So I was just wondering whether anyone had experience with the Caveman or water only method?
I've tried this method before but always gave in going back to my topicals. Recently though my skin has gotten much worse and I'm just fed up with even doing a face routine. I just restarted spironolactone and birth control because it has cleared me previously. In the meantime I don't want to make things worse. I'm trying to eat a healthy diet, exercise, drink a lot of water, get good sleep and all those good things. I'm still stumped though on my face routine. I really would like to try either the extreme Caveman Regimen or water only.
I've been on spironolactone for two weeks and already my cysts have gone down and I haven't gotten any new ones..however I have been breaking out in smaller pimples all over my face and clogged pores and blackheads. I'm pretty sure that the majority of this is linked to the different skin care I've tried. I tried the oil cleansing method which definitely gave me more blackheads and recently I've been trying harsher topicals that have definitely been breaking me out. Not only that but my skin is exremely dehydrated and barely producing any oil from all the damage ive done to it! I think my skin just needs a break. So if anyone could give me advice on the best way to approach this "less is more" Regimen I would really appreciate it!
thanks! 
Ok guys I've been going back and forth trying to figure out what the best approach is for me.
Today I just splashed my face with water this morning.I was noticing today how my chest and back are perfectly clear and I don't use soap on them and I haven't for about 3 years! I noticed that whenever I washed with any type of soap or cleanser I would break out on my body so I just started using water.
For some reaosn though I've never been brave enough to try this approach on my face. But if it works for the rest of my body why wouldn't it work for my face? Seems logical. Or atleast I hope so.
I think I'm ready to take the plunge and really give it a fair chance to see if the caveman regimen could work for me. My problem is sticking to it. I easily give into the impulse to use something on my face.
At this point though I'm at my breaking point. Everything I try on my face seems irritate it. So I'm ready. No makeup (definitely the hardest part for me). No cleansers. No moisturizer.
I'm absolutely terrified.
Question is do I use water or do I go full on caveman no water atleast for a little while?
So if anyone out there has any advice for me it would be greatly appreciated!
Oh that's good to hear! Im definitely commited to trying this method now because I have heard a lot of positive thing about this regimen.
I dont want to get too excited yet just in case, but so far it I feel like i might be on the right track!
I'm praying that this will work out because honestly I absolutely adore the freedom of not having to put anything on my face. Emotionally it has been really good for me. Knowing that atleast I'm not irritating my face in anyway. I will definitely keep updating. Also I have been taking pictures to see my progress. If I feel brave enough I might post them!
If anyone has advice for me on this regimen I would love to hear it!
4 hours ago, GemmaD said:Yes it's purified water. I have a reverse osmosis water system for my home.
Chrt_mvc, how long did it take for you to notice improvement with this method? And what type of acne did you have? Mine had previously been mild but turned to moderate in the last couple weeks.
I don't have reallyy bad acne. I have Rosacea so almost every product irritated my skin so I decided to stop using cleansers and only wash my face with water . It took a few weeks to see a noticeable difference. If I get a pimple it does really heal faster and doesn't look as red. Since water doesn't completly strips out your natural oils like a cleanser , I don't have that thight skin feeling after I wash my face with water and my skin doesn't have to over produce oils because it feels dry.
Ok update for this morning day 4...so last night I'm not sure why I did this but I decided to exfoliate with a little oatmeal. Bad idea. Woke up this morning with a small cyst on my chin. I did have BBQ last night though and French fries which I don't normally eat....however I just instinctively feel like it was from the exfoliation not the food. Not only that but my skin is even more flaky than it was before I exfoliated...and my skin looks a little dull again. So that is the last time in a while I will do any type of exfoliating. I'm 100% committed to only water! I'm actually glad I made that mistake last night cause now I can really see how much the only water was helping! My skin really just wants to be left alone.
Oh one thing I forgot to mention is my neck is completely clear again! I never had trouble with my neck previously because I never washed it or put anything on it....but I had started using cerave cleanser and lotion on it a couple weeks ago and I started to get little pimples. Well after only 3 days of leaving it alone those pimples have cleared up! Here's to hoping my face has just as much success
2 hours ago, GemmaD said:Oh one thing I forgot to mention is my neck is completely clear again! I never had trouble with my neck previously because I never washed it or put anything on it....but I had started using cerave cleanser and lotion on it a couple weeks ago and I started to get little pimples. Well after only 3 days of leaving it alone those pimples have cleared up! Here's to hoping my face has just as much success
Yeah , I think the only down side for me with this regimen is deadskin .....I've been looking for masks that I'll use once every 2 months so my pores don't get clogged with deadskin
3 hours ago, GemmaD said:What about blackheads? Do you notice you get more on this Regimen or does it seem to help with blackheads?
I still have blackheads ..... it doesn't help it nor increase how many blackheads I get .... I've always had a problem with blackheads on my nose even when I was using skincare products 
19 minutes ago, GemmaD said:I'm glad to hear it hasn't increased your blackheads. I was a little worried that the sebum on the face might create more blackheads. I never used to get blackheads but after experimenting with different oils and moisturizers on my face I have a lot!
btw how many times do you wash your face? once , twice a day?
I splash my face with cold water (not too cold) in the morning and pat dry with my hands until it's dry and I do the same at night but I gently massage the skin a little bit while washing I also try to not get water on my face when I shower because the water is usually hot and shampoo can also irritate the skin
8 minutes ago, chrt_mvc said:
I've been doing it once a day at night time after I get home for the day. Since my skin was so dehydrated from all the topicals I was using I've been trying to let my natural oils regulate. Now that I'm producing more oil I might start doing it twice a day though. The shower is the most difficult for me! I have a lot of hair so i its really hard for me to not get any shampoo or water on my face when I'm washing it. I might start taking baths because I can wash my hair much easier without getting any water on my face that way..how long have you been on this Regimen btw?
12 hours ago, GemmaD said:I've been doing it once a day at night time after I get home for the day. Since my skin was so dehydrated from all the topicals I was using I've been trying to let my natural oils regulate. Now that I'm producing more oil I might start doing it twice a day though. The shower is the most difficult for me! I have a lot of hair so i its really hard for me to not get any shampoo or water on my face when I'm washing it. I might start taking baths because I can wash my hair much easier without getting any water on my face that way..how long have you been on this Regimen btw?
I've been doing this since january I think ..... It's ok if you get a little bit of water on your face while showering but make sure it isnt too hot
Ok quick update forday 5.Woke up this morning and pimples look way less red. Also my smaller clusters of pimples I had along my jawline and temples are completely dried up an healing. My face also has alot of dry flaky skin on it. I notice that my right side seems to have a lot more dry skin and I'm wondering if its because I sleep on that side of my face and the pilllow is drying it out. I'm going to try to sleep on my back from now on if I can manage it to see if it cuts down on the flakiness. The several big pimples I had have come to a head. Im going to try not to pop them to see if they will heal themselves if I leave them alone.
OK so do you literally just splash water on it or rub, use a wash cloth or cotton pads? I've noticed my skin is best when not using producers like cleanser or soap or scrub. But I do use my fingers or sometimes use cotton pad to wipe off my face (gently). Otherwise its too oily...sometimes my eyes sting anf i swear its from tne oil! I don't think I could stand not getting the oil off ( plus concealer or face powder) Im just curious as to exactly how you do this.
Yes I've literally just been splashing my face with cool water...no rubbing no washcloth no cotton pad. And letting my face air dry as well. I'm trying to not irritate my face at all. As far as makeup all I'm wearing is mascara. So I'm just getting that off with water and my fingers when i rinse my face.It was really hard to give up my foundation but to give this Regimen a fair chance I'm biting the bullet. How long have you been doing the water only method snarkygirl?
41 minutes ago, snarkygirl said:OK so do you literally just splash water on it or rub, use a wash cloth or cotton pads? I've noticed my skin is best when not using producers like cleanser or soap or scrub. But I do use my fingers or sometimes use cotton pad to wipe off my face (gently). Otherwise its too oily...sometimes my eyes sting anf i swear its from tne oil! I don't think I could stand not getting the oil off ( plus concealer or face powder) Im just curious as to exactly how you do this.
Yea, at night I gently rub with my fingers . I've tried with a washcloth before but it made my skin look red ......I know that the washcloth works for some people. For makeup , I don't really know since I don't use it. You can use cottonpads but I don't know if it will completly remove your makeup.You could probably try the OCM.
before everything irritated my skin that I've used Q-tips to gently exfoliate my nose xD
4 minutes ago, chrt_mvc said:Yea, at night I gently rub with my fingers . I've tried with a washcloth before but it made my skin look red ......I know that the washcloth works for some people. For makeup , I don't really know since I don't use it. You can use cottonpads but I don't know if it will completly remove your makeup.You could probably try the OCM.before everything irritated my skin that I've used Q-tips to gently exfoliate my nose xD
Thanks. I think its a good idea! First hesring " caveman" i was picturing just letting grease and food chunks dry on your chin. Lol. Its a little more refined than that.
Hmm about a year or two. It worked great when I was taking BC pills but since I stopped I've had break outs. I'm back on the pills though so I think it will go back to working well again. I never realized that using products which strip our skin probably does more harm than good ( what with the skin barrier being damaged). I've done the oil cleansing method with OK results but again, that was on BC when my skin wasn't so oily.
Its best if you dont use makeup i agree.at least, minimal. I admit i just use concesler to spot cover anything red.
I am very intrigued by this. I mainly have problems with back acne these days and am thinking that I would like to understand more about the underlying reasons for that. I have been trying all OTC topical treatments and been experimenting with so many different DIY cures as well for the last 15 years. I am on BP and SA cures right now and it is kind of possible to keep it at bay with that but it doesn't cure it as you all know. So I would like to see if a more restricted topical regimen along with some better food habits could prove effective.
Anyone here who has had success with caveman for back acne?
Yes! I used to get back acne and a little chest acne. As soon as I left it alone and only washed my body with water it went away. The other thing you might want to be careful of is your shampoo. Chemical filled shampoos definitely broke me out all over my back. For me I use a very natural shampoo called theraneem without any harsh chemicals. And when I rinse the shampoo out I tilt my head back so I dont get any residue on my body.Also do you shower with hot water? I used to take really hot showers and I noticed that it would also contribute to breakouts. Now I try to take cooler showers and that helps a lot.
On 4/14/2016 at 6:29 PM, GemmaD said:Ok update for this morning day 4...so last night I'm not sure why I did this but I decided to exfoliate with a little oatmeal. Bad idea. Woke up this morning with a small cyst on my chin. I did have BBQ last night though and French fries which I don't normally eat....however I just instinctively feel like it was from the exfoliation not the food. Not only that but my skin is even more flaky than it was before I exfoliated...and my skin looks a little dull again. So that is the last time in a while I will do any type of exfoliating. I'm 100% committed to only water! I'm actually glad I made that mistake last night cause now I can really see how much the only water was helping! My skin really just wants to be left alone.
Hi, just read about you getting a small cyst, to me and I'm probably wrong the BBQ maybe a sauce sound suspect
http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/358466-pics-we-ate-a-bolognese-sauce-ughhhh-spots/
So today isday 7.I don't want to jinx myself but everything at this point is continuing to improve. I have gotten zero new pimples and the ones I had are still healng and are less red. I do have some light flaking on my face but that could still be from the tazorac I used before I started this Regimen which basically was making my entire face peel off. My skin tone looks 100x times better and I actually have regained healthy color in my face! I really want to learn to sleep on my back because I still notice the side of my face that I sleep on at night is dryer. But I can't manage to fall asleep like that....hm guess I'll just keep trying! Also Ive been using really cold water instead of cool water hoping that it would help with inflammation. Not sure it's making much difference than the cool water but it's not been harming me either. All in all I'm feeling very positive about this Regimen so far!