Hello Everyone
So.. I'm a 20 year old male and I had severe acne since the age of 13, i've used probably every acne antibiotic on the market except for accutane (which i refuse to attempt) and every available topical cream/gel possible and although these have brought my acne down from severe to mildish acne (i actually think the acne is starting to die down *fingers crossed*) i have been left with extreme hyper pigmentation on both cheeks and what my dermo describes as lots of comedones on my nose, chin and cheeks. Also i still get little breakouts every so often and my face is really REALLY oily.
So while browsing the internet i came across 'The caveman regimen' experiment by a girl named Tracy on 'The Love Vitamin' website (google it) which i found interesting and after reading about her success and reading alot more about the 'caveman regimen' on various other sites and how it's cleared many peoples acne, hyper pigmentation, oily skin etc i've decided to give it a go and share my experience with you whether its success or a great failure. Maybe it will work, maybe it won't but it can't hurt to try 
Your probably wondering what The 'Caveman Regimen' is. Well.. It's a regimen where you don't wash your face for atleast 4-5 weeks, YES don't wash your face with anything not even water. It may sound weird or stupid but what it does is it allows your skin to replace its acid mantle which we all destroy by using all those topical gels/creams etc and in the long run leaves you with clear skin. You can get a better view of the experiment on 'the love vitamin' website (google it) its basically my inspiration lol
Having a healthy diet is also very important for acne, read the books 'The dietary cure for acne' and 'The paleo diet cookbook' by Loren Cordain. You can find them for free online somewhere, i found them on the 'Scribd' Iphone App (shhh )
Today (actually tonight) is the start of the regimen and i haven't washed my face yet. I'll try to post everyday or every few days to update on my progress.
Wish me luck!
P.s i haven't used any topicals or creams on my face in a while, the only thing i washed my face with originally was the 'Dove beauty cream bar'.
Anyways cya soon
Ok so it's day 2 and so far it's been alright. My face was oily but strangely not as much as when i washed my face, i just used a towel and gently blotted it off and it was fine. I still went out as usual and i probably felt more confident... Weird i know but aye lol
If you want a better view of the 'Caveman Regimen' you can find it here http://www.thelovevitamin.com/3135/caveman-regimen/#.UrJazD8gGc0
You'll see links at the bottom to see her updates and final results. Hope it helps.
I'd just like to add that from tomorrow i'll start taking vitamin d3 5000iu and zinc 50mg as my dermo suggested i may be deficient in these vitamins.... Whether these will help or halt the progress with the regimen who knows, after all it's an experiment
I'll keep you up to date.
Day 3:
Wasn't going to post today as nothings changed since yesterday except i started taking the Vitamin D and Zinc today. Face still getting oily and hyper pigmentation still looks the same. I think i'll leave it a couple of days before i update on here unless theres possitive progress.
If only i could wake up in the morning and say my face is clear... i'd definately run down my street in my boxers haha
Hey Tim,
Good luck with this experiment. I too have just started this a couple of days ago, and I also started taking Vit D and Zinc daily. My face is super oily, and also itchy.
keep us updated, cheers mate
Cheers Francis and good luck to you too. Yh i still have a little bit of oil but it has died down a bit and also the itchiness i had in the first couple of days has suddenly gone.
Keep us up to date mate
Day 5 update: And it's a really good update, my skin has improved by atleast 15%. I haven't had any new pimples and the old ones are flaking off, also the hyper pigmentation is decreasing at a good pace and i have noticed the blackheads on my nose are starting to disappear.
It almost sounds too good to be true but i'm extremely happy with the progress so far.
Also with the Vitamin D and Zinc i started with a dosage of 10,000iu Vitamin D and 100mg Zinc per day which i'll take for 2 weeks then lower the dose.
Maybe it's the Vitamin D and Zinc thats clearing my skin because when you live in a big city called London in England where it rains 99% percent of the time it's impossible to get some sun lol
Anyways cya for the next update
Good update mate, happy to hear that it's looking positive even after a few days.
My skin has also become less oily, and the CrAzY itichiness i experienced when i first started has subsided too. I'm still taking my vitmains daily and also having a lemon water in the morning. I'm sticking to that paleo diet to see if that helps with it as well.
Overall, my face has calmed down since i started. Still quite red, but less whiteheads, and smaller now, of which some are drying out and flaking. I'm pleased so far, i'll see how it goes further down the track.
Cheers
Well this is Day 5 of doing nothing to my face and I am pleased to report that it's making great progress. My face has regulated itself so fast, not oily, not dry, and feels fantastic. I am surprised how good it feels. Regarding my acne, whereas I would be breaking out badly with whiteheads daily and clumps of them, I haven't experienced this over the last couple of days, one or two isolated small ones...can handle that any day. The previous white heads have dried up and flaking off with other bumps slowly flattening now. The redness in my face is slowly reducing and I am starting to get colour back into my face. I am so happy about this. My face is no where near perfect, but I am so surprised of the progress I am making. I am still eating very healthy and started to take cool showers, that does help prevent my face from opening up from the steam and becoming red after a shower.
Cheers
Well this is Day 5 of doing nothing to my face and I am pleased to report that it's making great progress. My face has regulated itself so fast, not oily, not dry, and feels fantastic. I am surprised how good it feels. Regarding my acne, whereas I would be breaking out badly with whiteheads daily and clumps of them, I haven't experienced this over the last couple of days, one or two isolated small ones...can handle that any day. The previous white heads have dried up and flaking off with other bumps slowly flattening now. The redness in my face is slowly reducing and I am starting to get colour back into my face. I am so happy about this. My face is no where near perfect, but I am so surprised of the progress I am making. I am still eating very healthy and started to take cool showers, that does help prevent my face from opening up from the steam and becoming red after a shower.
Cheers
Looks like we're both on the right track one thing though are you living in Aussie? If so why would you need vitamin d when you live in one of the most sun efficient countries lol - just a thought aha
Day 8 update: face is still improving at a very good pace, my complexion is getting clearer and i'm seeing more and more natural skin tone everyday. haven't had any new pimples appear which is GREAT and my face isn't as oily as before.
Vitamin dosage is still Vitamin D 10,000iu and Zinc 100mg per day.
I still haven't put any water on my face although it did get a bit wet by the horrible 80mph wind storm we had yesterday... I would give anything to move to somewhere sunny right now, any takers? Haha..
Anyways i post another update soon.. Cya
Yeah, my doctor found a was a little deficient in Vitamin D, considering I live in a country like this haha go figure. Well, I had a beach Christmas yesterday as it was quite a hot day, got plenty of sunshine and felt like it did my skin the world of good.
Good to hear you're still progressing along nicely, Tim.
Well, This is day 8 for me and things are looking really great. I can't believe the transition that's taken place, but my skin is still feeling great. A few new whiteheads, but they're very small and usually disappear the next day after a good nights rest. My complexion is improving greatly, i'm also seeing lots of new clear skin which i haven't seen for a long time. My skin is actually looking lighter and brighter instead of being red and inflamed. I am getting confidence back and feeling much more comfortable to go out and be in public.
My face is also not feeling oily nor dry, i don't need to put anything on it...feels good!
Cheers
Start of day 11 update:
Well what can i say? My face is still clearing of the hyperpignentation (red marks), i haven't had any new pimples and the oilyness is almost gone. So far this regimen has been faultless for me, the saying 'less is more' is definately the case in my opinion when it comes to our skin.
I've agreed with myself to only look in the mirror once a day, maybe twice (once in the morning and once at night) and trust me it makes a difference, what's the saying a watched kettle never boils.
I'm also only blotting my face just in the morning with a soft towel to make the oilyness look a little less.
The last couple of days have been really hard with all the junk food layed out in front of me for xmas day and boxing day... But i stayed strong and i continued the paleo diet and i didn't even touch the alcohol which is surprising for me , although thats mainly because today is my sister's bday so im gonna get WRECKED later which is why i'm updating now and not tonight because trying to write this while i'm drunk aint happening haha
ok cya soon for another update
Yeah, my doctor found a was a little deficient in Vitamin D, considering I live in a country like this haha go figure. Well, I had a beach Christmas yesterday as it was quite a hot day, got plenty of sunshine and felt like it did my skin the world of good.
Good to hear you're still progressing along nicely, Tim.
Well, This is day 8 for me and things are looking really great. I can't believe the transition that's taken place, but my skin is still feeling great. A few new whiteheads, but they're very small and usually disappear the next day after a good nights rest. My complexion is improving greatly, i'm also seeing lots of new clear skin which i haven't seen for a long time. My skin is actually looking lighter and brighter instead of being red and inflamed. I am getting confidence back and feeling much more comfortable to go out and be in public.
My face is also not feeling oily nor dry, i don't need to put anything on it...feels good!
Cheers
Great to see your getting your confidence back francis, i'm a little jealous of the xmas beach party though maybe you'll have to invite me next time haha
I'm glad this regimen is working for other people aswell, keep us updated
I hope this works for you guys its pretty inspirational to read I really would like to come off my BP Face wash been using it for about 11 months now and it keeps me relatively clear but still i get a couple whiteheads throughout the week. Keep us updated!
Hi Hawaii4life,
I'm glad this is inspiring to you, should also check out the blog that originally inspired me on 'the love vitamin' website the link is on one of my earlier posts.
With the bp face-wash like any other bp products i've used in the past like you've experiences it does help to reduce the inflamed spots to a certain point but doing so it destroys the skin underneath and when you stop using the product the acne just comes back so effectively all i was going was masking the problem which is why i stopped using them a couple of years ago.
To be honest if you were to try the 'caveman regimen' i'd say now is the perfect time as your acne is pretty calm.
Good luck with what you do and keep us all update to date with your regimens.
Hi all,
new to the forums, been wanting to research the "caveman" idea for a bit.
Interesting read, hope all goes well with your caveman regimen idea
Hi Islandsand123,
Thanks for reading, may i ask what sort of acne you have and are you thinking of trying the regimen as well?
Again as i said to Hawaii4life for the best research in my opinion its definitely the experiment by the girl Tracy on the love vitamin website (link in earlier post)
Good luck with your research and i hope you find what you need
Hi all,
new to the forums, been wanting to research the "caveman" idea for a bit.
Interesting read, hope all goes well with your caveman regimen idea
Hi Islandsand123,
Thanks for reading, may i ask what sort of acne you have and are you thinking of trying the regimen as well?
Again as i said to Hawaii4life for the best research in my opinion its definitely the experiment by the girl Tracy on the love vitamin website (link in earlier post)
Good luck with your research and i hope you find what you need
I had perfect skin as of about 4-5 months ago, but it became inflammed and irritated when I started using cleansers and such.
I started because I heard it would improve skin health and was a good idea even if you didn't get many pimples and such.
I mostly have small bumps around the forehead t-zone, and inflammation on the cheeks. No real blackheads or whiteheads are problematic.
Hi all,
new to the forums, been wanting to research the "caveman" idea for a bit.
Interesting read, hope all goes well with your caveman regimen idea
Hi Islandsand123,
Thanks for reading, may i ask what sort of acne you have and are you thinking of trying the regimen as well?
Again as i said to Hawaii4life for the best research in my opinion its definitely the experiment by the girl Tracy on the love vitamin website (link in earlier post)
Good luck with your research and i hope you find what you need
I had perfect skin as of about 4-5 months ago, but it became inflammed and irritated when I started using cleansers and such.
I started because I heard it would improve skin health and was a good idea even if you didn't get many pimples and such.
I mostly have small bumps around the forehead t-zone, and inflammation on the cheeks. No real blackheads or whiteheads are problematic.
Hi Island,
I had a similar problem with mine. Even if I have had acne since I was quite young, my face finally cleared for a couple of years and I had great skin. I didn't wash with anything, sometimes just giving it a splash of cool water when i felt the need to. That was only until recently when I tried to introduce these facial washers/cleansers into my daily routine, like you I was being told how it would benefit me. It was great at first, then the dryness started to come. Inflammation gradually worsened and before you know it you're trying to battle all this with countless other facial products. It's like fighting fire with fire. BP face wash was the absolute WORSE for me. I felt like my skin had a ton of acid thrown on it, it got that bad I had to get medical advice. the state of my face now has never been the same.
I wish all the best whatever you decide to do.
Cheers
Day 11 now
My face continues to heal. It feels really great, I even got a compliment from my friend yesterday on how clean my face actually looks...little does she know i haven't washed it in 11 days. I don't feel the need to even give it a splash of water either. I'm only getting the occasional white head which heals up quite quickly which is great. The redness in my face is continuing to fade, and getting more and more natural skin colour every day. Areas of my face that would be my most problematic areas with continuous breakouts one after the other have ceased. I never thought i'd see a day without a new breakout, but I have.
I am still taking my zinc and vitamin D daily, lemon water in the morning and keeping up my paleo diet.
I am very happy, and I am going out so much enjoying life now...i feel like my lifestyle has improved. This is very important factor for my improvement.
Day 12 update:
Ok so i don't have any GREAT news this time because i woke up today (with a massive hangover) and i have a couple of new pimples .. Although i know its because i got completely wasted last night and i was drinking orange juice and such. One thing i would like to know is if anyone else experienced little red patches on their face when doing this regimen, it only started yesterday (before getting drunk) and it's kinda freaking me out.. Any ideas??
Ok so now the bad bit is out of the way i am still seeing improvement on the rest of my face so i know this regimen is still working and i'm sure it will all be good soon
Trust me i'm NEVER having another hiccup during this experiment lol
From now on it's paleo diet and NO MORE vodka!!
Day 11 now
My face continues to heal. It feels really great, I even got a compliment from my friend yesterday on how clean my face actually looks...little does she know i haven't washed it in 11 days. I don't feel the need to even give it a splash of water either. I'm only getting the occasional white head which heals up quite quickly which is great. The redness in my face is continuing to fade, and getting more and more natural skin colour every day. Areas of my face that would be my most problematic areas with continuous breakouts one after the other have ceased. I never thought i'd see a day without a new breakout, but I have.
I am still taking my zinc and vitamin D daily, lemon water in the morning and keeping up my paleo diet.
I am very happy, and I am going out so much enjoying life now...i feel like my lifestyle has improved. This is very important factor for my improvement.
One thing Francis.... Did you blot off any excess oil when you first started and is your face still getting oily?
Hey Tim,
The first couple of days I felt like I had a lot more oil that usual. I didn't wipe it off because I knew that my face was producing it for a reason and would deal with it itself. It certainly did and my face has not been oily ever since. My face is in a great state at the moment.
Yesterday I went out as the weather was sunny and I relaxed in the sun. I've noticed getting sun on my skin does great things for it. Still improvement again this morning, just one or two new whiteheads, but they're very small and almost unnoticeable. Really happy with my progress thus far.
Cheers
Hey Tim,
The first couple of days I felt like I had a lot more oil that usual. I didn't wipe it off because I knew that my face was producing it for a reason and would deal with it itself. It certainly did and my face has not been oily ever since. My face is in a great state at the moment.
Yesterday I went out as the weather was sunny and I relaxed in the sun. I've noticed getting sun on my skin does great things for it. Still improvement again this morning, just one or two new whiteheads, but they're very small and almost unnoticeable. Really happy with my progress thus far.
Cheers
Good to hear.. It's been about the same for me so far, one step at a time.. Also what dosage of vit d and zinc do you take
Day 13 update:
Today has been really good, the pimples i had yesterday have just dried out and disappearing fast and the red patches i was experiencing are fading quickly aswell. I thought it might have been the alcohol that caused the red patches and pimples but now i think it was just part of the recovery phase.
Overall my complexion is still getting better, i'd say its improved about 30-35% since i started this experiment.
I have had a little flaking on my nose and cheeks near my nose which is not noticeable unless i brush it with my finger, Although i hear it does get worse as time goes on so i'll see what happens
Vit D and Zinc dosage still 10,000iu and 100mg
If anyone is thinking of trying or has tried this regimen please post on this thread and help others by sharing your experience.
Feel free to ask questions as well.
I'll post again tomorrow
Hi all,
new to the forums, been wanting to research the "caveman" idea for a bit.
Interesting read, hope all goes well with your caveman regimen idea
Hi Islandsand123,
Thanks for reading, may i ask what sort of acne you have and are you thinking of trying the regimen as well?
Again as i said to Hawaii4life for the best research in my opinion its definitely the experiment by the girl Tracy on the love vitamin website (link in earlier post)
Good luck with your research and i hope you find what you need
I had perfect skin as of about 4-5 months ago, but it became inflammed and irritated when I started using cleansers and such.
I started because I heard it would improve skin health and was a good idea even if you didn't get many pimples and such.
I mostly have small bumps around the forehead t-zone, and inflammation on the cheeks. No real blackheads or whiteheads are problematic.
Yh i guess thats how it was for quite a few people which is why they decided to try this 'no wash' regimen because they realised it was all those cleansers and creams making them have acne.
I was different, i had severe acne since 13-14 (it's genetics in my case) but now i don't really get pimples often. The only reason i'm doing this regimen is to get rid of hyper pigmentation which is working great.
I'd definitely say give it a go though..
Yh i guess thats how it was for quite a few people which is why they decided to try this 'no wash' regimen because they realised it was all those cleansers and creams making them have acne.
I was different, i had severe acne since 13-14 (it's genetics in my case) but now i don't really get pimples often. The only reason i'm doing this regimen is to get rid of hyper pigmentation which is working great.
I'd definitely say give it a go though..
I believe that's the case for me. I'm on day 5 and my face has almost completely cleared up. I'm repeatedly kicking myself in the face for even starting with the washes.
What I can say about this from what I'm seeing so far, if you do not have genetic acne, this is a very good idea to try. For me it seems that all the excess irritation and washing was causing my acid mantle to be wrecked. When I stopped fussing with it, it naturally started to heal.
Yh i guess thats how it was for quite a few people which is why they decided to try this 'no wash' regimen because they realised it was all those cleansers and creams making them have acne.
I was different, i had severe acne since 13-14 (it's genetics in my case) but now i don't really get pimples often. The only reason i'm doing this regimen is to get rid of hyper pigmentation which is working great.
I'd definitely say give it a go though..
I believe that's the case for me. I'm on day 5 and my face has almost completely cleared up. I'm repeatedly kicking myself in the face for even starting with the washes.
What I can say about this from what I'm seeing so far, if you do not have genetic acne, this is a very good idea to try. For me it seems that all the excess irritation and washing was causing my acid mantle to be wrecked. When I stopped fussing with it, it naturally started to heal.
Good job, i'm glad it's working great for you. Stay positive and be sure update us
Day 15 update: i think..
Well it's been an interesting couple of days, i'm definitely starting to get a lot more flakiness but i expected that so it doesn't really bother me that much. I have actually had about 4 new pimples come up around my chin/jawline (1 big one and 3 little ones) but that's because i've been eating terribly the last few days, i ate pizza yesterday and today i had a load of pizza and some Champagne (just a little nye party at my sister's/brother-in-law's) which i must congratulate myself on not drinking any alcohol haha