Hi all,
I am new to the forums here, just to give you background on myself, I'm a 16 year old male, with mild acne and normal skin.
I am very fit, and eat healthy. No junk food, lots of fruit and veggies, organic meats and cheeses, etc.
About 4-5 months ago, I had perfect skin, it was all great, almost no major pimples/blackheads/discoloring or whatnot, but I would get a pimple every now and then, and thought, heck, is there stuff that can prevent it?
I started with a salacylic 1% wash that wrecked my face. Not fully sure why I started it, read somewhere it was good for you skin, even if you dont have major skin problems. Anyway, even though I correctly moisturized, it still was horrible.
New inflammation along my cheeks and forehead all over. I was pissed.
Dropping the salicylic, I tried natural remedies, mainly honey, lemon and sugar. Slight improvement, but to no avail.
Looking at all my siblings, they all have perfect skin. Got me to thinking, what is the difference between me and them?
I'm really the only one who puts stuff on their face and washes it frequently. Must be the problem, since it's not genetic.
So, I hop on to Google and find the caveman regimen. It makes sense to me, my skin was fine before I started washing and putting crap on it.
This will be my "log" so to say of my caveman regimen.
Day 1) Skin is discolored as normal, forehead t-zone has a bunch of inflammed red bumps, probably from last lemon/sugar scrub I did. Feeling really weird not washing my face or putting anything on it.
Day 2) Have to take a shower, kind of weird avoiding water on my face, but I do a good job keeping my face dry.
Anyone curious, I used Burts Bees Gel Cleanser, http://www.amazon.com/Burts-Bees-Purifying-Cleanser-Bottle/dp/B0027TZPVQ , a relatively "light" cleanser from what I've read, since it's only 1.0% acid, versus a more normal 2.
Day 3:
Went exercising with friends today, got smacked in the face with a dirty dodge ball,
showered, got enough water to rinse lightly on my face, but other than that nothing else.
Very optimistic about this, inflammation on my forehead is subsiding noticeably. Face is not dry at all in any spot, the natural oils are doing their thing. Had to resist itching my face in a few spots, skin isnt flaky, just occasionally an itch pops up and I have to do my best not to touch it. If I do, I grab a tissue and lightly scratch it. Forehead bumps are going away, quickly I might add.
Day 5,
Wow. This has worked amazingly for me. I exfoliated slightly today with light touching with a microfiber cloth and all the dead horrible skin shed off very easily; the layer underneath looks much healthier. Dryness has gone away and it appears that for my case, NOT fussing with my skin was the best option.
Had a few small whiteheads come up in various spots, but they were gone in hours, something that was rare for when I was fussing with my skin.
Day 7)
Tone and color has returned to my face, its amazing!!
My skin is still clearing up in the forehead and upper cheek area, but other than that it's going well. I've noticed skin exfoliates very easily at this point; I wouldn't call it flaky because its not dry. Took another shower, was okay with getting water on my face, but didn't rub it with water or touch it with the towel when drying off.
Still looking up.
What has your diet been like over the course of this regimen?
Just been keeping a normal diet, as similar to my diet from before I had skin problems.
Lots of veggies, organic meats, low sugar, whole grain, cheese, yogurts.
It's day 21 and my skin is looking a lot better. I did light exfoliation with sugar on my forehead the other day and it helped get some of the gucky layers of stuff.
I think this is working for me.
Exactly. Following this thread.
I guess I did not wait long enough before washing with water again; my face has improved since last month, but still not clear completely.
So I am technically on day 33 of no cleansers,
but I guess i have to restart since i rubbed all the progress off with the shower the other day...
Day, 3? try 2.
Interesting read. I'm trying something similar. I wear makeup and was taking it off with dr. bronners soap which the ph was much too high. I actually tested it with a ph strip and it was 8-9 on the scale meaning way too alkaline. Skin is 4.5 on the ph scale so acidic. It's important to find a cleanser that has a low ph. My face was soooo dry. We need the acid mantel as i'm sure you read when researching the caveman regimen.
Anyways I stopped using makeup and washing my face and its getting much better like with you. I only use water and moisturiser. Are you moisturising btw?
Nope, no moisturizing. No nothing.
Day 41?
Cheeks are completely cleared now, foreheadbumps have gone away,
Cheek tone and color pretty much fully restored, forhead almost there.
I think that if you have "induced" your own acne by starting to use cleansers/washes, and acne is not genetic, this is the way to go. Im so glad this has helped me.