Hello all!
This is my first forum post so I'm going to start with a little bit about my acne.
If you want to get right to the caveman regimen just skip ahead!
I am a 23 year old female, I have suffered with acne since my teens and have tried everything short of Accutane to clear my skin. Antibiotics, benzoyl peroxide, Dan's Regimen, Retinol, over the counter treatments, apple cider vinegar, manuka honey, you name it. I spend a lot of time googling acne and treatments and I have never reached a solution.
I would read someone elses article online or a post on this forum and think "YES! That's me! I've finally found my cure!" Only to rush out to buy/try whatever it was that had cured someone else and be let down yet again.
Let me also mention here that every time I tried a product I stuck to it, and gave it a good 6 weeks to make sure I wasn't purging or just having an initial breakout.
Finally I decided no more. None of the products I had tried had ever improved my skin (short of benzoyl peroxide which burnt my skin, came with various health warnings, and was really just a plaster for the problem of my acne rather than a cure.)
Caveman Regimen
So 2 weeks ago I quit washing my face. Completely. No cleanser, toner, moisturizer, not even water, has touched my face for 2 weeks. This method is known as the "no wash" or "caveman" regimen. You can read more about it here.
http://thelovevitamin.com/3819/caveman-regimen-3-month-update/
The first week I would describe as difficult. I was so used to washing my face that it felt uncomfortable to go to bed at night and just lay my head down on the pillow without a half an hours worth of cleansing and waiting and treating and toning. My skin didn't change much, it just felt dry and a little lacklustre. Yet, I did notice that my cystic breakouts were slowing.
Come week 2 and I love the regimen, that is, I love not standing infront of the mirror for half the night touching and washing my skin. I love the ease of it and it's liberating to not scrutinise my skin twice a day. (I am a picker so I'm sure that not having a reason to touch my face twice a day and feel all its lumps and bumps has helped.
Also, since I strongly believe that acne is our bodies way of telling us that we're doing something it doesn't like, whether that be living an unhealthy lifestyle or layering on products every night, the caveman regimen made sense to me by giving my skin a chance to really breathe, and show me what's going on inside.
I believe my breakouts may be to do with a food allergy (the usual culprits, gluten, dairy etc) but I'll save that for another post.
Need Advice
Entering into week 3 of the caveman I am beginning to see the surfacing of the dreaded "dead skin mask," the layer of skin that has not been washed away by daily cleansing. My skin, although much clearer and with almost no breakouts, is dry, flakey and congested. I am looking for some advice from anyone who has got this far in the caveman regimen, or dare I say had success!
Did you also experience this dry, congested appearance?
Did you stick with it?
And how long did you let the dead skin mask do its thing before you used water to remove it?
Thanks for any feedback!
I may continue to update here as I progress in the caveman regimen.
Bye for now!
J x
I've never done the caveman regimen, but my guess as to why it works is that products you were using before on your face (cleansers, moisturizers, toners, etc.) were breaking you out. Even products that say they are non-comedogenic can clog your pores. I think it's pointless to avoid water and exfoliation (from a washcloth or towel) completely. If your water is very hard, get a filter. Try experimenting with cleansing with one ingredient products like oils, soapnuts, or stevia. If you venture into cleansing with oils, make sure you patch test first. I personally cleanse with an oil because everything else breaks me out.
Hey, thanks for the reply!
Yeah I am unsure about how necessary it is to completely avoid water touching my face.
The only reason I have been doing that so far is because I have read that even water can upset the skins pH balance, which can leave it dry. My skin is already so dry on this regimen that I wouldn't want to upset it and risk having to use a moisturiser! (since that would just put me back in the loop of using skincare)
Before I started the caveman I was just using raw honey as a cleanser and even that was breaking me out. I think my skin may be super sensitive to physical irritation.
I would love to try cleansing with oils. I love the idea of only having to use one product! I'm just so scared of a breakout! Can I ask what kind of oil you use for cleansing?
I have heard that jojoba and grapeseed are good options.
Filtered water has a neutral pH so I'm not sure how it would upset the skins pH. The only way I can think of this happening is if the water had something in it (hard water) that could be causing an issue. I have heard of some people who had issues with the water in their homes breaking them out and their skin improved by installing a filter.
Sometimes even natural things like honey can cause breakouts. Several natural things cause me to breakout like coconut oil, silica, etc.
If you'd like to try cleansing with an oil, it's best to do a patch test first to see if it will break you out. Pick a spot that is breakout prone, and only apply it to that spot for a week and see what happens. For me that spot would be right next to my nose. It really is hit and miss what oil works best for you. People say high linoleic oils like grapeseed, safflower. sunflower, and hemp work well for acne prone skin. All of these oils clogged my pores, though. I have had the best luck with meadowfoam seed oil and watermelon seed oil. I currently cleanse with just watermelon seed oil and if I'd dry I leave some on for moisture. What's good about cleansing with oils is that when you find one that works for you, you can massage them into your skin causing some of your clogs to just pop out because oil dissolves oil.
I guess it was just purging because its ALL gone now!! Geez i guess its been 6 weeks now. I'm sticking with this forever. My final regimen:
Once a day/every other day splash face with water or wipe with green tea
Fridays: very gentle Moroccan Rhassoul clay
Rhassoul clay is like bentonite clay, just more gentle, it doesn't dry the skin at all. Its pricey, but it should last awhile because i'm only using it once a week. I mix it with rose water or acv
Tuesdays: Gently exfoliate with sponge and very very mild soap. I don't even know what this soap is, a friend brought it back from Taiwan, but i do not need a moisturizer after using it. My skin feels smooth and soft after...of course i'm only using it once a week, so that might be why lol.
I use NO moisturizer EVER except a teeny drop of vit C serum only under my eyes.
So I'm practically doing nothing, just one washing a week, and one mask, staggered so my skin is getting cleansed every 3/4 days amd its going GREAT!!!! I'm super happy. I wish more people would come around these posts again because it DOES work...at least for alot of ppl...and me lol. And i was terrified to try it and almost gave up at day 14 and again around day 28 or 30...but now on day 42 or so, the purging is over, not more spots, no congestion, just smooth skin and a few fading marks
SUCCESS!!!!!