Tonight I've decided to stop treating my skin like I'm afraid of it. Everywhere I go, I see people touching their faces. My roommate has a bit of a nervous tick where he rubs his hands violently all over his face. He has perfect skin. I NEVER touch mine. I shudder at the thought of brushing a loose eyelash off my cheek. Side thought: why should we have to wash our faces every day if it never gets touched?
I've done this a few times in recent months, but earlier I broke down and started rubbing my greasy, germ-y hands all over my bare face. I did this for half an hour. I was thinking, "everyone else does it, why can't I?" and, "oh god, it's been so looong" and, "oh yeah, this is what my face feels like". Then I started getting a bit freaked out to be honest, so I had a shower. In the shower, I washed my face "vigorously". I actually applied pressure. Like a normal person might, the odd time they remember to wash their face. I was trying to treat it (half) as bad as it treats me. To show it who's boss. There were a lot of "take that!"s and "how do you like me now?!"s.
I think washing my face like this, maybe even just twice a week, and not at all the rest of the week, could be good. On top of the psychological benefit of not being a terrified victim, I think it could reduce oil build up. I know all the theories about the acid mantle and avoiding over-washing. They make sense. But for the last couple of years my face has gone from oily to greasy to waxy, almost sticky. Like there's a thick layer of sludge sitting on it. I think it might be from only daintily rubbing my hands across it with face wash every once in a while.
So my question is: has anyone ever tried a more aggressive, care-free approach? Any stories to share?
Your oil sounds just like mine. Instead of the oil dripping off like some people say happens to them, my oil just gets more and more thick and sticky the longer I go without washing. I don't think it's some kind of build up, though. My face gets really oily within hours of washing it, no matter what I wash with. So at least for me, the problem isn't not washing enough, it's producing too much oil. And the only things I know of that decrease oil production are antiandrogens, accutane, and vitamin A and B5 megadoses.
And living like I don't have acne will NOT improve my acne whatsoever. It will make it worse. I don't really have a story to share, but whenever I try to stop using benzoyl peroxide, or eat whatever I want, I break out worse than normal. Sum1killme is right, we are not like people with clear skin. They touch their faces and eat junk food constantly because they don't have acne, not the other way around. Living like you don't have acne does not give you clear skin - having clear skin allows you to live like you don't have acne.
Side thought: why should we have to wash our faces every day if it never gets touched?
Good question. And the answer is you shouldn't. The more you wash, especially with crappy chemical loaded tap water, not to mention the harsh cleansers out there, the worse it is for skin. So many of those cleansers make the skin tight and dry, thus causing further irritation. And though there seems to be much debate on whether over-washing causes more oil to be produced, i'm a firm believer that it does.
There was a stretch of time where i didn't wash my face for almost a month. Just because i was sick of being scared of not washing. I shower every other day, and by shower i mean i jump in and right back out after a quick rinse. I don't trust my water supply, so i'm not letting it soak into my skin. We have a natural acid mantle, and when this gets stripped away to nothing, it can't nourish and protect the skin
I rub my face really hard when I wash it because my face is worse when I don't, and in the morning I scrub with exfoliating gloves in the shower and that really gets it clean. I wouldn't touch my face during the day though, but yeah after spending all day being careful it feels good to just rub it at night.
i touch my face a lot when im studying, which is like 24/7 (or more like procrastinating), but only when im alone. i think sleep is the biggest factor for me though, i slept a ton over thanksgiving break and my skin cleared up completely, like no bumps or zits or anything, just red marks left whooo! then i went back to school and bam! pimples.
I've been wondering whether a certain amount of "roughness" would stimulate blood circulation and skin healing. I've tried a few times, kind of like massaging my face (after washing my hands of course). I've never stuck to it enough to be able to make a judgement.
On a side note, the only time I wash my face is about once a week. I use this natural soap made with goat milk in the shower, and rub it on my face. I also make sure not to use hot water on my face. In general, I think most people with acne wash their face too much. You cannot "beat" acne this way. It's an internal problem influenced by your immune system, which is influenced by foods, hormones, nutrition, etc.
It has nothing to do with oil. Some people have tons of oil and not a single zit. It has nothing to do with bacteria. It's your immune system. A large part of our immune systems is comprised of the bacteria in our stomachs. Diets high in carbs cause a bad gut flora balance.
Some people are acne prone and others are not, clearly you should not be touching your skin like a normal skinned person would..because you are more susceptible to breakouts. Not a good idea..and neither is rubbing your face hard. Exfoliation is good, but not in excess and not hard or rough.