I'm 32, male and have suffered acne off and on since I was 13. Although it seemed severe to me at the time, it would fluctuate from mild to moderate acne.

I bought into the whole modern materialist trend of buying products to fix my problems (not just acne)! When I was younger I would buy face washes, scrubs, cleansers, and a whole array of other chemicals. These were all ineffective.

I graduated to topical retinoids which had some interesting effects on my skin but caused far to much irritation, and even after long periods using them, I would still break out occasionally. I stopped using these for good about 5 years ago.

Recently, I broke out again. I couldn't work out what the cause was so decided to gradually ELIMINATE products from my daily routine. At first, i stopped washing my face with any kind of product, sticking to just hot water and a wash cloth. The first week was weird - my skin became really dry and sore but over time, I could see my skin improving. The texture was better, it looked brighter, I no longer had any dry skin, my acne was better and my skin was not oily (even at the end of the day. I stopped using moisturising cream as my skin no longer needed it. My theory is that the initial drying was due to skin readjusting after years of being abused.

Next I moved onto shaving. I had always shaved with a 2 or 3 blade razor, again, I bought into the marketing believing that a close shave was really important! I used a shave gel made by king of shaves for sensitive skin. Shortly before my breakout, I was given a 5 blade razor. During this experiment, I stopped using shaving gel and shaved after showering using a small amount of lavender oil for lubrication. The 5 blade razor just kept getting clogged up and was really difficult to clean. I tried to buy a natural shaving gel but couldn't find one without any chemicals in it (even the ones claiming to be natural still contain detergents and other nasties).

In my searching I became intrigued by the cut throat razor and safety razor. Curious, I bought one of each, using the safety razor for most of my face and the cut throat for my sideburns. Its been two weeks and wow, what a difference! My skin is clear, I do not feel sore after shaving and I get no major outbreaks after shaving anymore. The razor doesn't clog up and its cheaper and more enjoyable than using the multi blade razors.

Most men have not experienced a shave with only a single blade. For years we have been led to believe that multi blade razors are more effective. This is not true. They may provide a closer shave but do so at the expense of irritation = breakouts. The first blade pulls the hair from the follicle and the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th blade actually cut the pulled hair below the skin line. When released, the hair is below the skin, the pore closes as skin grows over it and this results in irritation, blocked pores and acne.

The single blade cuts the hair at the level of the skin. I love shaving now and can't believe I fell for all the hype for all this time.

Next I aim to eliminate shampoo....

Although this has been rather long winded, I felt it important to share with fellow acne suffers the pearls of my wisdom. I have been where some of you are or have been. Its easy to think that a product, over the counter or prescribed, will solve the problem because the world we live in is all about selling us things we don't need. Chemicals are sold to clean babies and so we have been conditioned to think that we need these products. The truth is, humans have lived for millions of years without harsh detergents and chemicals, relying on water and other natural ingredients. By stripping your face of its natural defences, we are making our skin more prone to attack.

My advice to anyone suffering from acne is to stop all products, use water and a cloth to exfoliate once or twice a day. You will be amazed at how quickly your skin will restore itself but be patient (1-2 weeks). After seeing the results, you too will question why we need all these things sold to us in our lives - we don't!