Not Washing or Water Only

I didnt know whether to write under the water only or jojoba oil blog but here goes...... I'm a 23 year old woman who's had breakouts since I was 10. I have dry sensitive, acne prone skin. I have moderate acne. I used different otc acne products since then. Nothing ever really worked. I minimized my junk food intake since 2013 to just once a week. It helped but it wasn't enough. When I break out, I used to get frustrated and overwash with cleaners, I would pick, hoping to scrape the bumps off my face. Just a month ago I did just that and I got a horrible breakout and I got so angry and I just felt like my face was gonna always be like this. Then I looked at the rest of my skin on my body......the rest of my skin is nice and I hardly manipulate with it. So I thought to myself maybe that's what I need to do with my face. So since 2 weeks ago, i've been washing my face with bottled water and a rag. Being that I also have dry skin, I decided to try an oil, being that I wanted the most natural moisturizer. I was looking for non comodegenic or an oil with low comodegenicity (Idk if that's a word loll). So I chose jojoba oil. Since I started this regimen, my face had cleared up tremendously!!! I still have a couple acne scars (I use aloe Vera gel straight from the leaf for this). Water, aloe, and jojoba oil is all I use and the results are beautiful! I love how my face looks now!

I began this regimen 4 days ago. The 'version' I'm following is rinsing and very lightly massaging my face with lukewarm water twice a day, and allowing water to touch my face in the shower (albeit not hot water). My acne story began when I was 11, I'm 30 now. I've tried everything (Proactiv, Accutane x2, birth control, prescription topicals and orals, coal tar, drugstore sh*t, neem soap, oil cleansing method, peroxide, and honey washing), and yet today I still live with acne and cystic acne. I have an irritating combination skin type of oily with dry patches, strictly oily patches, and strictly dry patches. I am also vegan, meaning I consume zero dairy, which is a known trigger. I have been vegan for 6+ months, and my acne has not really changed at all, nor my skin texture. SO... After my most recent breakout, including 3 angry cystic spots on my chin, I magically came across this regimen. I read for like 6 hours on different techniques, and decided upon the one I felt most comfortable with starting. Although the differences in versions seem minor, I think what you choose to start with has the power to make or break your journey. If you really want to push through for at least a couple of weeks, at least be somewhat satisfied from the beginning with your regimen of choice! I'm at the very end of Day 4 right now, and I must say I'm not only pleased with the changes, but equally as shocked! Those of us who have truly struggled with acne, come on, we definitely don't expect this of all things to actually work! But yep- for the first time since childhood, my skin tone is beginning to even out, meaning less read blotchy spots (even where I don't have acne), and my cheek scarring which is usually a brownish-purple hue is already lighter. Whaaaat. Now, I am experiencing some flakiness that people have mentioned, mostly between my eyebrows and around some acne on my chin that I was treating with peroxide spot treatment before I started the regimen. But it truly is subtle and not anywhere as nasty as having foundation or concealer flake up my skin in spots. Also, my oiliness is already evening out. What I'm used to is being able to swipe my forehead with my finger and have it be totally slick, morning, night, and whilst wearing makeup. I don't have anywhere near that now! And my face has a sheen and glow to it that I've never had before. It's incredible. I have only worn a small amount of concealer and mascara since i began. I just use water and very light massaging to remove the concealer, and have user jojoba oil on a cotton pad to remove my mascara (which by the way, is an amazing eye makeup remover to use, and zero chemicals!). Only the first two nights did I lightly pat on a very small amount of jojoba oil onto my previous dry spots. I'll be updating as I go, and will answer any questions anyone has! I'll be 100% honest throughout this journey, and will mention any changes I've made to my regimen. Fingers crossed! :)

The best thing i've tried this far. I've been using so many products on my face, hoping my skin would clear up, but it only made it worse. I stopped using products on my face, and I just drink lots of water. So far my skin isn like 85% clear.

I have had relatively clear skin my entire life. I would get the odd pimple during my period, but that was it. When I was 19, my skin went down hill. I was breaking out very badly on my chin, which then moved to my cheeks. No matter what I did, my skin would not clear up. I tried all the quick fixes, and when none of those worked, I knew this was more serious than I thought. I have tried almost everything to clear up my skin. I've spent a disgusting amount of money on topical treatments, been on many different rounds of antibiotics, been to a dermatologist, spent at least $1000 on acne treatments at spas, changed my entire diet and lifestyle, started taking vitamins, changing my pillow case every night, only drinking water, HONESTLY EVERYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF. So, one day I ran out of my face wash, and I went to my local spa to pick up some new stuff. The total was $200, and I just could not fathom spending this much money on products that weren't even clearing my skin. So I made up some excuse about how my credit card wasn't working and left. I decided to just leave my face alone. No cleansers, toners, moisturizers, spot treatments, NOTHING. Just water, or also known as the "caveman regimen". I did a lot of research on this before I started, and I felt that it was worth a shot. For the first few days, I noticed my skin wasn't as red and "raw" looking as usual. I wasn't breaking out more than usual - if anything, it was less than what I usually would break out. After about a week, I started noticing little whiteheads around my cheeks and chin, and even my forehead. I'm assuming that my skin was "purging", meaning it was pushing out all of the toxins. These whiteheads didn't hurt, and they weren't red at all. They would usually clear up in about a day or two. I also noticed that my hyperpigmentation was lightening up, and it wasn't as noticeable. The hardest part for me was to give up wearing makeup. Not that I wore a lot, but when I would get a pimple here and there, it was hard not covering it up. But I stayed strong. Now, three weeks later, I can't believe how good my skin looks. The hyperpigmentation marks are almost gone, I have not broken out in a few days (I can't remember the last time that has happened), the colour of my skin matches the rest of my body (my face is usually white, while the rest of my body is tanned), my skin is nowhere near as oily as it used to be, and overall, the condition of my face is amazing. So, here's what I do - I only let water hit my face when I'm in the shower. Other than that, I don't let water touch my face. I stopped wearing makeup, and I stopped touching/picking at my face. I would highly recommend trying this if you feel like you've tried everything.

Acne and poor skin quality has haunted me since I was 14. It has caused torturous amounts of emotional pain. I remember a time when I was talking with a girl at 20 years old, my paranoia took a vertical spike and caused me to wash my face 5 times per day and cake on topical medication at night. I wanted it to go away so badly. Little did I know, that destroyed my face... permanently. It baffled me that the rest of the skin on my body looks beautiful, but my face...... it looks like I have a mask on. I am 27 now and my wisdom through years of trial and error has revealed the idea of being gentle with my skin and it worked WONDERS the very first day I tried it. I slowly transitioned into an ever more gentler regiment. I washed less and less, I used cooler and cooler water, I wiped my face less and less, and I put less and less pressure on my face when I wipe. It has been a few months now and my skin is less red, less dry, less oily, less porous looking and less pimply than it has ever been. I highly recommend everyone at least try it. It could be the holy grail you've been looking for.

I rinse and massage my face with pure water every night before going to bed. In the morning when I shower I use an organic all natural Ayurvedic flour to exfoliate my skin. I don't use soap and my skin is thanking me for it. Every acne sufferer makes the mistake of trying harsh products because we see acne as the enemy that needs to be killed. It's not, our bodies are trying to tell us something. And when our skin is in such a sensitive state using harsh products ultimately makes it worse! Just like how typical shampoos dry out and hurt our hair, these products are stripping our skin. It might sound counterintuitive, but it will actually prevent your skin from producing more oil---unlike after you've stripped it all off with toxic chemicals! Doing this has had the strongest effect on my skin quality. My breakouts are smaller, less red and don't last as long. It's not the only thing I do, but it's had the best effect. Give it some time, your skin might be greasier for a bit. Mine wasn't, but everyone is different. If you can't eat or drink it, don't put it on your skin.

I was a slave to proactiv and washing my face twice a day. Bought the most expensive natural cleansers/toners you can buy and they didn't work. I had stress related acne at 20 and never stopped washing for 2 years and my acne got really bad. Stopped washing about a month and a half ago and my skin has never looked so good. STOP washing your face twice a day, give it a chance to heal on its own. All the negative comments in this forum are by people that have bad diets and aren't sticking to it. For the first month i didn't even use water and it worked wonders. I hope this helps someone else, give it a try.

I used to struggle and be so self conscious of my skin. Three months ago, I had skin that was borderline horrendous. People who were close to me said I had to take better care of my skin. Little did they know I was trying EVERYTHING! I started cleaning my diet, avoiding dairy, using bentonite clay, natural face masks and everything you can think of. I was so angry and sad since I tried so much and nothing worked. I kept waking up to some new pimple in the morning. Fast forward three months and here I am so happy with my skin. Two days ago, my friend said my skin was glowing, and BOY, was I so happy to hear that! For the past three months, the only thing I've been using on my skin is water and sunscreen. I kid you not, I did not get a single NEW pimple ever since. While the old ones took their time going away, it was sure worth the wait. ALSO DON'T TOUCH YOUR FACE, THIS IS SO IMPORTANT, NO POPPING ESPECIALLY! I did get a little tan by using only water but my skin is GLOWING! I really hope this review will help someone. I can eat whatever I want now and feel so happy knowing I don't have to check for new pimples everyday. Using cleanser on my face was the problem for me, this may not work for you but its worth a try. I wash face twice a day with cold water and pat dry, I don't wear moisturizer at night. I only use a Japanese sunscreen from the brand "Biore"during the day. Good luck guys!

I had a perfectly clear complexion in high school, but right after graduation, I began cleansing my face with cleansers because I had a small "breakout" on the corners of my nose. I say "breakout" because I know now that it was just severely red, dry, and cracked skin. Slowly more and more breakouts began appearing. I kept trying products, oil cleansers, milky cleansers, gel cleansers... Nothing worked! So just last week I took a breath in and asked myself, "what did I do in high school"? The answer was, of course, nothing! I "washed" my face once a day with warm water (sometimes I would apply a toner when my skin felt dirty) and applied a moisturizer afterward. It's been one week, and I have nothing on my face. It even cleared up during that time of the month (For the girls out there wondering) No new breakouts and the old ones are healing. I am so happy in my skin and my pockets are thanking me too!!

Hi I'm J and I'm a product junkie. I'd like to say that I stick to regimens and I don't try other methods, but I don't. I'll stick to a regimen for a while then my skin starts to clear and I ramp it up with some other skincare gimmick! At least twice a year, I totally freak my skin out. This time, when I received my new kit with Rodan and Fields I went for it. You get like 6 different regimens for all skin types. I started out with the sensitive regimen. By the end of the week I was dabbing into everything and my skin just freaked out. The acne regimen called unblemish started working then I started using lots of other products from the different regimens I received. My skin got super itchy and my mild acne turned into moderate little itchy whiteheads all over my face. Especially late at night before bed. So, I threw in the towel and decided to stop washing my face all together. Tomorrow is Christmas so I'll be wearing makeup to cover my discoloration. Not sure what I'll do at night. sigh.... In just one day of not washing *skin isn't as dry/dehydrated *skin isn't as itchy *the breakouts that I did have are now coming to a head. *the itchy breakouts aren't red/inflamed anymore *my skin feels smoother and more dewy hydrated *I also do not use a moisturizer and have noticed my skin is creating it's own moisture and oils