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Stopped Washing My Face

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(@lilaseeblume)

Posted : 09/21/2012 10:58 pm

Hello All,

 

I am 29 and have struggled with mild to severe acne since I was 9 years old. I am currently using the caveman regimen (slightly modified)...

 

My acne history:

When I was 27 I went on isotretinoin (20 mg/day for 6 months) to treat a severe and persistent acne outbreak that covered my face, neck, chest, upper arms and back in pustules, whiteheads and huge painful cysts. After the treatment, my skin cleared to the point where I didn't even have a clogged pore! At 28, I began to develop white heads, oily skin and clogged pores on my face (all other parts of my body have remained clear to this day!), and I expressed my concern (actually, my severe anxiety) that my acne would return to my dermatologist. He put me on a second round (again 20 mg/day for 6 months). My acne today is very manageable. At the most I might have 6 or 7 whiteheads at a time, at the least 0 and absolutely NO cysts- Yay! I have oily skin on my face, particularly on my t-zone but nothing like what I had before and like I said the rest of my body is clear.

 

No Face Washing 'Caveman Regimen' Theory:

 

I learned about the no face washing, leave it alone, 'caveman regimen' about 2 months ago when I was doing some reading online which requires one to simply not wash their face- use no face wash, no spot treatments, no benzoyl peroxide NOTHING on their face except a splash of water (at most- some people go complete caveman and use nothing) for, well, indefinitely. Apparently people who have struggled with oily skin and acne are seeing incredible results. I finally decided to try it four weeks ago. Had someone suggested this to me when I was covered in pimples and pustules and cysts I would have literally slapped them... so I know what you're thinking believe me! I think now that I am not dealing with crazy severe acne like I was before, makes this psychologically more feasible. But I really think there is some truth to this, so hear me out... So basically, the theory behind the caveman regimen (so I have read) is that your skin actually has a barrier (I think its correctly termed an acid mantle) that protects your skin cells from all sorts of things, e.g. acne vulgaris bacteria and all those other evils that get into your skin and cause us issues. When you wash and treat your face constantly with chemicals (and yes, I say with chemicals... I was shocked when I finally did read the ingredients list of my *gentle* clinique cleanser), then you strip your skin of this protective barrier. Additionally, and supposedly, you end up drying your skin by frequent harsh washing, causing small flakes and micro-abrasions and when the sebum does emerge to the surface of your skin (a natural process), instead of being absorbed and creating a plump healthy surface, the sebum runs straight out and/or gets stuck in all of those flakes and cracks and micro crevices. along with bacteria (which are rampant sans acid mantle), and then creating acne. By NOT washing ones face, then you are allowing your skin to heal, form the natural acid barrier, where the top skin cells then have a chance to become plump, happy and healthy again absorbing the oil and giving you a healthy appearance, and fighting off the bacteria...

 

MY no Face Washing Regimen:

So basically for the last 4 WEEKS what Ive been doing is this...

(1) Morning- dont wash face- splash with lukewarm water at most and pat dry with a clean towel

(2) Night- dont wash face- splash with lukewarm water at most (sometimes not at all) and pat dry with a clean towel

(3) If I was wearing makeup- use pure jojoba oil and a cotton ball to gently remove it (no soap!)

(4) I also take zinc and B vitamin supplements to feed my skin from the inside

(5) If I have white heads that must go (e.g. date out with the hubs, formal event that I cant have a glaring whitehead waving Hello at everyone, ETC) then I use a dissolvable zinc and vitamin c tablet (the ones you put in water and they dissolve and you drink them)- well I take that, get it wet so it starts to fiz and rub the affected area until the white head is removed), splash with warm water and pat dry. The zinc usually helps to heal the pimple very fast- but again, I only do this for Emergencies- the point of all of this is to allow the skin to heal itself- no touching! :)

** If I wear sunscreen then I use one with NO Emulsifiers !!! (If you live in Germany- then sunscreen for people prone to 'Mallorca-Akne' one Emulgatoren).// And again, rinse off with water at the end of the day.

 

Results so far (after 4 weeks):

 

My forehead was completely blocked with clogged pores and I had multiple white heads along my hairline- They are all gone! Clogged pores and all! I occasionally get one or two whiteheads but they heal themselves almost overnight.

 

I was also suffering from breakouts along my jawline- these are completely gone.

 

I do still have a few whiteheads that like to emerge around my chin area- I am still hoping that these clear up over time.

 

My oily skin seems to have decreased (but my personal theory is that it is just better absorbed my health(ier) skin now.

 

My natural skin color has returned! My face looks like the color of the rest of my body (my husband asked me the other day if I was wearing makeup and I wasnt!) Yay!

 

Disclaimer:

 

I understand how difficult it is when you have very bad acne. I've been there. The last thing I would have wanted to do is stop washing my face. I would have felt helpless. I think the best thing for severe acne sufferers is get control of the oil from the inside- isotretinoin (accutane) worked for me (find a derm that prescribes it and talk to them to see if it would be an option for you), a diverse diet, zinc and vitamin B supplements, and omega 3 fatty acids worked for me ... and then once you start seeing results, the caveman regimen to eventually restore your skins natural skin balance.

 

For those with mild to moderate acne, I think this might be something to consider. Ill keep you posted on my results as the weeks go by... anyone else ever try this???

 

All the best to all of you. I know how hard this battle is.

 

Hugs

 

Lila

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(@fplix)

Posted : 09/22/2012 3:54 am

Not washing my face never works for me. I mean it kinda works for the first couple days. But after that my acne just comes back and starts breaking out like crazy in cysts and multiple pustules. It seems like in the beginning the oil mixes with the skin and kinda "massages" and "soothes" the skin but we know that can't last long. Oil ultimately equals zits no matter what. It's better to have a regular consistent effective washing/topical medication routine than to blindly rely on trying to be a cavemen. Our genetics simply don't allow it.

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(@robertitoo)

Posted : 09/24/2012 4:34 pm

Damn dude/dudet? from age 9 to 29..? I am wondering..what did you eat as a young teenager and do your perants/grandperants have traces of acne??

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(@dejaclairevoyant)

Posted : 09/24/2012 4:53 pm

Doing this would be a deathwish for my skin! I think it's important to wash your face. I was doing the no soap/oil washing thing for awhile and my skin got worse and worse. I began using soap again and felt much cleaner and things improved some.

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(@betterness24)

Posted : 10/13/2012 9:43 pm

I've actually had great success with going easy on the cleaners. And lately, it seems every time I do decide to wash or apply some topical "help"- my acne just gets worse. I've always noticed that when my skin begins to heal and look better it's because I laid off the face washing. But it may be a skin type thing. I don't have super oily skin to begin with. SO maybe this helps those with low oil levels, but not for those with oily skin. Who knows! But thanks for the insight lilaseeblume :)

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(@bronck)

Posted : 10/14/2012 4:56 pm

I think that our high glycemic diets, genes and hygienic habits are all causal factors when it comes to acne. I don't think that any one of these factors alone causes acne.

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