Your skin renews itself and constantly shreds itself so if you're not washing maybe it just builds up?

Thats why exfolaition is meant to be so good, it helps to speed it up and make the skin look younger.

Do you moisturise and prep your skin? Do you wipe any products off?

I do not put anything on my skin anymore. This is the only way to keep cysts from appearing.

I habe many problems with my facial skin:

If I eat sugar (or high GI foods): I break out heavily and instantly.

I mean, lots of pustules and some papules after a few days being back on sugary foods.

The same goes for milk. I can not go anywhere near milk.

My acne does not calm down through the use of topical treatment.

If goes down through the use of Ibuprofen (took me 15 years to figure that one out).

If I put creams, soap, anything (from cetaphil to specific acne cleanser) just results in cysts.

My skin has probably become hyper-sensitive from the accutane treatments and all the topicals I was prescribed over the years.

In a nutshell, I am left with very little option.

Not washing my face keeps it totally under control, and I have never had such a clear skin as the one I have now.

But clearly, everyone can see the dead skin sitting on my face, which is not the best option either!

Im not sure then, its just your skin shedding.

Im not the most informed person really on this. I always thought that if you didnt wash your face then it would age and youd be setting yourself up for a breakout later, but you dont seem to fit that....no idea sorry

According to a lot of threads, it's really common to have a buildup of dead skin and experience dryness while using the caveman regimen (basically what you're doing). Every few days, you should wipe off the excess buildup, but other than that there isn't anything you can do if you want to stick with it.

My skin is really overly dry. I am starting to use aloe vera has a moisturizer. I get patches of dead skin. Really, really dry.