Hey there everyone!
I've been creeping around this site for quite some time but I finally decided to sign up and share my story, since I am going to try something new that I hope will give me some good results. We shall see, but if it doesn't, I figure I don't have that much to lose.
First things first: I wasn't sure whether to post this in the adult acne section or not. I am 18, and have had moderate to severe acne since I was about 16. Before that, I had perfect skin - as in, other people would comment on it. I NEVER had to wear makeup. And then, suddenly, BOOM, hello acne at 16, right when everyone else (or so it seemed) was clearing up from the teenage hormonal outbreaks.
I eat quite health (I'm a vegetarian 99% of the time, although I will occasionally cae and have some salmon... it's the only thing I haven't been able to drop) I rarely eat dairy, and am not a big fan of processed junk. I have tried the raw food diet, cleanses, veganism, and a whole bunch of other things that I hoped would help with my acne. Nothing worked.
As far as topicals is concerned, I have tried BP, SA, peels, mud masks, exfoliations, all sorts of different programs ranging from very gentle to burn-your-face-off aggressive, and have had some minor successes. Recently, I have been using a Neutrogena daily exfoliating face wash, a toner with 2% SA, a 4% benzoyl peroxide cream, an SA moisturizer, and for when my skin gets a bit dry, I use Clinique moisture surge. I've been having pretty good results with this on the acne side of things (been using it for about two months) but it hasn't cleared it up nor has it evened out my skintone. In fact, while my acne has improved (specifically the little spots, I still get the painful big cysts that you just CANNOT cover with makeup), my skin is starting to look tired and worn out.
The improvement isn't so great that if my new experiment backfires, I'll be heartbroken. Instead, I figure it's worth a try, and I've heard a lot of good reviews on it.
Starting today, I am only going to use water on my face, and maybe a soft washcloth to slough away dead skin. I didn't wash my face this morning, and I'll be washing it when I get in the shower with some lukewarm water. So far, my skin doesn't feel as irritated as usual, but it is also quite a bit more oily. However, I had some scabs left from dried-out acne and they aren't as painful.
Anyways, I'd like to invite you guys to try it with me for the New Year, and maybe we could exchange some wisdom if we find any 
I'm gooing to be home for about a week, which is why I figured I would try it now when I don't have to go out. I do, however, have one question.
For those of you who have tried it, how did you manage make-up? I've heard some people just use a very gentle cleanser if they wear it, or they wipe it away with a wash cloth under running water. I don't wear a lot, but I do have a few events coming up and I'm not sure if I'm willing to sacrifice it.
Thanks in advance!
I seriously been considering trying the caveman regimen because I seriously feel like at this point, being 22 in two weeks, my acne still looks awful and I don't remember what clear skin feels like. But I'm afraid if I try to caveman out, my skin will be way to oily for me to handle at the moment. For a while now I've been only using an oatmeal aveno soap, because it isn't as harsh on my skin, but I am currently reducing it down to a mixture I made with oatmeal and natural honey to cleanse with. I'm hoping this will help, but the results haven't really showed yet (its been about 2 weeks), so if this doesn't work I am tempted to try the water only method.
I don't want to get wrinkles before I can ever enjoy having pretty youthful skin. D:
Please update us on how it is working for you!
Have you gone to the dermatologist? Please please please go to the dermatologist. Otherwise, you will regret it when you have scars. Scars are much harder to get rid of than acne is. SA and BP just aren't strong enough for cystic acne. You need a retinoid, most likely. Tazorac cleared up my cystic acne. There are certain things I wasn't willing to do to clear up my acne (accutane scares the four lettered word out of me), but retinoids are relatively harmless -- even beneficial for your skin.
Make an appointment with the derm. See what he or she has to say. Ask questions, share your concerns, and follow the regimen he/she gives you to the dot for 3-6 months. If you don't see a change, they may try other things. I think you will see a change though. Most people do. Please don't ruin your skin. Severe acne is not usually something you can control without care from a dermatologist. Stop being miserable and please just pick up the phone and make an appointment.
"Adult acne" is acne in those over the age of 25.
As for cleansing with water only, water is actually more basic than your skin's natural pH (know as the acid mantle), so washing with water only can dry your skin out. Disrupting your acid mantle can also compromise the immune function of your skin: more inflammation, more bacteria induced acne lesions etc. Find a gentle pH balanced cleanser instead. Try seeking out the master non-comedogenic products list on this site.
Ok, here's my update after a few days of trying it:
My acne hasn't cleared up, but I notice a lot of it is drying up. Also, my skin finally feels like skin again, and my pores are smaller. So far, I am liking this thing. It's so simple. Also, I finally shed the dead skin 'mask' that was building up on my face, and the skin underneath just feels and looks so much softer and radiant. A lot of the spots that I had coming through before I started the watr-only regime have now surfaced, so I do have a few new spots, but they were going to come out anyways. I'm going to wait and see what they do in the next few days, as it is still too soon to see the real results. However, I am not experiencing any dryness (only the first day), and nothing major. So many people make it sound like it's such a big deal to not wash your face with harsh chemicals, but I actually inquired in my group of friends and two of the girls who have amazing skin told me that washing their skin with anythign but water actually makes them break out.
I am definitely going to stick to this for atleast another three weeks, so I get a full month out of it. Although I'm thinking I may get a spot treatment for some of the deeper zits that have been there for a long time already.
To the person saying I should go to the derm: Believe me, I have been to derms, and I have tried everything. The only thing that has gotten me was more frustration and more money spent. Also, I luckily do not have a lot of scarring, I just get a lot of red spots because I am very very pale. These disappear within a few weeks, and since I shed that layer of dead skin today (woah, sounds gross) a lot of that redness seems to have subsided. I have been dealing with acne for a while now (and have gone to the derm... who classed my acne as hormonal adult acne) and know my way around it, so I do not need to be preached to. You seemed to be very nice, but forgive me if it peeves me out a bit.
I have tried nearly everything, and I am not oblivious to the fact that water has an approximate ph of 7 and skin is 4.5 to 6.2. Yet, your skin comes into contact with water whether you wash it with a ph-balanced cleanser or not. I have tried these, and found I broke out too much.
Water is simple, and it doesn't cause irritation, which is a big thing for me. It obviously cannot destroy my skin, since it is natural, and works a lot better than anything I have tried so far. Pretty much all the acne products which I tried that had any effect on the acne just completely dried out and destroyed my skin, enlargening my pores, making it flake and dulling it out. This isn't necessarily any better than having zits (although it is a bit easier to cover with make-up). I'm happy I've tried this (although I don't want to jinx it).
I'm sure it won't work for everyone, but it is definitely worth a thought.
Hi there, so i'm new aswell to this acne.org thing so anyway i'm trying the caveman thing, for the past year pretty much i haven't worn makeup because my skin started to get bad i'm 16 so i dont think it's from puberty but anyway i've only been washing with water but at this point my cheeks are so red and sensitive, exfoliating is out of the question my face just gets so irritated, and my skin is bumpy and red, i remember i used to have perfect skin and all i did was wash with soap and water so i was thinking maybe if i started using a cleanser it might improve but it didnt just got more red, my question is with this caveman thing what if all the dead skin makes new acne ? and how do you remove it or is it safe to just leave it there? are you guys using water?