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July 20, 2015
Never washed my face
So I thought I was the only one to not wash their face? I stopped washing my face when I was young (9/10 years old) because I used mild soap and it broke out my skin not too bad just enough for me to notice. So I stoppped washing my face and have been doing this up until now. Im 17 and haven't had acne since I stopped washing my face. My face is not dry or flaky. My skin is smooth and well mosturized.
April 29, 2011
Cons:
None
My friend has been using water only to wash her face for the past 10 years and her skin is amazing! And she only washes her face every 2-3 days. We both stuggled with acne in our early 20's and her skin is now clear while mine is still a mess (because, unlike her, I've been using chemicals on my face for the past 10 years. So I started the "no wash" method 2 days ago and, already, my skin is clearing up. I can't believe I waited so long to try this!
August 9, 2017
Acne sufferer for 17 YEARS
As the title says, I've been suffering from acne for over 17 years (I'm in my early 30's now).
As you can imagine I've used everything on the market incl. medication (Neutrogena, cetaphil gentle skin cleanser, Nivea, Clearasil, Simple, Balea, Lavera, Sukin, Shiseido, Epiduo, Duac, Tetraysal, etc etc..) The list of products I've used is long and I can't remember all of them, I've used very expensive things and anything in between. I've been to countless dermatologists and nothing really worked.
In the beginning of this year I had a really bad break out. I cleared that with going completely dairy free (and it has remained acne free ever since), but one spot is still hanging on for dear life. Doctors claim it's acne vulgaris. But I still believe that's a load of cr..
You would get more than one spot and it would go within weeks and then come back in a different area on your face. Anyways, after getting loads of meds prescribed (which cost me an arm and a leg) I've decided to stop using ANYTHING on my face.
No water, no moisturiser, no makeup, no toner, no serum, no oil..NOTHING.
I'm on day 4 today ,and yes I realised this is a bit early for a review, but I wanted to post anyways, because things are happening.
My face doesn't feel tight anymore, it's less red and the weirdest thing yet: My pores are cleaning themselves, it seems. They are literally pushing out little white worms of sebum. I've never seen anything like it. The spot on my face is still there at the moment, but I can imagine that it might go down soon.
Our skin is our biggest organ and it needs to be left alone. I truly believe this. We spend so much money on all these chemicals and do they ever work? No, they wash off your oils and leave you needing moisturisers and you're back at square one.
I'll try this caveman regime for 30 days now and leave all water off of it. After that I might try cold water once a day (evening) to see how that goes. I'm a bit scared of the dead skin mask that people talk about, but maybe it won't be so bad. Also, I mentioned this before, I will not use ANY makeup. This will be hard , as I love foundation and all that jazz, but the skin needs to be left alone completely.
I might update, if anyone wants to hear about it. Until then I can only say: Leave your skin alone. Most men don't do anything to it and look much better than most women without makeup.
December 10, 2015
this really works!!!
Most of my life from when I was little to when I was a teenager, I never used ANY products. I was very active, ate healthy and my skin was clear mostly(I would get an occasional pimple but nothing to big and it would go away after a 2-3 days). My mother never wanted me to wear makeup or use any skin care products because she told me I didn't need it. All I needed was water and cream and she even told me not to wash my face too much in the mornings. My mother is close to her 50's and she has skin as soft as a baby's butt and little to no wrinkles. Also what I noticed was that all my friends would use those cleansers and offer me to try it. I just noticed they had alot of pimples. I would also get compliments on my skin a lot and people would ask me what I did to keep it clear and I would tell them NOTHING. It was when I graduated high school and I met my ex boyfriend who was obsessed with skin care, organic products, and natural remedies. He told me that I should wash my face because skin Gets dirty due to sweat, pollution and foods that we eat. Funny thing is that my skin was very clear and smooth because all I did was practice yoga, exercise ,meditate and drink a lot of water. He introduced me to a company that sold skin care products and essential oils and I'll admit that it did not break me out and my skin felt very fresh but when I ran out of the cleanser and moisturizer I became obsessed with natural remedies. I would go on YouTube and search up diy or oils I can use for moisturizers. I tried coconut oil, sugar scrubs, argon oil, baking soda, drug store products, high end vegan products, creams, honey ,scrubs, green tea, tea tree oil and let me tell you.. That was when I started to break out of no where and they were painful. I would get cystic acne ,huge pimples, blackheads.. It was getting out of control and because I didn't know what to do I would pick at my skin and I started to have acne scars. It really made me very insecure that I started to wear makeup which I never did when I was a teenager. I suffered with bad acne for two years and every month I would buy new products HOPING it would clear my skin and it wouldn't. I was talking to my mom cause I was very upset and felt so insecure and she told me to stop using harsh products and stick to the basics. Water and cream. That's when a light bulb went off and I realized I was too obsessed with skincare and I had the worst skin I have ever had in my life(I'm 21 now). My boyfriend has really nice skin and he doesn't do anything and so does my mom and my other friends. The skin care companies want us to think that we need it but trust me let nature take the wheel. From my experience, there is no such thing as end all be all no matter how expensive it is. Even though I still have a bad habit of picking at my skin , my skin has never looked better in the past two years !! We need the natural oils on our skin to protect it. And you're skin will glow. Here and there I'll grab a cheesecloth fill it with oatmeal and use the creamy substance on my skin once in a while and an occasional face mask but I don't even wash my face in the mornings anymore and before bed I wash it with water, and apply avocado oil. That's it. Don't over do it. What I would also suggest is to try eliminating dairy and meat out of your diet. I have been vegan for almost four months and my skin has been doing well for me. Good luck and I hope you find what works for you !!
May 2, 2016
It's been 9 months since I've written my review on the no wash method because my desire to have clear skin was always on my mind. Due to my obsession with skin care by always washing it or treating it with various products, it only made it worse which resulted in my confidence going out the window. It has been years since a person complimented my skin or appearance but now I have people saying I have beautiful skin and strangers ask me for skin care tips. What do I tell them? Stop purchasing skin care products, stop washing the face so much and leave the skin alone and in return your skin will thank you! Every person I tell that to always acts surprised but they always thank me for being honest. I'm not saying this to sound conceited, but only spreading this message because I used to suffer from painful cystic acne. My face was always red and I would always pick at at it which resulted in having acne scars. It was incredibly embarrassing going out in public but I don't seem to have that problem anymore because I stopped obsessing and started living. I know how it feels to be depressed and refuse to go out due to painful or unpleasant acne on the face. I have hope for people! Ever since ditching the products I have not only saved a ton of money, I have freed myself from the mentality of constant consumerism & I have stopped obsessing over my skin and appearance. Now I am able to live my life instead of spending hours in the washroom applying face masks or cleansers on my face or even picking at my skin! It makes me happy to see more and more positive feedback from others trying out the cavemen regimen! The amount of chemicals that are in these products people put on their face everyday is extremely dangerous. Your skin will thank you if you stop touching or picking at it. Leave your skin alone and in return your skin will balance itself out. After two years of constantly obsessing over my acne and skin, the moment I decided to throw out all my products and just use cream here and there, my skin has never looked and felt better. It feels amazing to not depend on a product for an end all be all skin treatment and instead just accepting that my skin will heal itself if I give it time. Diet does play an important role on how our skin will appear but the acid mantle on our skin does as well! Leave the oils alone! It gives that natural glow :) Leave the pimples alone and stop picking at it. Keep it simple! If acne treatments and skin care products really worked that the advertisements claim, why is it that so many people suffer with acne?! Free yourself from that dogma. If you want to use some things on your face in the beginning, try it out. But eventfully you will start to feel it is unnecessary. At first I used home made roiboos tea spray, avocado oil, avocado face mask once a week and my skin felt amazing but now I don't even care if I miss a face mask treatment every once in a while. People will go about the no wash method in many different ways. Find something that you're comfortable with but once you become confident you will stop obsessing over it and just live your life the way you're supposed to. A little goes a long way. One last tip I have is that diet is important. Ever since I cut out milk products including cheese out of my diet it has played a big role on my complexion. there are various plant based milks you can try (almond, coconut, hemp, soy) and there are non dairy cheeses. I understand cheese can be addictive but if you do research on veganism or the impact consuming animal products has on our bodies, our health, the animals & most importantly our planet you will be quite surprised. if you don't want to ditch these foods, it's fine. I guarantee that just trying the no wash method will dramatically change your skin over time. Lastly, check if you have low stomach acid. Acne can be a sign that you suffer from low stomach acid. Give this a go! Even if you have very severe acne, you have nothing to lose! I hope this helped and don't feel down about how you look right now. Many people are obsessed with outer beauty but the most important thing is to focus on how to be a better person. Meditate, exercise, read and focus on positive experiences you can have everyday! Start from the inside and work your way out<3 I hope this helped. A little off topic but the no wash method journey truly helped me distinguish the difference between want and need. We don't need these skin care products! The minimalistic lifestyle is what today's society needs. I will do an update review in September :)
May 26, 2016
Thank you for your review and update!
June 17, 2015
Best Decision I ever Made
I wanted to wait until I had a pretty good idea of how this would affect my acne. It's been about 2 weeks. I haven't used any cleanser, exfoliate, toner, moisturizer or sunscreen on my face. It has COMPLETELY cleared up. Here is a bit of a background: I did not have acne as a teen (the occasional pimple or two, but not what I would call 'acne'). I then went on birth control when I was 20 for 2 months. When I went off of the birth control, I broke out. I have had mild/moderate acne since then (about 3.5 years). I assumed it was hormonal but birth control wasn't working for me - it "flattened" my moods, killed my sex drive etc. Nothing really worked to clear my face up - thought some things calmed my skin but I always had 2 or 3 pimples/cysts and many blackheads. I began using liquid foundation to cover it up which (I personally feel) worsened my skin. I was stuck in the foundation trap for about 2 years. I didn't wear it every day - only about 4 times a week, if that. I NEVER slept with make up and removed with make-up wipes, cleanser, toned and moisturized. I also exfoliated once every week and a half. In the summer I wore sunscreen. I did all of the things you're told to do to take care of your skin and it only got worse. About 1 month ago, I had one of my really bad weeks. Cysts all over my chin, whiteheads - acne that make up cannot hide. I was feeling so bad about skin and booked an appointment with a finally booked an appointment with a dermatologist determined to finally turn to medication to fix my skin. I could not get an appointment for at least a month and a half so I figured I would have to suck it up and deal with it until then. My very bad breakout calmed down and for some reason, I just thought - all of these products aren't doing anything. They may calm my skin down a bit but two days later I am back to square one. So many of my friends are super lazy with their regimens, wear make up to sleep etc. and have mostly clear skin. My boyfriend essentially showers and gets out and in the years that we've been together, he has had exceptionally clear skin. So, I stopped cleaning and moisturizing. I stopped toning a while ago (maybe 3 months ago) and I stopped drinking coffee (which significantly elevates stress). I drink tea instead. The hardest part was the first 4 days. I have combination skin and without cleaning and moisturizing, my skin felt VERY dry all day and then oily in the morning. I let water touch my face as it normally would - while showering etc. and I rinsed my face with lukewarm water in the evening before bed but other than that - I did absolutely NOTHING to my face. A lot of people mention their skin being "flakey" - my skin was not flakey, just very dry. After about one week, my skin was totally clear and was no longer taut. This has been a godsend. I put concealer on a few days in a row (I have very bad hyper-pigmentation from scarring) and only used a gentle make up remover cloth to take the concealer off in the spots it was located. I stopped using a brush to apply it and dabbed in on with clean fingers. I then rinsed my face with water gently and it did not break me out. I seriously have not had a SINGLE pimple since my face cleared up a week ago. Now, if your skin is very bad or you have JUST gotten of medication or birth control, I am not sure how your body will respond to this. It take 3-8 months for your body to readjust after birth control and medication may influence the way your acne thrives in your skin. If your acne is very severe, I can't speak to your problems because mind was mild/moderate. Needless to say, if you're spending money every month and religiously washing and moisturizing your face to no avail, give this a shot. A lot of people have said that it takes about a month and a half for their skin to clear up (I was lucky, perhaps). Give it time, be patient. I did not wear ANY make up for the first week and then only used eye make up and concealer which I removed with a gentle make up remover wipe. I am totally sworn off of liquid foundation. I just tossed my 2 $65.00 bottles. If I have a big event, I will likely wear powder and concealer at most on my skin and only then will I use a wipe and cleanser to remove the make up. Otherwise, I can deal with the scars if my skin is clear. Try it if you think you can deal! Best of luck.
July 21, 2015
I wanted to tell my story and how I healed my face. ( Sorry for my English ...)
I never had acne when I was teenager , I always had a nice clean skin. When I turned 18 I started to wear makeup ( but not a moisturizers or skin care ) , my face was clear. Then after I turned 25 I started to add a bit moisturizer and serum and scrubs and masks and etc...I didn't notice any difference really but my face just turned a bit red ...and I always had to wear foundation just to cover redness. Now when I am 35 my skin got worse with breakouts and pimples and skin inflammation on a regular basis . So I started to "clean my face " more and more with soaps and scrubs which just dried out my face more. Then I tried BP and SA ( stupid idea ) for 2 weeks my face was so red and irritated like crazy. Nothing didn't help me . I went to dermatologist and he prescribed me some pills and creams for 6 months...But my gut feeling just told me that I don't want to poison my body with these antibiotics and didn't take it...I was so desperate , my self esteem went down and my social life kept to minimal. I've tried all the diets , eliminated chocolate, sugars, milk and dairy , meat and fruits....) nothing helped. Every products I putted on my face got it worse.
One day a friend of mine came to me and her face is very nice and clear , so I asked what products she use and she told me nothing...She never put moisturizer or makeup on her face, she just wash it with water and that's all ! Then I realized that my husband has the most clear face and he only use water on his face as well. Each day I read the ingredients in skin care and how many chemicals they use in it. I came to the point that I couldn't use anything on my face except water. After a week of using only water my skin begun to calm and redness went away a bit. My skin felt dry in the beginning ( of course I didn't moisturized ) and I had some flakiness.
I decided to give my skin a break from all these chemicals that I am pretty sure caused all these problems. After about 2 weeks I did had some white heads ( maybe the pores were just cleaning itself or purging period ) but they dried out fast with no red marks. My face calmed more and more everyday and pimples just went away. I do believe that we just brain washed with all the media and commercial products. Our natural body and skin can heal itself with time just give it a chance. Now I am pretty confident without foundation and my skin looks nice and clear finally after a years of suffering. It was just a sign that I have to stop using these chemicals on my face, and let skin to breath. I only put mascara and liner on my eyes and remove it with Olive oil on the cotton pad and wash it with water only. Ohh I forgot to tell that I bought a Natural bar soap unsented fragrance free from Organic store and washed my face in the shower Once a week with bar soap ( just to take away all the flakiness ) it didn't irritate my skin and didn't cause any dryness . I am at 4 weeks now using only water morning and evening on my face. I feel that my skin appreciate that and response with respect. I wish my experience will help others who suffers from pimples and will heal their face as well. There is a Caveman regimen on Internet when you don't wash your face at all , but for me it was too much and I decided to wash only with water . Good luck to everyone and remember that our Nature is much smarter that all these commercial products.
July 29, 2015
Natural Miracle
Okay, so first off i had break outs when i was in 7th grade then it got worse when i got into 8th grade. In 8th grade i had big pimples that i needed to hide my face when the pimple was on the left i always face people on my right .... so i decided to make all the mess go away and i decided to use avene cleanser and toner , worked miracles. i was so happy my face is finally flawless!! but then, after using it for a while , after seeing the "flawlessness" of my face for about 3 weeks, my face, my flawless face started to break out much more than i did before i used these products, i don't know what happened, after seeing my face like this i thought i should keep using it so that the acne will eventually go away again, but it didn't my face just got worse and worse and then i thought i should just stop using them since they just made me break out even more and i didn't have the time i spent too much time washing my face , after not using anything my face started to get back to the "flawless" state again it glowed the scars were healing the pimples were healing things were sooo much better , the other thing i did was not touch my face and i never touched my face for 2 years already ( not touching means not washing my face with my hands ) , i just let the water from the shower rinse through my face after not touching my face and washing with water my face is natural, fresh i feel very happy no major break outs very healthy and i'm happy i stopped using products and im never going back :))
September 5, 2015
While you were just rinsing your face with only water and everything, were you still able to wear makeup like concealer or foundation, then later still just rinse with water and your skin still be okay?
May 10, 2015
Finally acne free !
Hello guys, I'm nearly 18 and I've had acne since I'm 12. I've tried absolutely EVERYTHING. I've been to the dermatologist so many times, and took monocyclines for 8 months twice, I've used retinoids, AHA, DIY treatments (layering), apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda ... I've bought countless products each time convinced that the acne nightmare was about to be over. Unfortunately it always got worse and worse, there were small improvements sometimes but my skin was getting drier and drier, and always more sensitive and red. I decided to take a contraceptive pill one year ago (with possible dangerous side effects, but I didn't care, I just wanted to be acne free) and 5 months after because of the pill and a huge amount of stress, I broke out like hell, and experienced extra severe acne for the first time. My face was a mess, I started being very depressed and skipped school sometimes when I assumed I could not show my skin to the rest of the world. This was 7 months ago, and now, I almost have clear skin.
What did I do ?
It's mostly something that happens in your mind. I think acne is all about compulsive obsession and excessive care. I progressively reduced the amount of products I put on my face, and just washed it twice a day with a mild soap. The severe acne progressively went away, and I went back to the "normal" acne I used to have. BUT I kept on picking my skin. One week ago I've realised that picking is actually what allows pimples to keep on appearing on a regular basis. I've stopped picking since last week, and my skin looks fabulous. No new pimple, just some pimples healing, but they will soon be gone. Now I don't even use soap anymore, I just splash my face twice a day with warm water ( I find it better for oily skin) and ... that's all. My skin looks healthy and glows. My scars are slowly fading away, much quicker than what they used to do when I was using tons of products to help them fade. Tomorrow, for the first time, I'm going to school with bare skin. No foundation, no powder, maybe just one little touch of concealer on one or two scars. I feel free. I really really advise all of you who have tried everything and still get acne to do the caveman regimen and listen to their skin. And most importantly NO PICKING. I know it's super hard but that's the only way to be acne free.
Best of luck to you all !
May 24, 2016
How did you take off your makeup when you did wear it?
September 12, 2017
It's Working So Far ...
When I was young (Under 15) I never took notice of my skin & never washed it other than when I was in the shower, I had flawless skin & never had any pimples. When I turned 16 I started to wash my face twice a day (AM & PM) and suddenly I kept breaking out, mainly on my chin but I had the odd few elsewhere. I thought it must of been hormonal as I was also suffering from bad anxiety & depression. I tried everything, multiple different cleansers, benzoyl peroxide, cutting out dairy, drinking a gallon of water & nothing was working I constantly broke out every other day or so. Then I read a couple of articles & watched a couple of videos about stopping using products & just using water. It's been a week now & my skin is clear (other than the scars from old ones) & I've never felt more relieved. It makes sense though as I've never had a spot on my chest or back & nor have I ever used cleanser or any products on my chest or back. Hopefully my clear skin continues :)
July 21, 2016
SUCCESS AT LAST!
As you probably have, I have tried and tested every product on the market. You name it, I'v used it. Surprise surprise, none of them worked. One of my friends used to struggle with severe acne. She too had tried everything and decided that nothing worked. She had told me about a water only washing routine that cleared her skin so of course, I wanted to try it out. Resisting all of the products was the hardest part. I would go as far as saying I had an addiction to washing my face; I would wash it 8 times a day which is not good of course, especially because I was using a different concoction of chemicals each time. To list just a FEW of the products I tried: Liz Earle cleanse and polish (the worst of all, caused cystic acne), Good things berry cleanser (disgusting smell and left an awful residue), L'Oréal grapefruit scrub (deeply regret using this), Origins a perfect world (the best of the lot if you feel you can't go without cleansing) and Botanics facial wash FOR MEN (yes I even resulted in using my brothers face wash that he doesn't use, that's how desperate I was!!!). Anyway, about a week ago (a little bit of Bobby Shmurda) I thought to myself that using all these chemicals can't be doing any good so I literally chucked all of my skincare products in the bin and you know what? It was the best thing I ever did! Just ONE week into the routine, my skin is glowing and clear. I don't want to jinx it but I do not have any inflamed red bumps or any of the other nasty stuff- how rare! I have not been this happy in so long because as you know, acne really gets you down! For anyone who wishes to know my skincare routine-
Morning- Wash face with cold water really well- NO CLEANSERS, NO CLOTHS and DO NOT TOWEL DRY!*
Towels have lots of bacteria hiding inside them contributing to acne Evening-Wash face with cold water only and NO TOWEL DRYING! Hand action only!!! P.S- Sometimes I wash my face midday too because your face will be slightly oily for a couple of days but this soon goes away! If you do have acne, do not worry it will go away! There are thousands of other people going through the same thing and we who have it in our teenage years are lucky in a way because we won't have it when we enter the dating scene but only IF YOU LEAVE YOUR SKIN ALONE!!! I have so much more I want to write but I will bore you so I REALLY hope this method works for you, I want to help you because I know how acne makes you feel; SH*T! Best of luck! It wont let me remove this BTW -->uase
July 26, 2016
UPDATE- It is week two of water only washing. Unfortunately, I purchased a simple kind to skin cleanser to see if it would help my skin but of course, it did not work, it only made my skin worse, Since purchasing the cleanser, I have indulged in two face masks which I deeply regret. Back to square one. As for my skin, there is little active acne but many red scars. Does anyone know how to remove them? A response would be much appreciated!
August 2, 2016
use manuka honey for red scars
August 23, 2016
Any more updates?
August 23, 2016
I LOVED THIS I WASNT TOUCHING AND WASHIN MY FACE WITH CLEANSERS NO MAKEUP MORE than 5 days,wasnt actually thinking about my diet,didnt workout ups,but was active outside.Im almost 15 blackheads breakouts omg,I always have redness and my nose is red bumps literally,goes away,comes... in circle...Today I placed on my lids some eyeshadow and cuz it was gel kinda i smudged a bit on my nose and Ive wiped it with my finger and then when I removed it with micellar water it was RED like pimple with bunch of water and I had to put concelear and leave,am I allergic or its cuz eyeshadow is on face or I wasnt putting makeup for almost a week??btw I only wear concelear sometimes and foundation i take off in less then 6 hrs ...i dont do heavy.
August 26, 2016
Do you apply makeup? I tend to be makeup free during weekdays and put make up on during the weekend...
May 3, 2012
Pros:
My skin has become less red and inflamed. I haven't gotten a new pimple in over a month (i usually get a new zit every week). Topical treatments (e.g. salycilic acid, toners, face washes, including Purpose and Cetaphil, which my derm recommended) all left my skin inflamed and did nothing to stop the multiple zits that plagued me consistently even after having been on Accutane.
I wash by GENTLY massaging warm water into my face once a day, and my skin is no longer red and my acne is gone.
Cons:
Skin may be very flaky for the first week of trying this, but I found that as long as you gently wipe the skin down with warm water this helps stop initial breakouts from dead skin buildup.
THIS WORKS! This is the only thing other than Accutane and not eating carbs/sugars and starches that has worked for me.
Things I've tried that do NOT work:
benzoyl peroxide, antibiotics, salicylic acid and glycolic acid topicals, isolaz, salicylic acid chemical peels (had 2 treatments), aesthetician extraction and red-blue light therapy, acne washes (i've tried Neutrogena, Purpose, and Cetaphil), and the oil cleansing method (using Coconut Oil-broke me out everywhere after one month).
Pros:
Clear skin