HI there! I can personally attest to this regimen. I did it for the first 21 years of my life. Late feb, I got a little bit of a breakout (and since having clear skin all my life), I freaked and literally, I kid you not, used 12 different lotions and cleansers in the span of a month when I hadn't used products all my 21 years and had really clear skin. So, as a result, I was left with a LOT of clogged pores on my forehead and on my cheeks. It got worse and worse with the use of products and probably even worse when I abruptly stopped using each one and switched it.

Thus, about a month later, at the end of March, I had a few active pimples but mostly clogged pores in the areas I washed with aka my forehead, and on the sides of my nose (a little bit of my cheek area). It took me a month to realize that it was my products and I felt so stupid for ever starting to use face washes/lotions in the first place, so late march, I stopped everything. So it's been probably about a month and I wouldn't say I'm strictly on caveman regimen. I use filtered water every morning and night and I did for the majority of late march and early may. My active pimples are pretty much gone but, like I said, still have clogged pores. About a week ago, I started using warm water and sea salt and it really has helped clean up my clogged pores, as well as steaming every other day. They're about, I wanna say 40% better in just one week so hopefully the progress keeps up. I'm gonna keep doing it till hopefully my pores are clean and then slowly cut out till I don't even use water on my face (because like I said, I barely even put water on my face for 21 years unless it was in the shower sometimes or in the mornings when I was tired and wanted to wake up lol). So please, try it out! I feel like it takes a while to work but I really do think it works especially cause that's how my skin was so clear before. Good luck And I'll keep posting updates on here so hopefully we can do this journey together! xx

10 hours ago, Serena95 said:

HI there! I can personally attest to this regimen....

Thanks for your input Serena95! It helps to hear that someone else has had luck with this! It's amazing how tempting it is to buy all those skin care products when you've got a breakout... "That's what they're there for, right? These wouldn't be on the market if they didn't work, right?" --This is what my brain tells me when I'm at the drug store LOL... But no.

I've been doing the 'no wash method' for just 4 days and I can already tell it's better for my skin. Nothing groundbreaking yet, of course, but the inflammation's going down and my skin feels super rough. I've read from others that this is dead skin, but I'm more inclined to think it's my pores purging whatever crap's been lurking underneath the surface. I felt my boyfriend's face for comparison (haha) and his isn't rough, it's just smooth and clear (and, surprise, he doesn't touch it!). Maybe someday mine will be like that too 

6 hours ago, lisamay9 said:

Thanks for your input Serena95! It helps to hear that someone else has had luck with this! It's amazing how tempting it is to buy all those skin care products when you've got a breakout... "That's what they're there for, right? These wouldn't be on the market if they didn't work, right?" --This is what my brain tells me when I'm at the drug store LOL... But no.

I've been doing the 'no wash method' for just 4 days and I can already tell it's better for my skin. Nothing groundbreaking yet, of course, but the inflammation's going down and my skin feels super rough. I've read from others that this is dead skin, but I'm more inclined to think it's my pores purging whatever crap's been lurking underneath the surface. I felt my boyfriend's face for comparison (haha) and his isn't rough, it's just smooth and clear (and, surprise, he doesn't touch it!). Maybe someday mine will be like that too 

I know! You would not imagine what kind of cycle it sent me into. I regret the day I ever used a facewash/moisturizer. I'm glad! The purge might be a little crazier for you than it was for me because you've washed your skin for a while but honestly, everyone's different so who knows? But definitely worth sticking to I think. Only thing is beware of clogged pores Ugh the worst. 

Hey guys,

I am fourteen years old and just started to get acne. I (used) to have really clear, nice skin but now it is somewhere between weak and mild and it is making me feel really down. It started a couple of months ago and I had quite a few small, flesh coloured bumps on the sides of my face. I decided to use witch hazel to try and clear this up and it didn't help. I began to think about when my acne started and realised it was around the time I actually started to wash my face twice a day. So I then went on the caveman regiment but used an apple cider vinegar toner (without the mother). This didn't help but actually aggravated my skin. I stopped using the apple cider vinegar a week ago and have been using jojoba oil for around a month now but I cannot tell if it is working. I started to put in on the sides of my face where I got those little bumps and it seemed to clear it up but then I started to put it on my forehead as well as my cheeks and now I have small little bumps all over my face. I cannot tell is my skin is just purging or if I should go back to using a cleanser like Cetaphil once a day. I have been on the caveman regimen for 6 weeks now and my skin hasn't gotten better and I can't tell if it is from the apple cider vinegar, the jojoba oil or from not washing my face. Please help me; all I want is my clear skin back.

6 hours ago, Artistily said:

Hey guys,

I am fourteen years old and just started to get acne. I (used) to have really clear, nice skin but now it is somewhere between weak and mild and it is making me feel really down. It started a couple of months ago and I had quite a few small, flesh coloured bumps on the sides of my face. I decided to use witch hazel to try and clear this up and it didn't help. I began to think about when my acne started and realised it was around the time I actually started to wash my face twice a day. So I then went on the caveman regiment but used an apple cider vinegar toner (without the mother). This didn't help but actually aggravated my skin. I stopped using the apple cider vinegar a week ago and have been using jojoba oil for around a month now but I cannot tell if it is working. I started to put in on the sides of my face where I got those little bumps and it seemed to clear it up but then I started to put it on my forehead as well as my cheeks and now I have small little bumps all over my face. I cannot tell is my skin is just purging or if I should go back to using a cleanser like Cetaphil once a day. I have been on the caveman regimen for 6 weeks now and my skin hasn't gotten better and I can't tell if it is from the apple cider vinegar, the jojoba oil or from not washing my face. Please help me; all I want is my clear skin back.

Hey Artistily, if I knew how to cure acne, I wouldn't be on this site complaining about mine!  But I do know that the true 'caveman regimen' doesn't include toners like vinegar, or oils like jojoba (I've heard good things about jojoba, but have never tried it myself). I'd suggest eliminating everything and seeing if that makes a difference. It might not work for everyone though... I've been doing 'caveman' for almost two weeks and haven't seen any miracles. But I'm trying to give it a whole month before giving up.

Anyway, stay strong... Acne sucks, but if it's any comfort, I'll bet you notice it a WHOLE lot more than others do. 

Thanks lismay9

I think that if this jojoba oil doesn't clear my skin up in another 3 weeks than I might stop using anything. I cannot tell if my skin is purging or breaking out though but I have read everywhere that my skin will get a lot worse but that I should stick with it and it will get better. I hope it does.

Also, does anyone know how long this purge is going to last because it has felt like a couple of weeks now and I'm not sure if that is normal

I have tried the caveman regimen as well, partly because I just couldn't seem to find any products that didn't irritate my skin. My skin was less red and inflammatory, but the rough texture you're talking about was way too much for me! My whole face felt like rough sand paper, it was awful. I thought it was just dead skin, but I decided it was probably just super dry skin. I think, at least for me, any success with the caveman regimen was more in part to eliminating harmful irritants than from the actual theory of letting your skin do it's own thing. I use only three skincare products on my face now, that have proved not to irritate me. They are not necessarily for acne -prone skin, but they seem to be helping at least to some degree. Don't feel like you can't do anything with your skin on this regimen. Also, if it is dry skin you are experiencing, don't forgo the moisturizer, I get tons of clogged pores if I let my skin dry out too much.

On 6/3/2016 at 7:39 PM, Artistily said:

Thanks lismay9

I think that if this jojoba oil doesn't clear my skin up in another 3 weeks than I might stop using anything. I cannot tell if my skin is purging or breaking out though but I have read everywhere that my skin will get a lot worse but that I should stick with it and it will get better. I hope it does.

Also, does anyone know how long this purge is going to last because it has felt like a couple of weeks now and I'm not sure if that is normal

Artistily it's hard to say how long your skin will purge... The thing with acne is it's different for everyone, so it would be unfair to say your skin will be back to normal in 3 weeks/2 months/whatever. Unfortunately I think it just takes a little experimenting for everyone to figure out what works best for THEIR skin.

Personally, I'm digging the caveman regimen (I don't even TOUCH my face) because I'm getting less of those giant, scarring cystic acne types pimples, but I AM getting more little clogged pores + whiteheads. And believe it or not, I'd prefer the clogged pores, because they're much less noticeable.

Maybe give the jojoba oil a little more time, and if it still isn't improving, try eliminating everything altogether? I think that's what I'd do.

16 hours ago, Monkey678 said:

I have tried the caveman regimen as well, partly because I just couldn't seem to find any products that didn't irritate my skin. My skin was less red and inflammatory, but the rough texture you're talking about was way too much for me! My whole face felt like rough sand paper, it was awful. I thought it was just dead skin, but I decided it was probably just super dry skin. I think, at least for me, any success with the caveman regimen was more in part to eliminating harmful irritants than from the actual theory of letting your skin do it's own thing. I use only three skincare products on my face now, that have proved not to irritate me. They are not necessarily for acne -prone skin, but they seem to be helping at least to some degree. Don't feel like you can't do anything with your skin on this regimen. Also, if it is dry skin you are experiencing, don't forgo the moisturizer, I get tons of clogged pores if I let my skin dry out too much.

Hmm interesting... I know what you mean about the dry skin 'mask', it's pretty gross. I was hoping it would go away eventually. How long did you do the caveman regimen for? And can I ask what 3 products you're using?

I did the complete caveman regimen for about 3 weeks until I couldn't take the texture of my skin anymore. Instead of adding products back immediately, I modified it to just use a wet washcloth to clean my face but I was going crazy with all my breakouts after another month or so. Now I wash my face with dermalogica's precleanse. It's an oil cleansing wash that really cleans my skin without drying it out, although I know alot of people with acne are probably wary of oil cleansing. The toner I'm using now is clinique's mild clarifying one, I just added this one a couple weeks ago and I really like this; seems to be helping with flaky skin and the length of time that pimples stay around for. For moisturizer I use Derma-LIfe skin care formula. I found it at a local health food store and it's just a mix of aloe vera, vitamins, water, and .8% salicylic acid. This stuff feels really refreshing on the skin and definitely reduces redness. Because it's a gel, it can be a little drying so I started adding a drop of rosehip oil to it, and that's been working really well for moisture. Just for reference I still have regular breakouts all over my face consistently, but I've used these products the last couple of months and this is the first time I feel like my skincare routine isn't just adding to the problem. My pimples seem to be lessened though, size wise.

On 6/6/2016 at 7:30 AM, lisamay9 said:

Artistily it's hard to say how long your skin will purge... The thing with acne is it's different for everyone, so it would be unfair to say your skin will be back to normal in 3 weeks/2 months/whatever. Unfortunately I think it just takes a little experimenting for everyone to figure out what works best for THEIR skin.

Personally, I'm digging the caveman regimen (I don't even TOUCH my face) because I'm getting less of those giant, scarring cystic acne types pimples, but I AM getting more little clogged pores + whiteheads. And believe it or not, I'd prefer the clogged pores, because they're much less noticeable.

Maybe give the jojoba oil a little more time, and if it still isn't improving, try eliminating everything altogether? I think that's what I'd do. Hmm interesting... I know what you mean about the dry skin 'mask', it's pretty gross. I was hoping it would go away eventually. How long did you do the caveman regimen for? And can I ask what 3 products you're using?

Hiya All,

So I was interested to read all of your results! I had the same experience with medicines, they just seemed to make it worse or not touch it at all! It is extremely frustrating to have acne for years, trust me I am no stranger. I have had acne for 6 years now and counting, but I did something similar to you all! I stopped using all the topical, injections, and supplements that the dermatologists were prescribing me and I have had a lot of success that I am very happy about. It is such a relief, but I still haven't found the right thing for me. I have pretty much gone from severe to low-ish acne. Anyway, I wanted to add my two cents.

I have modified my routine a little more than yours. I found that the only-water wasn't doing quite the trick (it only brought me from severe to moderate) but since I added coconut oil it has cleared up a lot more. The coconut oil really helped with swelling of the pimples on my face, and I noticed overnight that the redness had gone down and they weren't so sore and blotchy (I had been very pessimistic about this working but I tried it for the sake of making my sister stop nagging). Now all I do is wash my face with soap when I'm in the shower, I never wash multiple times a day or anything, just the once (every day or every other day) and when I get out and my pores are open I add a light layer of coconut oil. I use dove unscented soap because its supposed to be easy on the skin, and I only massage with my hands, any cloths or scrubs are too hard on my skin and just cause more breakouts. But this helps with any buildup of grime and doesn't upset my temperamental skin. Then the coconut oil helps reduce whatever is there already, but like I said its only a thin layer, too much just makes your face look and feel oily. This has helped me so much, but I am still looking for that perfect combination haha.

Another thing I have tried (and had moderate success with) is an alcohol/iodine mixture. I used to use this twice a day to dry up any oils on my skin and sooth any pimples I had. It helped a lot more than anything a doctor prescribed me and didn't dry up my skin to the point of redness and flakiness. I would put it on with a cotton ball because it was soft and wouldn't irritate my skin.

I hope this may help *someone*, although I know skin is different for everyone. I am so happy for you all that you've seen improvements by removing products! And I wish you all the best of luck! <3

15 hours ago, Monkey678 said:

I did the complete caveman regimen for about 3 weeks until I couldn't take the texture of my skin anymore. Instead of adding products back immediately, I modified it to just use a wet washcloth to clean my face but I was going crazy with all my breakouts after another month or so. Now I wash my face with dermalogica's precleanse. It's an oil cleansing wash that really cleans my skin without drying it out, although I know alot of people with acne are probably wary of oil cleansing. The toner I'm using now is clinique's mild clarifying one, I just added this one a couple weeks ago and I really like this; seems to be helping with flaky skin and the length of time that pimples stay around for. For moisturizer I use Derma-LIfe skin care formula. I found it at a local health food store and it's just a mix of aloe vera, vitamins, water, and .8% salicylic acid. This stuff feels really refreshing on the skin and definitely reduces redness. Because it's a gel, it can be a little drying so I started adding a drop of rosehip oil to it, and that's been working really well for moisture. Just for reference I still have regular breakouts all over my face consistently, but I've used these products the last couple of months and this is the first time I feel like my skincare routine isn't just adding to the problem. My pimples seem to be lessened though, size wise.

I did the complete caveman regimen for about 3 weeks until I couldn't take the texture of my skin anymore. Instead of adding products back immediately, I modified it to just use a wet washcloth to clean my face but I was going crazy with all my breakouts after another month or so. Now I wash my face with dermalogica's precleanse. It's an oil cleansing wash that really cleans my skin without drying it out, although I know alot of people with acne are probably wary of oil cleansing. The toner I'm using now is clinique's mild clarifying one, I just added this one a couple weeks ago and I really like this; seems to be helping with flaky skin and the length of time that pimples stay around for. For moisturizer I use Derma-LIfe skin care formula. I found it at a local health food store and it's just a mix of aloe vera, vitamins, water, and .8% salicylic acid. This stuff feels really refreshing on the skin and definitely reduces redness. Because it's a gel, it can be a little drying so I started adding a drop of rosehip oil to it, and that's been working really well for moisture. Just for reference I still have regular breakouts all over my face consistently, but I've used these products the last couple of months and this is the first time I feel like my skincare routine isn't just adding to the problem. My pimples seem to be lessened though, size wise.

Thanks for listing those products, I've been curious about oil cleansers but haven't had the guts to try one  Maybe if the caveman thing doesn't work, I'll give it a shot.

5 hours ago, XO_Beans said:

Hiya All,

So I was interested to read all of your results! I had the same experience with medicines, they just seemed to make it worse or not touch it at all! It is extremely frustrating to have acne for years, trust me I am no stranger. I have had acne for 6 years now and counting, but I did something similar to you all! I stopped using all the topical, injections, and supplements that the dermatologists were prescribing me and I have had a lot of success that I am very happy about. It is such a relief, but I still haven't found the right thing for me. I have pretty much gone from severe to low-ish acne. Anyway, I wanted to add my two cents. 

I have modified my routine a little more than yours. I found that the only-water wasn't doing quite the trick (it only brought me from severe to moderate) but since I added coconut oil it has cleared up a lot more. The coconut oil really helped with swelling of the pimples on my face, and I noticed overnight that the redness had gone down and they weren't so sore and blotchy (I had been very pessimistic about this working but I tried it for the sake of making my sister stop nagging). Now all I do is wash my face with soap when I'm in the shower, I never wash multiple times a day or anything, just the once (every day or every other day) and when I get out and my pores are open I add a light layer of coconut oil. I use dove unscented soap because its supposed to be easy  on the skin, and I only massage with my hands, any cloths or scrubs are too hard on my skin and just cause more breakouts. But this helps with any buildup of grime and doesn't upset my temperamental skin. Then the coconut oil helps reduce whatever is there already, but like I said its only a thin layer, too much just makes your face look and feel oily. This has helped me so much, but I am still looking for that perfect combination haha.

Another thing I have tried (and had moderate success with) is an alcohol/iodine mixture. I used to use this twice a day to dry up any oils on my skin and sooth any pimples I had. It helped a lot more than anything a doctor prescribed me and didn't dry up my skin to the point of redness and flakiness. I would put it on with a cotton ball because it was soft and wouldn't irritate my skin. 

I hope this may help *someone*, although I know skin is different for everyone. I am so happy for you all that you've seen improvements by removing products! And I wish you all the best of luck! <3 

Interesting! So you put alcohol/iodine on your face twice a day? And it doesn't dry out your skin? Since this is a thread about the caveman regimen, I've gotta ask... Have you thought about whether the coconut oil is just replenishing the moisture lost from the alcohol? I'm not suggesting it is, 'cause I'm certainly no expert, just curious what you think.

23 hours ago, lisamay9 said:

Thanks for listing those products, I've been curious about oil cleansers but haven't had the guts to try one  Maybe if the caveman thing doesn't work, I'll give it a shot. Interesting! So you put alcohol/iodine on your face twice a day? And it doesn't dry out your skin? Since this is a thread about the caveman regimen, I've gotta ask... Have you thought about whether the coconut oil is just replenishing the moisture lost from the alcohol? I'm not suggesting it is, 'cause I'm certainly no expert, just curious what you think.

I no longer use the iodine/alcohol mix, now I only use the coconut oil. When I did use it though my skin wasn't too dry at all, but I had a really oily face back then (this was about 2 years ago that I stopped), so it really helped to get rid of the oil on my skin and make sure no bacteria went in my pores after.

But now I only use the coconut oil, which surprisingly doesn't make my skin feel oily at all unless i put too much on. But with a thin layer my skin soaks it all up.

I know this is a thread for the caveman regiment, (which I have also tried it just didnt work for me) I just thought I'd mention these two things since they cost little money and they hopefully wont clog your pores back up after they purge haha. Although I am curious how the caveman regiment is going for you?  

6 hours ago, XO_Beans said:

I no longer use the iodine/alcohol mix, now I only use the coconut oil. When I did use it though my skin wasn't too dry at all, but I had a really oily face back then (this was about 2 years ago that I stopped), so it really helped to get rid of the oil on my skin and make sure no bacteria went in my pores after.

But now I only use the coconut oil, which surprisingly doesn't make my skin feel oily at all unless i put too much on. But with a thin layer my skin soaks it all up.

I know this is a thread for the caveman regiment, (which I have also tried it just didnt work for me) I just thought I'd mention these two things since they cost little money and they hopefully wont clog your pores back up after they purge haha. Although I am curious how the caveman regiment is going for you?

Ohh, I see! And it's going so-so. I was hoping to have seen some progress by now, but my face is just covered with dead skin and pimples now. I've been updating my first post with more details, just to make it easier to read.

Acne products are a billion dollar industry - WHY WOULD THEY WANT TO CLEAR YOUR SKIN?
I was just about to post this thread until I stumbled upon this. I'm only washing with water and a flannel and will use a mud mask every couple of days to avoid the rough skin anyway here's what I was going to post and hopefully this will clear us all up.
Hi guys
background - accutane for 6 months for moderate acne. These days I have up to 3 spots on my face at a time with al my hyper pigmentation
current routine which was working fairly well - dairy free, wash twice a day with aloe Vera himayalan face wash, mud mask every other day, green tea and a spoonful of coconut oil a day, emu oil as spot treatment over night as well as icing any spots I feel coming.
HYPOTHESIS I've came to- in my family 2 of my brothers have very clear skin who never wash their face although my other brother has moderate acne and he is the same as me - washing face twice a day. I feel the best way to beat acne is only washing with water and sometimes clay masking. I'm going to try this and will see how it goesive heard many good reports of this strange routine of not using face wash. If anyone has any experience on this please tell me and any comments questions are welcome . Many thanks

Hi there,

I posted a while ago how I thought that I would stop the caveman regimen if my skin didn't start clearing up. Well it finally has. It's not clear yet, not nearly there, but I am beginning to see improvements. They are small but it keeps me confident that my skin will clear up. I am just starting to get little dry patches and as much as the irritate me, they prove that my skin is changing and that my acid mantle is slowly readjusting. I suggest that you use some product however, to prevent clogged pores, such as jojoba oil (that's what I am using) or like you said, a clay mask. Every time I felt like giving up I just reassured myself of why I was doing it and how bad products are and how they disturb the acid mantle. The only thing that hasn't been clearing up are my acne marks and so I have added in some argan oil to help with that.

I hope all goes well for you

It's all about adjusting it to suit you and you may need to experiment a bit.

Although I don't use this regimen for my face (because I finally found a system that works for me) I love the idea of the caveman regimen, or at least water only.

I caved guys (no pun intended). I just washed my face with Cetaphil. I am going to follow a new, minimal routine and tell you about it soon.
I am :

washing once a day (at night) with Cetaphil (the gentle cleanser) and then patting dry
moistening my face and then massaging in jojoba oil
massaging a couple drops of argan oil onto face to help with hyperpigmentation

I am still keeping in mind the prinicpal of the caveman regimen which is that less is more.

I'll tell you guys if it works or not. I was 2 months into the caveman and I wasn't seeing improvement. I came across a Photo Booth video of myself and my skin was incredible. I thought back to what I was using then and it was Cetaphil. Let's hope it works.

18 hours ago, Artistily said:

I caved guys (no pun intended). I just washed my face with Cetaphil. I am going to follow a new, minimal routine and tell you about it soon.
I am :

washing once a day (at night) with Cetaphil (the gentle cleanser) and then patting dry
moistening my face and then massaging in jojoba oil
massaging a couple drops of argan oil onto face to help with hyperpigmentation

I am still keeping in mind the prinicpal of the caveman regimen which is that less is more.

I'll tell you guys if it works or not. I was 2 months into the caveman and I wasn't seeing improvement. I came across a Photo Booth video of myself and my skin was incredible. I thought back to what I was using then and it was Cetaphil. Let's hope it works.

That sounds like a solid regimen... Please keep me updated, I hope it works for you!!

Hey guys,

Just wanted to update you on my skin. I was just looking at the photos of my skin above and wow has it improved. So I moved out of the house I had been living in for 6 months. It had A LOT of mould and I constantly would get sick and I knew that it had to be affecting my skin in some way. I doubted it was just a coincidence that I got acne and that my sisters acne worsened in the areas where mine developed (the cheek area) as soon as we have moved in. It's been two weeks since we moved and around a month on the new regime and my skin is a lot clearer. My forehead is nearly completely clear, i only have one pimple which I am very happy with. My cheeks, although not completely clear, are much clearer. My left cheek looks the best and I only have some faint scarring and then some tiny little bumps which really don't bother me that much. My right cheek is worse but significantly better than in that photo. Rather than getting a lot of tiny bumps I have less slightly bigger pimples which might sound worse but isn't. The main concern is hyperpigmentation; if anyone has any products that are helpful please tell me. It's slowly getting better and better and it might take 6 more months to fully clear but I am happy with the progress.

It might be important to mention that I bought some benzoyl peroxide 2.5% which I now use. My regimen is:

Morning:

Nothing except maybe a little bit of argan oil if skin is dry

Night:

Wash face with cetaphil
Moisten face with water and massage in jojoba oil (I only do this every 2-3 days)
Massage in argan oil
Rub in small amount of bp on specific areas and dot it on larger pimples.

All of this (excluding brushing my teeth) takes around 10 minutes, 15 if you include brushing teeth and all. It is so much more convenient to have this quick routine than all that other stuff I used to have. It might seem like I use a lot but it really isn't and taking a simpler approach seems to be working well for me.

Let me say that Caveman does not work.
Do not attempt guys. Seriously I'm back on washing my face after two months of going for it.

3 hours ago, WadeX said:

Let me say that Caveman does not work.
Do not attempt guys. Seriously I'm back on washing my face after two months of going for it.

Word. Worst mistake I've ever made with my skin

For the past two years I suffered with severly dehydrated skin which resulted in a horrible cystic acne breakout along my cheekbones, chin, and near my hair line. I always had very clear, healthy skin-even in high school. My breakout was caused by stress, hormonal imbalance, and simply trying to many products that dried my skin out and irritated my skin. Needless to say, my moisture barrier got totally stripped. I've been struggling ever since trying to re-build my moisture barrier, but it has been the biggest nightmare. I had tried EVERYTHING-drugstore, high-end and natural products. NOTHING got rid of the dryness and dehydrated skin. My acne has resolved and I'm now left with some red, dry, and flaky marks on my cheeks that have not healed for about 6-8 months. Every type of moisturizer that is claimed to be for the most sensitive and dry skin types made my skin red-hot with a blotchy skin-tone and eventually make my skin shrivel up by the end of the day or when I woke up in the morning. This is so unusual for me since I've always had either oily skin, or normal skin. I used to use only coconut and rosehip seed oil on my face and it was MIRACULOUS. Now, when I try using just oils, my skin gets tight and even more dry.

Washing my face is a disaster. Tried almost everything you can think of, always ended up in red, dry, irritated skin. Even just water at one point turned my skin red and irritated.

At this point, I feel like I have no other choice but to try this regimen. My skin is screaming for me to let it heal ITSELF. My face does not produce its own sebum anymore, and I believe its because I keep putting irritating, thick creams on my face to compensate for this and my skin has gotten lazy. If anyone has any suggestions for me other than to try this, I am open to other options. Thank you!