I did not know where to post this as it is my first post as well. I did the caveman regimen for a little over 45 days and although it seemed ok, once I rinsed off the thickest layer of dead skin, hundreds. And I mean hundreds. Of little pimples showed their faces. I feel destroyed. I know some people on this site have and still do suffer from worse acne than me but I went from having one or two occasional pimples to now having a face FULL of acne. Everywhere! I don't even want to leave my house. I know I am just ranting but I was wondering if anyone else had similar reactions. I caved in tonight and washed my face with dr bronners lavender soap and moisturized with aloe - my previous regimen. I'd much rather have those one or two annoying pimples now than the skin I face when in the mirror.
I would probably start applying some BP.
I would post this in the many caveman threads where they keep telling each other this dead skin mask and no water nonsense.
Not interfering with skin function with cleansers and drying, irritating topicals is a good thing. But the rest is nonsense. Your acid mantle is restored everyday. Not after months and layers of dead skin.
I know how you feel, I did that same mistake a couple of years ago. My whole face got covered with this thick oil, like some machine oil and it was so clogged, I had pimples on top of pimples, caveman regimen is like suicide, except you don't get the reward to die, you have to face the humiliation.
alterativista is correct, that caveman regimen is awful. I never tried it, but it sounds so disqusting - why leave oils that are actually one of the causes of acne AND on top of that leaving dead skin cells on your face. What I do is just wash your face with warm water first, then wash it with cold water to close pores. I do not use any cleansers because it's so irritating and harsh on my skin. My skin has been much beter because of this. Oh, also exfoliate once or twice a week maximum. It helps remove dead skin cells and keeps your skin smooth and clean! I hope your breakout subsidizes! Good luck!
alterativista is correct, that caveman regimen is awful. I never tried it, but it sounds so disqusting - why leave oils that are actually one of the causes of acne AND on top of that leaving dead skin cells on your face. What I do is just wash your face with warm water first, then wash it with cold water to close pores. I do not use any cleansers because it's so irritating and harsh on my skin. My skin has been much beter because of this. Oh, also exfoliate once or twice a week maximum. It helps remove dead skin cells and keeps your skin smooth and clean! I hope your breakout subsidizes! Good luck!
The cleansers also impair numerous skin functions. Almost everything in the skin and hair care aisles are there to solve problems caused by the other things in the aisle, plus the soap aisle which is the root of the problem.
Caveman "regimen" is the dumbest skincare trend to ever exist and is largely perpetuated by people who have already really cured their acne with diet which makes it look like it "works". People of all cultures, for thousands of years, have devised methods of cleaning their bodies. These methods might seem unusual (cleaning with oil and scraping the oil and sweat off with a scraper... the application of and subsequent rubbing off of dirt) but the goal is the same: to slough off the crusty bits and help the skin exfoliate itself. The acid mantle regenerates itself when it is treated kindly, that is, not cleaned off with harsh, antibacterial detergents 2x a day. You don't need to ignore your skin and let it fester in its own goo to allow that to happen. It can be done with warm water and a gentle (natural) soap for the body and a light cleansing oil for the face. My brother is the dirtiest person in the whole world. He is the living embodiment of "the caveman method", and his body, hair, face all have a patina of filth at all times. He smells, and was recently treated for a raging staph infection on his back. We are not meant to sit in our own dirt indefinitely. I think even cavemen went swimming sometimes 