Day 3
(it is day 3 even though I made this thread yesterday because I did it the day before as well)
Yikes. Things aren't looking really too great right now. I'm definitely seeing a few whiteheads (7 or 8 tiny ones) pop up on my chin and its scaring me because I dont usually get more than 3 MAX. My chin is normally clear and I just really hope it doesn't get filled with clogged pores too. I also actually have like 3 or 4 mini white heads that you can't see unless you're super close, that are making an appearance on my lip line WHICH IS SO WEIRD. 

My forehead looks more or less the same but still pretty congested. It's starting to go back to that sandpaper feel it had and feels a bit itchy. 

My cheek area is again more or less the same with those same few random scattered pimples.

I'm at home now from college for about a week and let's just say the mirror at home is pretty unforgiving in comparison to the one at school so I'm having a low day. Good news is I don't have to see anyone if I don't want to for a week but Just makes me miss my clear skin, still just really upset looking at pictures from  couple months ago. I know its toxic, but in the spirit of being raw and unfiltered here, it makes me a little tear-y. 

But hey, on the positive, my face was really shiny after over-exfoliation with the sea salt and it seems to be subsiding a bit. Also, the zits I think I had on my temples (not sure if they were all clogged pores?) seem to be less irritated. Let's hope this experiment knocks out clogged pores because I cannot STAND them. (Positivity is key here I'm guessing, they WILL go away or atleast reduce. July 5th, here I come) (July 5th by the way is what day I said I'd try to go to at the least aka a promise to myself. Wish me luck!! aka @ the none of you that are probably reading this thread lol)

Wow, lengthy post. Sorry, I ramble. Update again soon!!

In terms of water, I used water on m face on day 1, once in the morning and once in the evening with filtered water, and on day 2 in the morning. I also use water around my mouth/chin area when I brush my teeth to make sure the toothpaste is gone. 

I want to also establish that I cut out all chemical topicals, face washes and moisturizers about a month ago. Since then I've used steam, sea salt, green tea, raw honey and water but never any chemicals. However, I really wanna go hardcore and do no wash for best results. (maybe a bit of water here and there but I'm trying not to) 

Hello Serena!

You've mentioned that you didn't wash your face even with water regularly since birth, not until recently. Am I getting it right?
That means you were already doing the Cavemen regimen for so many years!
If so, I would like to ask did you wash off the dead skin impurities occasionally back then? Or simply just do nothing and they will automatically fall off?
I'm asking because I too, doing the Cavemen regimen(hardcore, already a week now) in order to get rid of clogged pores. And I believe that clogged pores appears because of using those chemicals dried out the skin, not from not washing.
From my experience up to this point doing the Cavemen, you'll tend to breakout more than usual at the first few days, but then it will calm, at the end of the week, I have no active spot at the moment, just hyperpigmentation.

Cheers.

2 hours ago, PositivePositivePositive said:

Hello Serena!

You've mentioned that you didn't wash your face even with water regularly since birth, not until recently. Am I getting it right?
That means you were already doing the Cavemen regimen for so many years!
If so, I would like to ask did you wash off the dead skin impurities occasionally back then? Or simply just do nothing and they will automatically fall off?
I'm asking because I too, doing the Cavemen regimen(hardcore, already a week now) in order to get rid of clogged pores. And I believe that clogged pores appears because of using those chemicals dried out the skin, not from not washing.
From my experience up to this point doing the Cavemen, you'll tend to breakout more than usual at the first few days, but then it will calm, at the end of the week, I have no active spot at the moment, just hyperpigmentation.

Cheers.

Hi there! Yes that's correct, if anything I'd get water on my face naturally when I would wash my hair every 4-5 days but never actively washed it. I would get a few pimples but they would be gone by the end of the week max. Since I had been doing it all my life, I never really had dry skin/to be honest never looked at my face that close up in the mirror that often but if I noticed a little bit of dry skin, I'd put the tiniest bit of lotion or vaseline on that area and that would be it.

Honestly, that could be it too. All I know is I NEVER had this many clogged pores (or really ever) until after I've washed my face and I found a pic of myself midway through feb and my clogged pores were WAY less and that was a week after I started washing my face which leads me to believe it was self-inflicted. It's gonna be a long journey, but none of my family has it (and they never wash their face either) so not genetic, i've been vegetarian all my life, so it's not diet, not hormonal because I've had my period for years, which leads me to believe it MUST be face washes and creams. It's probably gonna take a month or two in my opinion for the clogged pores to come out and flake off on their own. Yes, I agree, so for now I'll stick it out with this minor breakout phase for a lifetime of clear skin!

I'm happy it's working out for you! Did you wash your face before this very often?

13 hours ago, Serena95 said:

Hi there! Yes that's correct, if anything I'd get water on my face naturally when I would wash my hair every 4-5 days but never actively washed it. I would get a few pimples but they would be gone by the end of the week max. Since I had been doing it all my life, I never really had dry skin/to be honest never looked at my face that close up in the mirror that often but if I noticed a little bit of dry skin, I'd put the tiniest bit of lotion or vaseline on that area and that would be it.

Honestly, that could be it too. All I know is I NEVER had this many clogged pores (or really ever) until after I've washed my face and I found a pic of myself midway through feb and my clogged pores were WAY less and that was a week after I started washing my face which leads me to believe it was self-inflicted. It's gonna be a long journey, but none of my family has it (and they never wash their face either) so not genetic, i've been vegetarian all my life, so it's not diet, not hormonal because I've had my period for years, which leads me to believe it MUST be face washes and creams. It's probably gonna take a month or two in my opinion for the clogged pores to come out and flake off on their own. Yes, I agree, so for now I'll stick it out with this minor breakout phase for a lifetime of clear skin!

I'm happy it's working out for you! Did you wash your face before this very often?

Yes, I had been washing my face for all my life(24 years old now), but with only water and clean it with towel.

Maybe one pimple every few months, neither do my family gets them often. Not until I suddenly got 3,4 pimple at a time 2 years ago. Since then I started to use different kinds of products, indcluding those "seems to work", "claim to work" or "techincally working".

I've been to dermatologist last year too, the prescription worked only temporary. Once you drop the products away, the acne will come back. I think there's a cycle in my case:
Treat inflamed pimple by drying your skin->Skin gets dry ->Result in clogged pores->Treat clogged pores by forcing them out with topical->More of them getting inflamed->Back to the beginning.

Maybe that's why people always claim that you need to do the 3-steps, you know. Clean your face, apply treatment and moisturize, in order to maintain a controlled cycle of your face.

But I really don't like the idea of keep using any chemical for the rest of your life just to control your acne. That's just not normal, I would prefer to believe in something natural.

Also, in some way, I think it's *Good* that you have only experienced it for a few months now. It is because I've been experiencing it for like two years now, ups and downs. I really don't want you to follow my path, especially as I think we are in a similar case. Let's just hope that this cavemen regimen will do us good by time.

And, let me end by saying that you're living in a very good manner towards life. Admire it.

8 hours ago, PositivePositivePositive said:

Yes, I had been washing my face for all my life(24 years old now), but with only water and clean it with towel.  

Maybe one pimple every few months, neither do my family gets them often.  Not until I suddenly got 3,4 pimple at a time 2 years ago. Since then I started to use different kinds of products, indcluding those "seems to work", "claim to work" or "techincally working".  

I've been to dermatologist last year too, the prescription worked only temporary.  Once you drop the products away, the acne will come back.  I think there's a cycle in my case:
Treat inflamed pimple by drying your skin->Skin gets dry ->Result in clogged pores->Treat clogged pores by forcing them out with topical->More of them getting inflamed->Back to the beginning.

Maybe that's why people always claim that you need to do the 3-steps, you know.  Clean your face, apply treatment and moisturize, in order to maintain a controlled cycle of your face.

But I really don't like the idea of keep using any chemical for the rest of your life just to control your acne.  That's just not normal, I would prefer to believe in something natural.

Also, in some way, I think it's *Good* that you have only experienced it for a few months now.  It is because I've been experiencing it for like two years now, ups and downs.  I really don't want you to follow my path, especially as I think we are in a similar case.  Let's just hope that this cavemen regimen will do us good by time.

And, let me end by saying that you're living in a very good manner towards life.  Admire it.
 

100% agree with you. I'm sure it'll work for you (as well as me), it's just gonna take some time Keep me updated! And thank you! I saw on here the other day that someone said you should live every day like you have clear skin, and I have to say since I saw that, I've found myself looking in the mirror less...Positivity feels like the biggest key in continuing and succeeding with the caveman regimen or as I like to call it what I've been doing my entire life except for the past few months

Day 5

The initial whiteheads that popped out over the last few days are gone, a few new ones but whatever, I think that's normal right now. There are a few clogged pores that have become more prominent but it doesn't seem like that big of a deal as I think they're just healing. Forehead looks more normal, seems less congested, the bumps that were there seem to have flattened out. Skin is definitely drying out though, it definitely is starting to flake and be itchy but overall, it seems to be making positive progress overall. I'll update again in a few days!

Day 7

Not much to report, the old whiteheads are gone, a few new ones in its place. These are mostly near my chin/mouth area which is weird because that's an area that's normally clear but whatever. I did have have a tiny one that was on my lipline that was the weirdest thing and it was definitely flaking off so I just swiped it and it came off and I put some alcohol on it just to make sure it didn't come back. Other than that, the clogged pores on my forehead seem flatter and it's taken upon almost a sandpaper texture. It really doesn't look too different but it definitely feels better if that makes sense. It's not as under the skin as it is now over the skin and seems to be sloughing off on it's own. The tiny problem area I've had near my cheeks seems oddly a bit more hyperpigmented but it has the same sandpaper texture. My nose and my forehead are by far the driest though and my nose seems to be flaking on the sides. You can def see dead skin lol. My chin is a bit dry and flaky as well, but not too bad. 

Got some water on my face when I washed my hair yesterday but I just took a clean cotton pad and patted the shampoo off and then took another one and patted my face dry. 

To be honest, the last couple days I've been looking more in the mirror and touching my skin. NEED to stop that, it makes me feel worse than it is. However, I'm growing more confident that this is gonna work, just gonna take some time.  

17 hours ago, Serena95 said:

Day 7

Not much to report, the old whiteheads are gone, a few new ones in its place. These are mostly near my chin/mouth area which is weird because that's an area that's normally clear but whatever. I did have have a tiny one that was on my lipline that was the weirdest thing and it was definitely flaking off so I just swiped it and it came off and I put some alcohol on it just to make sure it didn't come back. Other than that, the clogged pores on my forehead seem flatter and it's taken upon almost a sandpaper texture. It really doesn't look too different but it definitely feels better if that makes sense. It's not as under the skin as it is now over the skin and seems to be sloughing off on it's own. The tiny problem area I've had near my cheeks seems oddly a bit more hyperpigmented but it has the same sandpaper texture. My nose and my forehead are by far the driest though and my nose seems to be flaking on the sides. You can def see dead skin lol. My chin is a bit dry and flaky as well, but not too bad. 

Got some water on my face when I washed my hair yesterday but I just took a clean cotton pad and patted the shampoo off and then took another one and patted my face dry. 

To be honest, the last couple days I've been looking more in the mirror and touching my skin. NEED to stop that, it makes me feel worse than it is. However, I'm growing more confident that this is gonna work, just gonna take some time.  

It is a little bit dry around the end of the first week, but after that it's not, not flaky at all.

Keep it up! Stay strong in your belief.  And yes you need to stop that.  (Talking to myself too...)

For me, mah I will keep it short because it's your log, I will update you as long as I have some obvious improvement.

At this moment (Week 2): few whiteheads, some clogged pores, one healing pimple and 10+ hyper-pigmentation, nothing fancy.

But,
Cheers. : )

18 hours ago, PositivePositivePositive said:

It is a little bit dry around the end of the first week, but after that it's not, not flaky at all.

Keep it up! Stay strong in your belief. And yes you need to stop that. (Talking to myself too...)

For me, mah I will keep it short because it's your log, I will update you as long as I have some obvious improvement.

At this moment (Week 2): few whiteheads, some clogged pores, one healing pimple and 10+ hyper-pigmentation, nothing fancy.

But,
Cheers. : )

Yeah I figured, it's just sometimes when I catch a glance of myself in a mirror, I'm like oof that's rough (literally and figuratively) but hearing that motivates me to continue on! And no, don't worry about it. Write as much or as little as you like!

Day 8/9

Still a bit itchy in random areas but definitely has gotten less itchy. The clogged pores on my forehead look a bit better each day. It's still definitely there, but they look smaller, feel a little bit less rough and are in sections of my forehead instead of ALL of it. My cheeks seem to have gotten a little worse, not in terms of bump but the texture looks ugh the worst in certain lighting. I have major tryptophobia so it definitely is a little bit like that which weirds me out and makes me want to scrub the rough skin but I'm gonna keep at it. Yesterday, since it was so dry, I exfoliated LIGHTLY like super lightly with a little water and it looked/felt a bit better this morning but by the end of the day, my skin always looks rough (again literally and figuratively). Most people say the rough skin texture subsides after a week or two so I'll try to minimize water exfoliation but I have friends coming into town tomorrow so I might lightly exfoliate with water and a cotton pad tomorrow morning (technically today morning I guess). Even though my skin almost looks a little worse than the start, for some reason I just am sure if I keep this up, it'll all work out. Update again in a couple days!

Day 11
Skin has gotten less rough/flaky since I've exfoliated with water a couple times. The tiny clogged pores on my cheek, which initially got a little bigger when I started caveman have gotten smaller and less spread out. My chin has gotten rid of the clogged pores that appeared a couple days after I started, naturally. My forehead doesn't necessarily look like it has less bumps but they feel smaller and less under the skin. A few have gotten a bit bigger but I feel like it's just getting rid of itself naturally. I got a pretty decent sized whitehead under my nose, havent gotten one this size in atleast a month but it was super red yesterday, but when I woke up, it's just the head now, no redness at all. However, overall there are less whiteheads appearing.

Overall, I feel like it's going good! it's obviously not a fast paced progress and the in between skin can sometimes make you self-conscious if you look at yourself passing by in a mirror but the last few days I've been out having fun and not looking at my skin all too much and it feels better even though my skin isn't amazing yet. But hey, baby steps right?

Day 13

Not much to update! Less congestion, more whiteheads (which I feel like are the clogged pores coming out)
I pushed off that whitehead under my nose yesterday and it grew back lol so I'm just gonna leave it alone and I'm sure it'll go away by itself.
I'm starting to get more whiteheads on my cheek which is good because those clogged pores have gotten smaller, I think I'm just more self-conscious because now I'm not on vacation, but I'm back at school but whatever. Been feeling good, but slacking on the water drinking so I'm gonna try to up that. Still exfoliating with a bit of water and clean cotton pads every few days.

Hey Serena! Keep it up, i'm still with you. : )

There's something I want to share that I've experienced in the recent days.

Few days ago i had 2 blackheads shown up, which was located at thosepreviousspots I had had squeezed just before the regimen.
I then scrubed off the very top black layer of those spots, leave it. Later that day, they formed a whitehead, dried up the next day and fell off on their own.

I guess it is a good sign for skin healing itselfs? lol.
I thinkIt's better than squeezing it because now it left only light hyperpigmentation,
and I'm feelling good because it pushes the stuff out on it's own rather than squeezing it.

But I still got many hyperpigmentation to go. : |

Updates are:
Day twenty something, still not washing my face. Clogged pores are less obvious. Skin tone is generally improved.
No active pimple at the moment.

Cheers.

On 6/8/2016 at 8:33 AM, PositivePositivePositive said:

Hey Serena! Keep it up, i'm still with you. : )

There's something I want to share that I've experienced in the recent days.

Few days ago i had 2 blackheads shown up, which was located at thosepreviousspots I had had squeezed just before the regimen.
I then scrubed off the very top black layer of those spots, leave it. Later that day, they formed a whitehead, dried up the next day and fell off on their own.

I guess it is a good sign for skin healing itselfs? lol.
I thinkIt's better than squeezing it because now it left only light hyperpigmentation,
and I'm feelling good because it pushes the stuff out on it's own rather than squeezing it.

But I still got many hyperpigmentation to go. : |

Updates are:
Day twenty something, still not washing my face. Clogged pores are less obvious. Skin tone is generally improved.
No active pimple at the moment.

Cheers.

So glad it's working well for you!!

Day 16
can't believe it's Day 16 already. This past week has been so good for me, I've been looking in the mirror less and feeling better about my skin. Yesterday/today though I've found myself stopping by the mirror more but I realized and I'm gonna stop doing that! Few more whiteheads all around my cheeks but I think it's all just coming to the surface. It's a little probably ick if you look close up but hey it's all part of the healing process I guess. My forehead looks less congested by the days and that makes me happy that I'm probably doing the right thing. 16 days ago, my skin was much worse and so was my self confidence and today I can say both of those are definitely better. Rome wasn't built in a day is what I keep telling myself lol. Bring on week 3!

Day 18
Minor setback. I'm actually kinda annoyed. I drank last night and went out and put concealer on a few whiteheads because they honestly looked pretty gross to me so I felt like I had to. Now, I woke up and have this red, circular itchy patch which feels like another pimple coming on on my forehead. Ugh that was probably from the alcohol and now I'm worried these whiteheads aren't gonna heal as well because I put concealer on them. I'm frustrated that I interrupted this progress but I'm just gonna keep trying to go full caveman again for a few days.  

Forgot to mention that my pimples on my red cheek seem redder. Idk why, they were redder before I even did this yesterday. My forehead had gotten better but my right cheek seems to have gotten worse, ie there seems like a  lot more bumps came to the surface than I thought there would be? But positivity. Setbacks happen, I'm gonna try to move forward. These whiteheads are just looking mad gross to me. 

Day 19
just wanna jump on here real quick and say that things I was worried about yesterday have just fixed themselves.
Another thing I noticed is that my skin looks better on days I drink plenty of water!
Literally, nothing else has changed since yesterday but like I said still some tiny clogged pores on forehead, and tiny bumps on both my cheeks and tiny bumps on my temples. Most of these bumps aren't very noticible though unless I'm really close to the mirror and looking at them in natural light.

Day 21
Still congestion on forehead, and both cheeks, this week has been a pretty slow week for progress.
Suddenly got a few more "active" spots and a few new tiny clogged pores or tiny pimples randomly in the last couple days. Weird. mMght be stress cause I'm back in school and got a test coming up and its also almost that time of month. Not sure.
I'veeen drinking lots more water. Ugh I've felt like giving up but at this point, what do I even give up with? Lol just need to remind myself that this will take time. I know not many people are reading this but I'm mostly keeping this for my personal record and if this helps out someone else, then hey! I'm glad.

Day 26
Okay so finally some good news I think! (fingers crossed I don't jinx myself)
Not a huge wow I suddenly have clear skin again moment, but I've found this entire week I'll get a new pimple every day/every other day and that sounds terrible but I think it's a good thing. They come to the surface, flake off within a couple days and the area is clear after. Albeit I definitely have some light acne scarring for the first time in my life but hey ho. I washed my hands and felt the texture of my skin and though it still feels somewhat rough still, the bumps seem to be getting flatter which I'm taking as a hopefully good sign that the clogged pores are receding on their own. I had to wear makeup a few days ago for a professional picture and when I took it off, my skin broke out. I literally had makeup on for a couple hours max, but my skin did not approve. So the days after I was panicking, but it actually seems okay and back to how it was. My overall congestion feels flatter and seems like it's reducing. This process has been taking quite a long time but after doing 2 months of damage, I don't doubt that it takes the same time or more to heal. Almost at the one month mark!

Forgot to mention, over the last few days, I've gotten more tiny whiteheads on forehead and some on my chin (which is weird cause it's been clear for a few days) but whatever. PS can I just say that natural light is the worst? Skin always looks like crap if you happen to catch a glance of yourself in the mirror in natural sunlight.

Day 28
My right side (after I had to wear makeup) seems like the clogged pores I had have spread (could be due to stress). I used to just have them on a small part of my cheek and forehead and now its like on my cheekbone and spread further out ugh. My left side seems to have clear up a little bit but I feel like its hard to tell. I seemed to have jinxed my face lol so I'm just not gonna say anything has really "cleared." I am seeing a lot more dead skin flakes though and that's because I haven't put any water on my face since last Thursday besides a few drops from washing my hair yesterday. I would put water on my face 2-3x a week but now I'm not really sure which one's better. It just gets so frustrating that I'm at the one month mark and I thought I would have seen a difference by now but I'm sure this is just gonna take time and I have to be patient (and not compare myself to other people's clear skin. I will get there soon!! This worked for 20 years of my life, so I have to have faith it will do so.) I'm gonna stick this out definitely for another month (water or no water? not sure but I've never had to use water on my face so I might stick with no water) and hopefully see progress! (positivity right?) I hope this log is helping someone.

Day 29 (gross details, I know excuse me but I'm just tryna keep it real.)
-Forehead:still congested but not nearly as much as it used to be, and though there are still clogged pores, quite a few of them have gotten smaller and less noticible. Was looking in the mirror really wishing they'd go away, but a month ago they were worse. So progress.
-Neck: Never gotten pimples on my neck, it's the weirdest thing. I had a HUGE one like a month and a half ago and it left a crazy scar, and I just found one this morning and I kept touching at it to see if it was there so it obviously got bigger so now I'm just leaving it the heck alone. (Can always cover it with my hair so whatever)
-Temples:pretty much clear
-Cheeks:still remain my worst area. It used to be my forehead but idk my cheeks have just been acting up (again where I never used to have acne, but then again, a couple months ago I used to never have acne so idk why I'm saying that like it's a surprise)
-Chin: eh it goes on and off, today it's on. Three or four tiny active whiteheads around chin and mouth. Ugh
-Chest: idk if ive just never analyzed it before but it's kinda been breaking out a bit. Like tiny pimples and I think just on top everything else that's going on, it's just frustrating. But whatever

That's all. I wanted to make a detailed report because for the next two weeks, I'm gonna try my hardest not to report on here. I think this is a great place but writing these logs has been a bit hard because it makes me overanalyze my skin to the max. There were some tears this morning about my skin lol, which hasn't happened since I started this but it's fine. (its almost that time of the month LOL SORRY TMI). I've been uber stressed but I'm gonna try to exercise more to reduce stress and I think thats gonna be a big factor in helping. Also been trying to up my water intake (80z/ day). In terms of my mental health, I'm gonna try not to look at my face in the mirror for more than 2x a day. Wish me luck and see ya in 2 weeks!!

Day 38
Well not quite 2 weeks later, but here we go.
I honestly don't know how its going, I've been putting water on my face in hopes that it would help but I'm pretty sure it's made it worse. I'm gonna try sticking to extreme caveman with no water. I might get flaky skin but oh well. I just don't know how this going to be honest, I think I'm just mostly disappointed that it hasn't really done much. Then again, I've only done this for a month but it just seemed like it worked faster for other people. I've just been super stressed and anxious so that might not be helping. I keep getting these tiny red inflamed bumps with heads a day or two after I splash my face with water and then they go away in a couple days but I'm not sure if these are clogged pores coming out or breakouts or what. I'm just so confused about if it's working or not because it seems like it's working but then it seems like it's not? It's like 3 steps forward, 1 step back then 5 steps forward and 3 steps back so it's just a constant cycle of ups and downs. I'm gonna try not using any water and go extreme caveman and see if it works better. I mean I do believe my forehead has improved, my cheeks are just so weird. I'm gonna be honest here, my self confidence isn't doing well and I'm just frustrated. I definitely don't want to go to the derm and put chemicals on my skin because I don't want to become dependent on them or anything. I'm gonna stick this out I'm just sad I havent had as much progress as the other people in this regimen especially considering I only washed my face for 2 months where as people who have washed their skin for years seem to have amazing progress Frustrating, yes, but I'll keep on keeping on. Think the fear of the unknown, the fear that it'll get worse or the fear that this won't do anything is kicking in hardcore. 

I just wish I appreciated my clear skin when I had it, it's kinda miserable having acne not gonna lie. I think about it a lot more than I care to admit. Seeing friends with their skin getting clear and beautiful and me just now starting to get acne, it's just embarrassing and a low blow. I find myself not wanting to go out anywhere ie hang out with friends, to the bars, etc  because of how embarrassed I am of my skin However, I do have good friends and family and am getting an awesome education, which are all things not everyone is as blessed to get so for that, I'm thankful. Extreme caveman day 1. 

If you have any positive thoughts/encouragement or advice you'd like to send my way, that'd be great.  

On 7/1/2016 at 2:54 AM, Serena95 said:

Day 38
Well not quite 2 weeks later, but here we go.
I honestly don't know how its going, I've been putting water on my face in hopes that it would help but I'm pretty sure it's made it worse. I'm gonna try sticking to extreme caveman with no water. I might get flaky skin but oh well. I just don't know how this going to be honest, I think I'm just mostly disappointed that it hasn't really done much. Then again, I've only done this for a month but it just seemed like it worked faster for other people. I've just been super stressed and anxious so that might not be helping. I keep getting these tiny red inflamed bumps with heads a day or two after I splash my face with water and then they go away in a couple days but I'm not sure if these are clogged pores coming out or breakouts or what. I'm just so confused about if it's working or not because it seems like it's working but then it seems like it's not? It's like 3 steps forward, 1 step back then 5 steps forward and 3 steps back so it's just a constant cycle of ups and downs. I'm gonna try not using any water and go extreme caveman and see if it works better. I mean I do believe my forehead has improved, my cheeks are just so weird. I'm gonna be honest here, my self confidence isn't doing well and I'm just frustrated. I definitely don't want to go to the derm and put chemicals on my skin because I don't want to become dependent on them or anything. I'm gonna stick this out I'm just sad I havent had as much progress as the other people in this regimen especially considering I only washed my face for 2 months where as people who have washed their skin for years seem to have amazing progress Frustrating, yes, but I'll keep on keeping on. Think the fear of the unknown, the fear that it'll get worse or the fear that this won't do anything is kicking in hardcore. 

I just wish I appreciated my clear skin when I had it, it's kinda miserable having acne not gonna lie. I think about it a lot more than I care to admit. Seeing friends with their skin getting clear and beautiful and me just now starting to get acne, it's just embarrassing and a low blow. I find myself not wanting to go out anywhere ie hang out with friends, to the bars, etc  because of how embarrassed I am of my skin However, I do have good friends and family and am getting an awesome education, which are all things not everyone is as blessed to get so for that, I'm thankful. Extreme caveman day 1. 

If you have any positive thoughts/encouragement or advice you'd like to send my way, that'd be great.  

Yup, i'm still following.

Just hang in there.

I believe every acne sufferer feels the same as you.  Me too.  We must find out the cause of our acne, but we cannot urge it.  mah...

Here's a few thoughts I want to share with you.

First, every medicine takes about 3-4 months to see results, including the most common prescription drug that dermatologist like to use in treating acne: adapelene.  Even accutane course takes about at least three months to see results.  Both of them breaks you out real bad in the first month or so.  To help with it, dermatologist would also use antibiotic at the same time to fight aginst inflammatory and bacteria, but it also weaken your immune system too.

This is how the drug works, boosting your skin cell turnover rate using adapelene/accutane, and to balance the side effects out by using antibiotic.

My thoughts?  To treat acne natually without using drug, apart from doing nothing on your face and waits, there's acutally something more you can do, yet nothing to lose but gain - exercise.

Everyone knows exercise helps to improve general health, but no one really concludes if it's really helps with acne, some said it worsten.  After my research on this, I found it would help a lot in treating acne.

So my thought is that, doing exercise to replace the accutane/adapelene part.(and also the antibiotic)

It is because exercise can improve your blood flow, which means cell turnover rate faster, and more blood supply to the skin to do its things.  Also, sweating might help with unclogging pores.

It also strengthen your inner organs - It is important to know that, when you have acne, there must be something wrong with your body.  Let it be the bacteria on your skin, if you're healthy enough, your body will fight it off naturally. Or might be hormonal imbalance, exercise helps regulating it.

Exercise also release Dopamine in your body, which is known as something that release you from stress and makes you feel happy.  It is good because stess is also a cause for ance too.  I found this is rather helpful in treating your mood swings when you have acne.  And there's also research said Dopamine helps with acne too.

It's just too good to be true, right?

All in all, everything is related.  

Some cured by doing nothing, because it's chemical that irritates them.
Some cured by using AHA, because it's the skin shedding too slow that blocks the pores.
Some cured by taking accutane, because their pores were already used to produce large amount of sebum.

One problem can be solved with several solution, in the worst case scenario you can head to the dermatologist, right?
Maybe you could use the drug for once, then become clear since, who knows?  : )

From now on I would say if you really don't want to go to the derm.  Exercise is your best bet, it doesn't affects your regimen neither.
Other things you can do are, cutting out dairy or any hormone influenced food.;  Lower sugar intake.;  Maybe go get a hormone or vitamin level test.

I've heard people saying eating lots of spicy food cures his/her acne. lol

God knows why, maybe it's about time. 

Hope you're getting better in no time.  I feel you.

Cheers.

21 hours ago, PositivePositivePositive said:

Yup, i'm still following.

Just hang in there.

I believe every acne sufferer feels the same as you.  Me too.  We must find out the cause of our acne, but we cannot urge it.  mah...

Here's a few thoughts I want to share with you.

First, every medicine takes about 3-4 months to see results, including the most common prescription drug that dermatologist like to use in treating acne: adapelene.  Even accutane course takes about at least three months to see results.  Both of them breaks you out real bad in the first month or so.  To help with it, dermatologist would also use antibiotic at the same time to fight aginst inflammatory and bacteria, but it also weaken your immune system too.

This is how the drug works, boosting your skin cell turnover rate using adapelene/accutane, and to balance the side effects out by using antibiotic.

My thoughts?  To treat acne natually without using drug, apart from doing nothing on your face and waits, there's acutally something more you can do, yet nothing to lose but gain - exercise.

Everyone knows exercise helps to improve general health, but no one really concludes if it's really helps with acne, some said it worsten.  After my research on this, I found it would help a lot in treating acne.

So my thought is that, doing exercise to replace the accutane/adapelene part.(and also the antibiotic)

It is because exercise can improve your blood flow, which means cell turnover rate faster, and more blood supply to the skin to do its things.  Also, sweating might help with unclogging pores.

It also strengthen your inner organs - It is important to know that, when you have acne, there must be something wrong with your body.  Let it be the bacteria on your skin, if you're healthy enough, your body will fight it off naturally. Or might be hormonal imbalance, exercise helps regulating it.

Exercise also release Dopamine in your body, which is known as something that release you from stress and makes you feel happy.  It is good because stess is also a cause for ance too.  I found this is rather helpful in treating your mood swings when you have acne.  And there's also research said Dopamine helps with acne too.

It's just too good to be true, right?

All in all, everything is related.  

Some cured by doing nothing, because it's chemical that irritates them.
Some cured by using AHA, because it's the skin shedding too slow that blocks the pores.
Some cured by taking accutane, because their pores were already used to produce large amount of sebum.

One problem can be solved with several solution, in the worst case scenario you can head to the dermatologist, right?
Maybe you could use the drug for once, then become clear since, who knows?  : )

From now on I would say if you really don't want to go to the derm.  Exercise is your best bet, it doesn't affects your regimen neither.
Other things you can do are, cutting out dairy or any hormone influenced food.;  Lower sugar intake.;  Maybe go get a hormone or vitamin level test.

I've heard people saying eating lots of spicy food cures his/her acne. lol

God knows why, maybe it's about time. 

Hope you're getting better in no time.  I feel you.

Cheers.

Hey PositivePositivePositive! Great to hear from you again! how's everything going with the caveman regimen for you?

Yes, I agree I've been trying to exercise more. I'm just personally torn between using water or not because I'm not sure what will work and it takes months to show even some results so everytime I try something a little bit different and it doesn't work, it just feels like Ive wasted another month. I've had this issue since Feb It's also the fact that I caused myself this issue and it may not go away for so long that makes me so upset because I was the one who did this to my skin. Just so many regrets but idk I think positive mindset may be a better approach. 

On 7/3/2016 at 11:28 PM, Serena95 said:

Hey PositivePositivePositive! Great to hear from you again! how's everything going with the caveman regimen for you?

Yes, I agree I've been trying to exercise more. I'm just personally torn between using water or not because I'm not sure what will work and it takes months to show even some results so everytime I try something a little bit different and it doesn't work, it just feels like Ive wasted another month. I've had this issue since Feb It's also the fact that I caused myself this issue and it may not go away for so long that makes me so upset because I was the one who did this to my skin. Just so many regrets but idk I think positive mindset may be a better approach. 

Two weeks eariler after my reply, I have used a few days of azelaic acid cream just to help with the hyperpigmentation I've left.  But it was a wrong decision.  I then got like few pimples and  two huge under the skin bump which is causing me another huge new dark brown spot. *sigh*  Then I head back to cavemen again, but not hardcore though, is with water and washcloth now.  Since then I haven't consider much about my skin, so far so good.  Current skin condition is: hyperpigmentation that I had does lighten up a bit, but two weird huge brown spot remains, a few small clogged pores.

Sorry I didn't stick to the total hardcore cavemen as a role model to encourage you or something like that.  I know the struggle of changing approach when your skin doesn't look good, fear of the uncertainty.  To me, I found cavemen regimen and water regimen has no big difference between the two.

I think even if you're doing the right thing, you still needs time to prove it.  Just that along the journey, it might presents in different ways.  Such as breakout really bad for two months then cured or clogged pores last for half year then disappeared.

For me I would say no medication is my thing, at least I won't get those weird bump that last forever.  If it's going to get clogged pores, so be it.  Someday when it's ready, it will become a pimple.  I have a believe that it will heal up just fine, as long as I don't touch them.  If it's still not going away even after a year, I would then think of some new approach.

You seems like a strong person.  But don't blame yourself, everyone made mistakes, we just need to learn from it.  To comfort you a bit, I did the same thing too.  Feeling better? : P

My advice to you now is stick to it, using water or not is up to your preference.(the one that makes you feel better)  Just stick to it for maybe one or two more months.  Realistically speaking, not saying it must work in month two/ three, but to also ensure yourself not to drop out at this point, and later have a chance to think "Oh, maybe I should do the cavemen regimen again, because I just wasn't doing long enough." and wasted you another few months. (and also the past month effort.)

Moreover, observe a bit, are those breakout is from clogged pores, or some new area that you never breakout from?
It's good to breakout from clogged pores but not from new areas, with no new clogged pores are forming.
It's no good to breakout from somewhere you never got pimple, yet more breakout and clogged pore showing up.

Only if you're using medication, it might break you out everywhere, because it reaches really deep of your skin. (Or you're just using the wrong approach.) 

The above is what I've learnt, it's subjective, but sincerely hope this help.
Btw, I'll still be following until you get clear, and I'll also make sure to let you know If I'm clear.

Cheers.

5 hours ago, PositivePositivePositive said:

Two weeks eariler after my reply, I have used a few days of azelaic acid cream just to help with the hyperpigmentation I've left. But it was a wrong decision. I then got like few pimples and two huge under the skin bump which is causing me another huge new dark brown spot. *sigh* Then I head back to cavemen again, but not hardcore though, is with water and washcloth now. Since then I haven't consider much about my skin, so far so good. Current skin condition is: hyperpigmentation that I had does lighten up a bit, but two weird huge brown spot remains, a few small clogged pores.

Sorry I didn't stick to the total hardcore cavemen as a role model to encourage you or something like that. I know the struggle of changing approach when your skin doesn't look good, fear of the uncertainty. To me, I found cavemen regimen and water regimen has no big difference between the two.

I think even if you're doing the right thing, you still needs time to prove it. Just that along the journey, it might presents in different ways. Such as breakout really bad for two months then cured or clogged pores last for half year then disappeared.

For me I would say no medication is my thing, at least I won't get those weird bump that last forever. If it's going to get clogged pores, so be it. Someday when it's ready, it will become a pimple. I have a believe that it will heal up just fine, as long as I don't touch them. If it's still not going away even after a year, I would then think of some new approach.

You seems like a strong person. But don't blame yourself, everyone made mistakes, we just need to learn from it. To comfort you a bit, I did the same thing too. Feeling better? : P

My advice to you now is stick to it, using water or not is up to your preference.(the one that makes you feel better) Just stick to it for maybe one or two more months. Realistically speaking, not saying it must work in month two/ three, but to also ensure yourself not to drop out at this point, and later have a chance to think "Oh, maybe I should do the cavemen regimen again, because I just wasn't doing long enough." and wasted you another few months. (and also the past month effort.)

Moreover, observe a bit, are those breakout is from clogged pores, or some new area that you never breakout from?
It's good to breakout from clogged pores but not from new areas, with no new clogged pores are forming.
It's no good to breakout from somewhere you never got pimple, yet more breakout and clogged pore showing up.

Only if you're using medication, it might break you out everywhere, because it reaches really deep of your skin. (Or you're just using the wrong approach.)

The above is what I've learnt, it's subjective, but sincerely hope this help.
Btw, I'll still be following until you get clear, and I'll also make sure to let you know If I'm clear.

Cheers.

Aw thanks so much for all the kind words!
You're also completely right, I would regret it if I started changing up my routine now. That's exactly why I said I dont really have anything else to do besides this because I don't want to become dependent on any chemical, pill, etc. Maybe the best thing is just to let the natural process do its thing. It's hard when I'm around people constantly so I can't hide out somewhere for weeks or something and let my face go through this whole healing thing but hey, that's life. Thanks again for the encouragement, seriously they help a lot! Hopefully in a couple weeks we'll both have some more positive things to report on, and hey atleast you tried something else and now you know for sure it doesn't work so that's another thing you know to not to do. The way I see it, we're just finding ways to refine our routines and everytime something doesn't work, we're just getting closer to find something that does.

Day 46
Okay so I think things are going back up, slowly, but better. My L side of my face seems to break out less often and it's starting to become (AT THE RISK OF JINXING MYSELF) more smooth. My right side, which had a pretty bad breakout (the biggest one since I started this whole thing) around the 4th of july, is starting to become more calm. My forehead goes through phases, but I'm trying to remember what it was like a month ago and if I'm not mistaken, I truly do think the bumps were bigger. Although most of the bumps are still there, they're tinier (some of them are really small) and I think hopefully that's a good sign. The only thing is though, I keep getting these little circular white patches and they're like tiny like a little bit bigger than a pen tip and I'm just not sure if they're dry skin or if it's something else weird, which is making me paranoid that maybe my acne is fungal because I did notice I have a little bit of dandruff along my hairline. I think the hardest part of acne is figuring out if the cause you think it is. Oh well I'm gonna keep going because I am seeing positive results so hopefully I'm doing the right thing.