Hey Rachel_206,
This sounds like such good progress! Congratulations on making it this far!
If it's any conciliation I remember those pimples, the little whiteheads that seem to come up and go away within a couple of days. I was still getting those at your stage for sure. And try not to beat yourself up too much about the hyperpigmentation. It's a total pain but it will go away with time. It can take months but at least you are on the right track!
If you're getting to a point where you feel like you must exfoliate. I would recommend something really simple, like taking a warm shower and allowing the steam to loosen all the dead skin, then taking a clean, damp wash cloth, fully saturated with luke-warm water, and extremely gently steaming the skin and wiping away some of the dead skin mask. Also try not to get too hung up on wiping away all the dead skin, because this could be irritating, it's more of an exercise in encouraging a little natural skin cell turnover, than removing all the skin.
Have a great vacation!
Day 60 (week 9)
Two months! I cannot believe it. And I have wonderful news: my skin is getting better. I am so afraid to post this, because I am scared that I will jinx myself and it will get bad again. The reason why it is better is because the texture of my skin is improving. My boyfriend even noticed it. Two weeks ago, before I went on my vacation, I was crying in his room, hiding from even him because I felt like I looked like a monster. My skin was so flaky and dry, I felt so ugly. And when I came back from my trip, when he kissed me, he noticed that my chin was not as prickly. I don't have anywhere near as many flakes on my chin as I had. It used to be a lot of sebaceous filaments that resembled dry skin. He said that the only dry part of my face is my forehead (still hard, but not as hard) and cheeks. My skin tone is more even, and the texture is not as flaky. What a huge improvement!
And with the whole acne thing, I am still getting acne. Nothing that new. But my skin looks and feels so much healthier. I am not oily, I don't feel dry anymore...and I am not itchy or flaky. On vacation I just wore a hat and sunglasses. I of course wore spf all over the rest of my body, but avoided my face. The only time my face got wet was when a wave accidentally splashed me while I was swimming in the sea. No big deal. I think that the vitamin D and sweat from the warm weather also helped.
So, in a nutshell: still have acne. Still have hyper-pigmentation. What is better? TEXTURE, flakiness, and dryness.
I am going to continue updating every once in awhile. It will be better for my peace of mind as well, not over-analyzing my face every four days. I hope you all understand! Frequent posts matter most in the one month to two month stages rather than the rest I think. Now the changes will most likely come very, very slowly. Talk to you soon, and good luck! 
On 5/14/2016 at 4:37 AM, jayjaxjaq said:Rachel_206, your story gives me such hope! I made it through most of my twenties assuming I have outgrown acne, and though while my skin wasn't model flawless, I was never emotionally distressed by it or thought my blemishes were anything more than what the average bear had to contend with themselves. Last summer my husband and I moved and BAM! within 2 weeks of relocating, worst breakout of my life. At one point I couldn't wash my face without being in tears from how sore it was. The surface of my face looked like cottage cheese practically. I came upon going caveman just over a week ago and immediately began ditching BP, SA, scrubs, exfoliators, moisturizers, toners, everything. For the first 3 - 4 days I was actually pretty impressed. My husband even remarked that my face looked much calmer. However, around day 5 I began to feel like I was regressing....more blemishes were appearing around my mouth (though I will say they are highly clustered...which is odd for me) and it seemed like the redness was returning. Part of me thought, "my skin should be turning around!" but another part of me thought, "you've been skinning yourself alive twice a day everyday for 14 years now with harsh this that and the others....heaven forbid it take a month or two...." I appreciate your daily accounts, it makes me realize caveman can be a slow process, thought worth the journey.
Jayjaxjaq,
I am so happy that I am able to inspire and give hope to fellow acne sufferers. The caveman is a long and hard journey. It is the most difficult thing (especially emotionally) that I have ever done for my skin. I'm sorry that your skin went crazy after moving 
I have heard many stories of people who give up with the caveman after--believe it or not--only one week. I was told it would get better in 30 days, and then it didn't. And then I read it would get better in 6 weeks, and it didn't. I was so frustrated! But you're right, that after treating our skin so horribly for so many years, it is natural for there to be a long and worse healing phase. And everyone's skin heals at its own pace. I am learning that the hard way! I wish I didn't have such high expectations, because I was so angry and disappointed every day that it wasn't improving. The caveman is so slow, and just now I am actually starting to see a real improvement. Not even in my acne, but in my texture! So definitely keep on truckin'! I am sure it will be worth it, for the both of us, in the end! 
On 5/14/2016 at 2:32 PM, JLopez said:Hey Rachel_206,
This sounds like such good progress! Congratulations on making it this far!
If it's any conciliation I remember those pimples, the little whiteheads that seem to come up and go away within a couple of days. I was still getting those at your stage for sure. And try not to beat yourself up too much about the hyperpigmentation. It's a total pain but it will go away with time. It can take months but at least you are on the right track!
If you're getting to a point where you feel like you must exfoliate. I would recommend something really simple, like taking a warm shower and allowing the steam to loosen all the dead skin, then taking a clean, damp wash cloth, fully saturated with luke-warm water, and extremely gently steaming the skin and wiping away some of the dead skin mask. Also try not to get too hung up on wiping away all the dead skin, because this could be irritating, it's more of an exercise in encouraging a little natural skin cell turnover, than removing all the skin.
Have a great vacation!
JLopez,
Yes those were exactly the pimples. I am actually at the moment in my life where I have fully accepted what is on my face. I know now that only time will heal it, and I am not going to let myself get beat up over acne anymore. I can only give my scars time. And thanks for the tip! I actually don't need it anymore, since I am not flaky at all now 
My face is basically a giant scab that I am letting heal and fall off on its own. Hope all is well on your end, and thank you so much for being so active in my journey. You have the best advice. I really do appreciate it 
Hi rachel! Salt water (ie when you swam in the ocean) is apparently really nice for clearing up acne and exfoliating so maybe that's what helped tooo! But either way, your story is encouraging me (if you wanna read my story, you can go to my forum, if not, not a big deal lol) to keep going! I'm almost at the one month mark and I've seen slight improvement but idk, so I'm gonna keep going till month 2. Quick question, did you ever have clogged pores? Like tiny bumps only visible in natural light? Lol that's what I have and I was just curious if this helped clear you up. Thanks 
On 6/20/2016 at 3:24 PM, Serena95 said:Hi rachel! Salt water (ie when you swam in the ocean) is apparently really nice for clearing up acne and exfoliating so maybe that's what helped tooo! But either way, your story is encouraging me (if you wanna read my story, you can go to my forum, if not, not a big deal lol) to keep going! I'm almost at the one month mark and I've seen slight improvement but idk, so I'm gonna keep going till month 2. Quick question, did you ever have clogged pores? Like tiny bumps only visible in natural light? Lol that's what I have and I was just curious if this helped clear you up. Thanks
Hey Serena95!
I a so happy that I could encourage you to take this *giant* leap of faith. Since my last post, so much has happened, which I will log about in a few minutes. I think that it is so great how we all can help and be this backbone for each other, especially when it comes to suffering through acne and taking the journey to try to heal. The one month mark was so frustrating for me, because I believed that it would be way better, and it definitely wasn't. Really the largest improvement for me came at the two month mark. And YES there were so many of those clogged pores! I was (and still am, to some extent) afraid of people seeing me in natural light. I never knew how much the texture of my skin would bother me more than the acne until experiencing the caveman regimen!
Anyway, I followed your forum Good luck with everything, and if you ever need help or encouragement please let me know!
Day 94(Week 14)
WOW this is going to be a very long post. I have so much to talk about.
I would first like to say that I am currently doing a "modified" caveman regimen now, since I have gone practically three months without washing my face. Yes, my skin has improved, but I never solved the main problem--I was stillgetting acne. It wouldn't stop, and I knew that it had to be because of things going on within my body that I needed to address.
My friend who is also struggling with acne sent me this e-book called "Acne No More" in mid-June. I read it, and a lot of it made sense. Basically it is a book about how to cure acne naturally and holistically. For four days I started the specific diet that was supposed to clear my skin. On the 5th day (June 21st), I could not take my dead skin anymore, soI took a cotton ball soaked in diluted apple cider vinegar and went nuts on my skin. When I applied aloe vera to my skin and finally touched my skin for the first time in three months, I couldn't stop crying. I cried and cried, I just wanted to look normal. Well, my mom witnessed this and she comforted me, as as well as made me a dermatologist appointment for the next day. Immediately the doctor wanted to put me on accutane. At this I cried even more. I did not want to take a drug that has so many scary side effects. He prescribed me an antibiotic, a topical,andbirth control to hold me off for the month until I were to get onto accutane. I cried the whole way home. All of these things...they are not what I believed in. I knew that I had to do something else, and if it didn't clear up for the month before accutane, then I would have no other choice but get onto the powerful drug. I am scheduled to get onto it July 20th, 18 days from now.
I began researching about natural ways to cleanse the body. Inspired by the "Acne No More" book, i researched ways to cleanse and detox my liver, kill candida, and supplement my body with whole, raw organic foods to heal myself from within. I eliminated gluten from my diet (because I found out that my mother actually has a gluten intolerance....she just found out about it two weeks ago!) and focused on whole vegetables, gluten-free grains (in moderation) and nuts and seeds. I also "wash" my face with diluted apple cider vinegar toner, and moisturize with organic jojoba oil afterwards. I do this twice a week.
I have also been really trying to clear my mind by taking more walks outside, and supplying my brain with positive thoughts about self-love instead of negative ones. I am trying to be more compassionate to myself, which is a whole journey on its own. I was inspired to do this froma post I read online, and it has helped tremendously.
What I Do Now,In a Nutshell:
Supplements:Cod Liver Oil, Zinc (for Acne), probiotic, oregano oil
Diet:Vegan diet rich in raw organic vegetables, nuts, seeds, coconut oil and whole, gluten free grains. I have eliminated all sugar (natural (including fruit) and refined),alcohol, simple carbs, and hydrogenated oils.
Mindset:I would never ridicule someone else for their acne, so why would I say such nasty things to myself about it?
If I can get my candida under control, then I will slowly start to incorporate fruit and such back into my diet. I can't live without fruit forever!!
I have noticed atremendousimprovement in my skin, especially ever since eliminating gluten. It has been about a week and a half, and I want to cry I am so happy. My left cheek is PERFECT. My nose is PERFECT. My forehead....I used to have over 50 on there and now I have maybe 1 or 2? I can only count two pustules, and they are both healing, both on my right cheek. I used towake up every day to see more forming, and I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel. Acne doesn't form on my face nearly as fast as it used to....I am just healing the previous lesions.
I will continue this strict diet for another week or two, and then re-introducefruit, as well as other foods that I eliminated to make sure candida cant come back and feast on me again. I am sure lots of people will comment about how my diet is wrong or whatever, but all I know is that it is working much better than anything else has, and I am not going to do this forever. I am just trying to cleanse my body, and heal my organs. Respect my choices and please give me encouragement! This freedom of not being dependent on anything topical is so liberating.
If anybody has any questions, please feel free to contact me! I would love to help. Also, before going, I would love to give a huge shout-out toJLopezforbeing my inspiration through this entire ordeal. It is actually funny how our routines turned out to be so similar, and I want to give her a giant thank you!!!
Ill check back in here before my date of choosing Accutane comes up! Hopefully I will see more improvements.
23 hours ago, rachel_206 said:Hey Serena95!I a so happy that I could encourage you to take this *giant* leap of faith. Since my last post, so much has happened, which I will log about in a few minutes. I think that it is so great how we all can help and be this backbone for each other, especially when it comes to suffering through acne and taking the journey to try to heal. The one month mark was so frustrating for me, because I believed that it would be way better, and it definitely wasn't. Really the largest improvement for me came at the two month mark. And YES there were so many of those clogged pores! I was (and still am, to some extent) afraid of people seeing me in natural light. I never knew how much the texture of my skin would bother me more than the acne until experiencing the caveman regimen!
Anyway, I followed your forum
Good luck with all your diet changes, I'm glad it's working for you!! For me, personally, I've eaten however I wanted my entire life (as a vegetarian) and have always had clear skin. I just washed my face a couple months ago and regretted the day I ever picked up all those face washes and moisturizers. I still have a bunch of clogged pores. I incorporated more water on my face and I guess we'll see how it goes. I think the worst part is not knowing what's working and what is and every experimental phase takes another month. If it doesn't work it just feels you wasted another month doing nothing. I'm just at this point where I don't know if I should just not use water at at all or when I had clear skin, I would just occasionally get it wet while I took a shower. I just wish I knew what would work best for me and stick to it because if I knew it would help, I would be so good about sticking to it. But I guess nothing in life is that easy so nothing to do but remain positive and hope Ill get back to clear skin some day.
I think I gave it enough time...
Unfortunately, it looks like this system that I just started is not the one for me. I wish with all of my heart that the caveman regimen as well as the one I have been doing for the past month worked for me, but It looked like it was helping, but, like always, it failed in the end. I still have ance....a lot of it.
I have decided to not go on accutane because I do not want to put my body through it. I instead bought more of the acne.org regimen because I know that it has worked for me in the past, and has been the only thing to work for me. After countless days these past 6 months not feeling good about myself, I think I just have to bite the bullet and accept that I have acne-prone genetics, and I have to do something about it. Spending a little extra time in the morning and at night is a small price to pay for confidence. The good thing is that I know i don't have to besuperstrict with the regimen...I will probably go a day or a morning without applying BP, and I know my skin will be okay.
I plan on using the acne.org system to clear me up externally, however I willnever,evergive up on the battle to clear myself from the inside, because I believe that it is the only way to cure acne. I actually made an appointment to get a food sensitivity/intolerance test with my doctor. Who knows, maybe I will discover something interesting. I will keep you all updated on that. And, well, if I don't find anything, then at least I can cross that off the list and move on haha.
I am going to keep on taking my supplements until they run out, and decide if I need them again. I may have lost this battle with my acne, but I have not lost the war!!!!
Good luck to you all xx
I've been doing this method for like half a year now. My main question is: does the dead skin/oil filaments ever subside or go away over time? People that have never washed their faces have skin like their body skin. I'm just hoping that the damage I have done to my face over the years is reversible. If not, why even try?
Hi, Rachel your journey have been very inspiring! Thank you for the logs! I know it's not my place to say this but please do not start the Acne.org regimen!!! I have been on the regimen for 4 years and yes my skin was great for the first 2 but after that, the regimen slowly start to stop working. It's not so much that the skin becoming immune to BP (it can't) it's just that the oil that the BP has been killing is slowly adapting and started to overproduce to combat the drying effects of the BP. You will notice by the 3rd year that your skin have become so oily that it used to.
The BP works because while it's on your skin; it creates an environment no bacteria can live in. However, the oil cause the bp to slide off my face hence it's not working anymore. I also realized that my skin looks far more aged than that of my friend's so I decided to stop cold turkey.
The backlash and the withdrawal was extreme, each of my pores has become clogged, my face is full of comedones (no I'm not exaggerating) and now I'm starting to get big painful acnes on the 2 month mark.
So I guess my point is if you do decide to use the regimen, you have to be prepare on using it for the rest of your life and yes by increasing the BP dose throughout the years (since your skin adapts by producing more oil).