm water, followed by fresh squeezed lemon juice only.
Possibly (maybe?) once or twice a week doing a manuka honey mask (but I am not sure if this could be washed off using water alone? I think a big part of this plan would hinge on not using any sort of soap or face wash).
Also, I do get pretty sweaty as I work out a lot, so I am a little concerned as to whether or not water and lemon juice alone will get rid of the sweat.
HI I COMPLETLY UNDERSTAND HOW YOU ARE FEELING AT THIS POINT YOUR AT. I HAVE DEALT WITH THE SAME ISSUES YOU ARE DEALING WITH. I ACTUALLY TRIED A CLEANSER CALLED PURPOSE, IT S BY JOHNSON AND JOHNSON. AND IT CAN BE FOUND ANYWERE. WALGREENS, TARGET , WALMART.ECT. IT IS AS GENTLE AS WATER AND WILL NOT DRY YOU OUT. I WOULD GIVE THIS A TRY. IT IS WORKING FOR ME..GOOD LUCK.
Just as an update, I ditched the no-washing method. I think it should be accompanied with a disclaimer suggesting the regimen should only be tried if you don't have any issues concerning clogged pores or white heads. And I know it seems contradictory to Waterwater's original post, but I swear, it's fucking IMPOSSIBLE to go out in public without washing.
What made this especially bad was Day 3 (last Tuesday), I woke up thinking everything looked fine. In the bathroom I typically use there's a dim-light, and while in there it didn't appear anything was wrong with my face. Just a little oily, but nothing too ridiculous. Well, after taking a shower (being sure to avoid water on my face), eating, dressing and leaving for school I happen to look in the review mirror while I'm about to back out of the driveway. My face looked absolutely terrible. You could see flakiness, clogged pores and a brutal combination of both on my nose. What's worse is I was already running late and didn't have enough time to run inside and wash. I had to ride to the train station, go downtown and go to class looking like crap. I have never been so self conscious of my skin in my life. Seriously. I did my best to wipe off excess sebum, etc. in the school bathroom but its difficult with water only and people coming in/out every two seconds.
What I thought of, when looking over everything, is that my skin probably needs exfoliation. More than I was previously using. So I decided to do something whereas I apply the 2% SA lotion three times a day, with the second application being only after watering my face.
I really was hoping the regimen would work this time for me. I tried it before and thought, because my skin was in worse condition when I previously underwent a no-wash regimen, that it'd be different. Nope. Although I do believe everyone should atleast try it for a few days. If you can somehow make it past three days, all the way living your life, then your skin is obviously better than mine. haha.
Damn, this thread has died.
I' ve learned these last several days that it isn't irritation which has made my skin look like crap, but the lack of exfoliation. All around my face there are slight, flesh colored bumps. Comedol acne. And it's recommonded by various websites to try exfoliation. Well, since manual exfoliation (aside from shaving) doesn't interest me I though to try an old friend.
I've used my Olay Skin Regenerist Moisturizing Lotion (1.5% SA) before, but usually twice a day. Once if I had school or work. Well, since Sunday it has markedly improved the clarity of my skin with three applications per day. I've been lucky to have extra time available due to work (which doesn't begin until next week) and the end of school.
What I've done is wash in the morning with Eurecin Redness Relief Gel, gently swipe over skin with a wet cotton ball, dry, then apply Olay cream. Atleast seven hours later I just place my skin under water, dry off, then apply Olay cream. At night, I repeat the morning routine.
Only issue I can forsee a problem with is when I go out/go to work. I'll have to work around it, because what I've noticed is this cream can make your skin very oily after a few hours. Like most moisturizers for me.
I've been watching this thread for a while now.
A week ago I stopped washing my face with any scrubs, cleansers or otherwise. The only thing I do is use non-alcohol face wipes and splash with water.
On the whole, my skin is looking a LOT better. I still use Retin-A at night also.
However, I definitely agree with the irritation theory. Blemishes I have seem to heal faster, and I have resisted any urge to pick.
I think using anything to wash my face except water has just contributed to the problem instead of lessening it.
I vote No Wash!
I agree with the whole idea of not irritating your skin, BUT to not wash your face is crazy to me. I rinse with mild cleanser and do not rub the dead skin. I think the cleanser is good enough to disolve what should be taken off.
If there is dead skin accumulated on the surface, I will very lightly rub it off. But I will not actually try to make it exfoilate. Doing that leaves me with more dryness and bumps.
I'm really becoming aggrivated with my skin. It's ridiculous. After my last post 9 days ago I began exfoliating more, as I believed that was my problem, and what happens by the reemergence of redness.
What's really a pain in the ass is both the no water/water only methods substantially improve skin tone, but it's impossible to go out in public with flakiness and dead skin all over.
I really wonder if, over time, the problems I've encountered washing with only water would eventually go away. Everyone on this planet who washes their face doesn't have a cleanser or soap available. What about inmates within a prison? I can't cite any evidence, but I doubt there's a growing epidemic of acne issues within our nation's prisons.