Hello everyone! I am fairly new to the website but i've seen this topic be both ripped to shreds and have a lot of support so please be supportive! Let's be honest, acne sucks. I was already planning on trying this because i'm fed up with my skin but I wanted to share it with others on the off chance that it actuallly helps at least one person. For some background info i've included my little story here:
Throughout highschool I just had the average teenage acne, or slightly worse compared to my peers (probably at least one blemish going a day). I've tried proactiv, murad, Burts Bees, various other brand name products targeted at acne. I've seen a dermatologist for it, he put me on doxycyclin, topical creams, birth control, you name it just short of accutane (obviously not all at once). I've tried just using gentle cleansers and moisturizers, gentle solutions with harsh acne spot treatments or all over treatments once and a while. I've literally tried everything and that's why i'm trying this! So please don't knock me for not giving other options a chance. I have my own reasons for not using some of the other harsh treatments (ie. accutane) out there. I generally get the red bump type of pimples and they take forever to heal/turn into white heads and dry out. I'm fairly certain I have hormonal acne since its concentrated around my mouth and chin but I can get the odd pimple on my forehead or cheeks.
One day...about a week ago, I got super fed up with everything and decided that I didn't want to waste my money on one more product. What if I was causing this, what if my skin needed a break? I've seen posts like this all over the place but I figured it couldn't hurt to share mine. A few days later I came across a blog dedicated to healthy skin and treating hormonal acne, and she had tried the caveman method! Some of you may have heard of it but I figured i'd try the less extreme version of only using water. So twice a day, morning and night, I splash my face with water before bed. I started this four days ago, and also used a glycolic night serum each night.
Day 1 and 2: generally okay, definitely reduced redness and healing of some existing pimples
Day 3: three red bump type pimples appeared, I think my skin is purging? We'll see
Day 4: a whitehead on my cheek, the pimples from the other day have begun healing faster than usual.
So i'll try to keep posting my results, i'm only trying it for two weeks unless I see a dramatic improvement. I've decided to stop using the glycolic night serum and just see how my skin does naturally.
Day 5: No new pimples, but the existing ones are actually healing/progressing faster than usual
I feel super weird writing a log about my skin but like I said before, if I can help even one person then its worth it! Have any of you tried this before or are thinking of trying it? What were your results/thoughts?
Edit: I think it's working so far, I normally only get red-bump type pimples but in the past few days its solely been whiteheads or bumps turning to whiteheads the next day. So that's pretty cool!
Hello again everyone!
Day 6: aside from the lack of redness in my face, I don't really see a huge change for the better but something strange (and potentially good) is happening... I usually get the nodule type pimples around my mouth and chin area but those have all turned to white heads and are beginning to dry out and clear up. I have been getting little bumps (probably from not using an exfoliant) on my forehead as well as some whiteheads and little nodules around my eyebrows and eyes. It's the strangest thing! I'm not too sure what's happening but I will keep posting 
If anyone was curious, i've been drinking a lot of water (probably 8-10 glasses a day), showering every two days, and eating fairly normal...if a little on the unhealthy side (its finals season!)
Day 7: So one red nodule pimple popped up near my eye but for the most part everything is the same. From the eyes down, my skin is healing and clearing (an unusual sight for my hormonal skin) but from the eyes up, total opposite! So weird how this happened, currently have 3 nodules along my eyebrows and two healing white heads (almost gone) along my eyebrows. My best guesses: my forehead is purging/getting used to lack of moisturizer and cleanser OR it's just dirty/not getting cleaned well enough because of the lack of cleanser.
Woo! Officially one week, i've been having a hard time not using any creams or gels to treat the pimples that pop up here and there but I think the results are good. Any thoughts? Do you think two weeks is long enough to get an idea of the method?
Day 8: So around my mouth is almost fully healed, the other cystic type acne above my eyes is healing faster than usual. The small bumps on my forehead have all gone away, except one has turned into a small cystic pimple. Time will only tell as far as the rest of the healing.
🙂
Day 9: Around my mouth and chin (aka my hormonal acne) has fully cleared up and is just healing! Still some hyperpigmentation so you can't really tell. The cystic type acne on my forehead and around my eyebrows isn't really healing quickly anymore. I have about 8 cystic pimples on my forehead now! I suppose this will be a time will tell thing, although part of me thinks it's because its not getting a proper cleaning! I may stop the only water method tomorow or Monday! I was an interesting experiment but, to be honest, I don't think my skin likes it very much! I haven't been touching my face that often, i'm drinking a lot of water, and I don't pick. We'll see!
chrt_mvc: I think it's worth a shot while on holidays but it depends on how long you try it for!
The water only method only helps to get the red out and enhance your natural tone...I think the people that say it works don't really have serious issues with acne....I believe acne started for a reason and until the reason y it started is fixed it won't go away. I'm like u tried everything...I just started the nanocleanse formula it feels so good on my face I hope it works...I'm starting it while my face actually is looking better than most days...I been steaming regularly which will make u purge but overall it does help...also before nanocleanse I had just found applying bakingsoda to cetaphil cleanser really gave me a good clean but didnt turn my skin red also a little aloe vera and tea tree oil in my moisturizer...those are the best things ive found that helps the most and I been thru tons of different meds n creams...tons
On December 12, 2015 at 1412, jspencer said:The water only method only helps to get the red out and enhance your natural tone...I think the people that say it works don't really have serious issues with acne....I believe acne started for a reason and until the reason y it started is fixed it won't go away. I'm like u tried everything...I just started the nanocleanse formula it feels so good on my face I hope it works...
What's the nanocleanseformula?
Day 10: Redness is definitely decreased from when I used products, cystic type acne is still there although slowly healing, around my mouth and chin is still in the same spot! No new pimples for a few days so that's pretty cool, definitely something new for me. I think I might have a deeper problem then just products or maybe I just need to find the right product!
After some research and experimental evidence (over the last 10 days) I don't think products are my main issue. It was really nice to give my skin a break and let it restore its natural oils and acid mantle, etc. though. I've found a new, simple bar soap cleanser (I know, many of you gasp) but it's pH balanced and contains gentle ingredients (including clay and oil). So i'll start using that tomorrow, only in the mornings and keep y'all posted!
I can't believe I even made it this far without using any products, especially after my face started to go south a bit. It was so tempting to treat it somehow but I did it! I made it 10 days without using any products on my face. It's returned to it's natural state, i'm please to find out my skin is normal (not oily or dry or combo) so I can use the proper products for that in the future. I'm going to use this soap once a day, in the morning for a week or so and see what happens! It's only a week because I begin a new medication for my acne in a week and that would really affect the results! If any of you are curious about what it is, I chose the Drunk Elephant Juju bar because it's pH balanced and contains all kinds of good, gentle ingredients to exfoliate and clean! I'll gradually introduce a moisturizer but for now I just want to start off slow.
Day 1: So far, so good! The soap left my face feeling a little tight, even now: two hours after I washed, I feel a little dry but I will use moisturizer eventually. No new pimples, the rest are healing but threeof them are being stubborn buggers about it. One of the whiteheads near my eyebrow has turned cystic, the one near my eye still isn't going away (although it seems like an almost whitehead) and I have one on my other eyebrow!! For the most part though, everything is healing and there's only three pimples i'm really worrying about right now.
I don't know if 10 days is enough time for your skin to return to its natural state...I'm not even sure what that means haha! But I think it's great to build up your skincare rather than try 1,000,000 things at once and panic if nothing works after a week. Lord knows I used to do that and it only made my skin worse.
Moisturizer is key imo. What are you considering to introduce?
@vanbelle Haha I would normally agree! I would have wanted to give the experiment, ideally, at least a month. To be honest though, my acne was hormonal and not a reaction to anything I was using on my skin! Over the last month or so I started using gentler, greener products and really listened to what my face needed. I ate healthier and started exercising! Although it's not totally better, I do see a difference. I recently went to a doctor for a prescription since clearly OTC methods weren't working!
On 2/12/2016 at 9:34 PM, Boogaloo2 said:@vanbelle Haha I would normally agree! I would have wanted to give the experiment, ideally, at least a month. To be honest though, my acne was hormonal and not a reaction to anything I was using on my skin! Over the last month or so I started using gentler, greener products and really listened to what my face needed. I ate healthier and started exercising! Although it's not totally better, I do see a difference. I recently went to a doctor for a prescription since clearly OTC methods weren't working!
hows ur skin doing now?