For the last 14 days, nothing has touched my face – no face wash, no honey, no oil, no fingers (well, no picking or popping anyway), no makeup, and not even water.
I am doing the caveman approach to skincare!
What is the Caveman Regimen?
Most of you know that I advocate a simple skincare routine full of natural, non irritating, non drying ingredients. I believe strongly that most people’s commercial cleansers, moisturizers and topicals are actually working against them instead of for them and could be giving you acne instead of getting rid of it.
Well, the caveman is just taking the idea of gentle skincare to the next level – it’s the ultimate simple skincare routine. You essentially do nothing.
The Theory of the Caveman Goes Like This:
Your skin has something called an “acid mantle” that it develops when you hit puberty. It’s like this shell made up of sweat and sebum that protects your body from invading bacteria. It has a PH of approximately 5.5. Slightly acidic.
Problem is, we are constantly stripping our skin of this acid mantle by washing it and slathering it in stuff – especially with harsh, drying chemicals that have inappropriate PH ratings. For example, the reason you shouldn’t ever wash your face with bar soap, is because it is always highly alkaline. It messes with your acid mantle.
So at the very least, you want to be using something gentle to wash your face that has a slightly acidic PH – luckily honey, the thing I normally recommend, does. That is one reason I chose to use it in the first place.
So anyway, the theory goes that this acid mantle – the sweat and sebum that we are taking great pains to keep off our skin – is actually what protects you from bacteria invading your pores and creating acne. Problem is that for most of us, from the minute we see that first spot as an adolescent, we’ve been using some form of cleanser or topical to keep the acne at bay. Most of us have never given our skin a break since the time we were 13 years old.
In fact, maybe – and especially if you’re an adult with acne that just never stopped after your teenage years – you don’t even have acne anymore at all. You are just creating acne with all the irritation from your washing and products – or at least greatly exasperating it. And even gentle products could still be changing your acid mantle more than you’d want and leaving your skin unprotected.
The answer? Do nothing. Stop washing your face or putting anything on it. Let your natural oils and sweat build up and protect your face, and your acne will greatly decline or go away. Let your skin heal itself with absolutely no outside interference.
–> Okay that’s the theory.
Don’t ask me if the theories are correct, and I’m certain this isn’t going to work for everyone.
Acne isn’t that simple, and we know that the acne machine churns on the inside, not the outside. But there are many different steps in the formation of inflamed acne, and one, is the introduction of bacteria into a clogged pore. Another is physical irritation of that clogged pore, which causes your body to then respond with inflammation there.
So maybe if you cut out some of the latter steps in the acne formation cycle and let your skin work its own magic, you could greatly reduce or eliminate your inflamed acne even if you are battling internal factors.
Whether it really works or not, I’ve always been incredibly enthralled with the idea. This whole ‘caveman regimen’ is all the rave over on the acne.org message boards, which is where I believe the idea was born and I came across it. It sounds like a lot of people have had some success with it. Not everyone, but lots have.
It was actually when my acne was severe that I came across this whole idea. It excited me a lot, because it seemed to make such perfect sense. What IF I was just causing my own acne? What IF the answer was doing nothing? How amazing would that be? I mean, I only seem to have acne on the parts of my face that I’d been washing and slathering with benzoyl peroxide for the last four years. The skin on the rest of my body is so perfect.
I think it was wishful thinking considering how bad my acne was then (definitely some sizeable inside issues needing to be addressed there!), but the theory stuck with me and I wanted to try it more than anything.
Of course – then came the one major roadblock in my amazing plans for caveman domination and that was makeup. My skin was so bad, I absolutely couldn’t bear the thought of not covering it up. I simply couldn’t will myself to do it. And I wasn’t about to just wear a ton of makeup and not wash it off day after day. (Although this girl did that and it still worked)
So even though I chickened out, I am still grateful to the caveman regimen because learning about it was the reason I was able to give up topicals for good and stay committed to only ever using natural, gentle ingredients on my skin. It took me a while to figure out the best thing to use, but I finally came across honey to use as a cleanser and it was like a match made in heaven (with a great PH rating to boot).
How to Do the Caveman Regimen
With such a simple regimen, you’d think there wouldn’t be too much to explain, but of course there is actually a heap to discuss.
First of all – not everyone does the caveman the same. To many, the caveman simply means ‘water only’. Splashing your face with water once in a while, or water that touches your face in the shower, and nothing else. That one’s pretty simple to explain.
But the more hardcore cavemen among us (including myself) are not even letting water touch our faces. Not forever, but at least 30 days.
This is because it serves to eliminate absolutely all irritation. There are chemicals in your tap water, after all. And water itself is actually quite drying, meaning that you’re going to need a moisturizer afterward, and then we’re just backpedaling into the “do something” routine.
The other reason for quitting water is that when you stop washing or rinsing your face after having done it twice a day for years, you build up a bunch of dead skin on your face. The ‘dead skin mask’, they call it. This protects your skin as it heals, regulates its sebum production, and restores itself to its youthful appearance underneath.
Allegedly your skin renews itself every 28 days, so sometime after a good four weeks, you can remove the dead skin mask by very gently exfoliating with a wet muslin cloth (or even just scraping it off with a clean fingernail) and your skin should be as smooth as a baby’s bottom if all went to plan. Then you can rinse or wash your face with something gentle every so often and stop completely avoiding water.
Wait – wait.
Dead skin mask?
Ew.
Yeah I know. I never said this was going to be pretty. But it’s not as bad as it sounds, or at least mine isn’t, here on day 14. It’s not really noticeable at all if you aren’t looking for it. It seems it would only be obvious if you disturb it (I hear you can see it if it gets wet or if you scratched at it or something). It’s not the type of thing that looks like you’re wearing this:
However, I do hear it gets worse as times goes on, and you do look a bit crusty and flakey by the end. I will certainly let you know when I get to that stage.
Despite all this, I’ve also heard that it is quite worth it – inflammation goes way down, if you do get spots, they are usually much smaller and go away quicker, and after you remove the skin mask, your skin looks way better – not oily, not dry, just perfect – and you don’t have to wash as much or at all.
Essentially the caveman regimen is the “no ‘poo” method for your face. It might be really oily, or it might be excessively dry for quite a few days. You could have a purging breakout or congestion. Maybe it won’t be great for a while… but then you will reap the rewards of a self regulating face that doesn’t over or underproduce oil, isn’t as congested, and looks a hell of a lot of healthier.
Again – this is only a theory, but it makes sense to me, and some people do clear their acne this way.
Logistical Issues with the Caveman Regimen
Aside from letting go of the psychological attachments we have to washing and products, the most obvious thing that is probably jumping to mind if you’re a lady is ‘but.. but……. no makeup?’.
Yes, that’s right, no makeup, and for me, this is the biggest logistical issue, by far. And I’m not even someone with really bad skin anymore, and I was never even the type who ever wore full makeup, only directly on spots – but the idea of absolutely NO makeup, through thick or thin, no matter what happens, still makes me feel a bit panicky sometimes.
The emotional impact of the choice to go without is a whole ‘nother can of worms, and I’ll save that for next post when I discuss how my caveman experiment has been going.
But for now – the answer is yes – NO makeup (well, except eye makeup. I still wear mascara. Just no skin makeup). While I did link to someone above who piled makeup on her face and never washed it and this was still successful, somehow that just seems like a bad idea. Although perhaps maybe it wouldn’t be too detrimental if you only put a tiny dab on a pimple just to cut down on that redness and didn’t wash that off. I’ve done that before when I was camping to no ill effect.
Either way, putting a bunch of makeup on when your face is all flakey and crusty is usually a really bad idea anyway. Tends to look a lot worse than if you just didn’t put any on, doesn’t it?
I’d like to point out here that if you are a guy, I’d think about giving this a try. I mean, if you didn’t wear makeup anyway, what do you really have to lose by trying this regimen? Then if it works you can let us ladies know so that maybe we’ll have an easier time letting the makeup go for a while if we know it is worthwhile.
So that brings me to the next question – if you’re a guy, how do you shave?
From my understanding, guys doing this regimen use beard trimmers and set them to the closest setting. Or just really get into the whole caveman thing and grow a full beard!
Another question that might pop into your head is – how do I wash my hair or shower if I can’t get my face wet?
Well, honestly, I personally have an advantage here in that I don’t really wash my hair much because of my dreadlocks, so I can just wear a shower cap and keep my head out of the stream and all is well. It sounds like everyone else just tilts their head back and does their best to keep the water off their face (I’d like to note here that shampoo streaming down your face can be a source of irritation, so this is great as it removes that as well!). But yeah… it sounds like if you get your face a tiny bit wet with splashes from the shower, it’s not going to ruin everything.
Having baths instead is another option. That’s what I’ve taken to doing, mostly just to shave my legs every once in a while to keep my boyfriend happy 
Other Things to Consider Before You Start the Caveman
- The caveman is best paired with a healthy diet and lifestyle. Since acne comes from within (and can be exasperated from the outside), this no washing stuff is going to be the most effective if you are also eating like a caveman – or at least not eating processed garbage.
- The caveman regimen is also best paired with a ‘do nothing’ attitude toward your acne (I mean, aside from eating well and exercising, things every person should be doing regardless of acne status). This means that you also don’t spend hours in front of the mirror obsessing over your acne, you just do other fun stuff and ignore it. This lowers your stress levels significantly and will greatly improve your chances for success with this.
- I’m guessing the biggest improvements with this regimen are going to be with people who have been using the harsh chemicals, topicals, and irritating cleansers. Since I’ve been using a gentle, natural skin care routine for some time now, I don’t honestly know how much improvement I’m expecting for my mild acne problem (especially because I know it’s digestion related) – but you never know – maybe I’m wrong and doing nothing is the last piece of the puzzle. That’s why it’s called an experiment!
Extra Curricular Caveman Reading
Here are links to some of the popular Acne.org threads about the caveman regimen. Some are about the hardcore no water approach, and some are just about washing with water instead. If you’re interested in this concept, have a read through some of them:
Acne.org Caveman Regimen Reviews (they’re mostly great reviews!)
The biggest caveman regimen thread on acne.org
Not washing 14 Day Log
Not Washing for A Month Thread
The Caveman Strategy
Okay, tune in for the next post on Wednesday, where I will be talking about my personal experiences with the caveman regimen so far!
What do you think about the caveman regimen? Would you ever try it?
**Update** – Get the updates on my caveman regimen experiment by clicking on the following links:
My Experiences on the Caveman Regimen So Far
The Caveman Regimen Experiment – 30 Day Update
“No Wash” Caveman Regimen for Acne – 3 Month Update
do you make a facial scrub of any kind..or do you not use a scrub?!
No, you don’t do anything at all to your skin (on this regimen)… no scrubs… no face wash.. no moisturizers… not even water in my case. Nothing at all!
Does drinking Tap Water have a effect on skin ?
yeah I think it could… there’s a lot of chemicals in it… chlorine, and maybe flouride depending on where you live, which can affect people’s acne. It’s much better to drink filtered water, preferably spring water if you can (especially if you have fluoridated water).
Wow, that was really interesting, I’m excited to read the fallowing articles! I’m doing the no shampoo kind of thing for a while, and It worked amazing to me… So why not doing the same thing for my skin? As you said, the only thing that “turn me off” is about the makeup. I don’t feel comfortable to don’t wear any, but I’m still thinking about it. Maybe it’s the thing to do! It’s kind of scary however…
Oh yeah. The no makeup thing is completely frightening. It’s… terrifying. Since writing this, I actually already caved and put a tiny dab on only one pimple that just looked a little too red… I still didn’t wash my face over it though
You know what? I think I’ll try it! Maybe it will help me to be less emotionaly attached to my makeup… Do you think I should just do it like you without any water? is that supposed to be more efficient? It does’nt matter to me cause I don’t really wash my hair either just wet it a couple times a week.
I think the no water at all is supposed to speed the healing a bit, and that you might see slower results with water only..? But I don’t know, that’s just hearsay.
My skin is more on the dry side, so I knew that if I rinsed with water often, my skin would just be super dry. If your skin is more oily it might be better suited for the water only vs the no water. Either way, even if you are using water, I’d probably only recommend wetting your face every three days or every second day at the most.
I think no water at all seems to help amazingly. I have acne since puberty, I am 26 now. For a while I was washing my skin twice a day! Crazy. Then I switched to once a day, then I switched to natural cleansers (like raw honey). Still had acne, though not as bad–especially when I stopped eating processed foods completely. I guess the final step was no washing at all! I gave it up, gave up my makeup (except eye makeup) and my skin has pretty much become flawless. I splash it about once a week with cool water now. I have been doing this for nearly a year now. Great results! I completely recommend it.
That’s awesome Hallie! Glad to hear this worked so well for you
Hey Noemie, did you ever notice your scalp flaking while doing the no poo method?
Not at all! The only change that I noticed was that my hair was a little oily the first week, but it wasn’t so bad… Nobody could even notice it! I made the transition in a long way, by start to wash my hair less often first (maybe every three day). After a couple week, I started to wash it every week or less using only a little bit of baking soda when my hair looked greasy. Now, I only rinse it with water sometimes and it look very great!
I have been thinking of this for awhile, but I want to wait to dive in when I have more down time to do it completely(I do not want to do any experiments with my looks since I am giving several presentations and speeches in the near future). But I do think I will do this over the weekends. I have noticed my skin has become more oily and I am wondering if that is because I am using some products to try and get rid of some scaring(might be too harsh?). Who knows, maybe even two days a week can make a big difference! Thanks for the article and the links for more research.
I think I’m going to give this a go! Well, half give it a go.
I could quite easily go without splicing my face with water in the morning (which I’ve been doing for a few weeks), but I think I would want to wash it at night time. (just due to the air pollution in the city etc.)
At least washing at night ‘allows’ me to wet my face as I shave, which like you said is kinda a problem for us guys. (electric shavers are terrible in my opinion – even the £200 one’s which I’ve had!)
Oh really? So beard trimmers suck? That’s too bad… I guess guys have their own complicated logistical issues then!
Oh yes, and thanks for reminding me about air pollution… I’m not sure how that affects the experiment :/
It is the same that worries me a bit. How about DIRT that is from living in a city?
I believe while on the cave man regimen it’d be wise to eat garlic regularly as garlic is very heavy and is very effective in purging the body of heavy metals and pollutants. Therefore you could continue the regimen without breaking any rules and cleanse the body of pollutants internally as opposed to using water. Just my theory.
I find that if I don’t wash my face before bed that the next morning my skin looks better. Yes, it’s oily as heck but it’s as if the oil is helping to heal.
The oiliness would probably decline a lot too if you let it go a little longer
Being a Muslim, I wash my face with water thrice a time, 5 times a day. Would I still be able to follow this caveman regimen?^^
Hi Ami – well, some people do the caveman regimen by just washing with water, so yes, I suppose you could do a sort of caveman. Normally I wouldn’t ever recommend rinsing 5 times a day, but if it’s part of your religion and you’re not willing to change that then you need to do what you need to do!
don’t worry ladies
i’m doing it and i’ll tell ur result later haha
tracy, what have you noticed about your skin since starting the caveman regimen?
That’s in the next post, on Wednesday!
Today I decided to go to work without makeup or even washing my face — before seeing your post — spooky coincidence!
I’m very neurotic about how my skin looks, so it was pretty scary. And I don’t even have any active zits right now — just those red hyper-pigmentation marks that take so long to fade. (Diet has been a huge factor in getting this far.)
And you know what? Nothing bad happened! I don’t think anyone even noticed.
I do notice that my skin sort of calms down when I do nothing to it for a day, or if I don’t wash off my makeup when my boyfriend stays over.
I’m definitely going to try to do more nothing, although it is hard to resist doing something. But like you mentioned, I only have skin issues where I’ve been interfering since I was 11 — on my face.
Let us know how you fare, especially with the fear of no makeup!
I used to use all kinds of commercially produced products in my teens in an attempt to keep my severe acne at bay, sometimes up to 5 different ones in one sitting! Then, in my late teens, suspecting that it could be causing the problem, I switched to using just water twice a day to wash. My skin didn’t get worse, but it didn’t really improve much either, and it looked quite dry. So after a month or so I decided I needed to moisturise and bought some natural aloe vera gel. The first time I applied it and rubbed it in, tons of dead grey-looking skin sloughed away in layers. My skin looked better instantly. I can still hear my sister the next day saying, “Wow, Yvonne, what have you been using on your skin?”. I think I cleared about 60% of my acne overnight with that. I’ve only ever used water since with a few drops of something natural to moisturise with. It wasn’t a cure though. I’ve still always had mild acne and I’m 32 now, but compared to how it used to be I can live with that. Less is definitely more.
I would love to do the caveman regimine. I am all for trying new things…but the whole layer of grossness is certainly not applealing. Does it smell? I am going to try it. I can’t wait to hear how it is going for you, Tracey.
It’s really not very obvious at all, or nearly as bad as it sounds, as long as you don’t disturb it/try to put makeup on it. It doesn’t smell, but if you normally have bad BO, then it might be a concern… people only have BO because of how they eat and what sort of toxins are trying to escape their bodies through their sweat
Tracy, what does BO mean?
Oh, body odour
Interesting! I might have to try this once my skin clears up a bit more – I’m too chicken to do it right away and not use makeup on my residual hyper pigmentation. Plus, since I’m still sort of weening myself off of Proactiv, I really don’t want to go cold turkey and not do anything for my skin.
I’ve been implementing some of your low-key skin routines over the past week. I haven’t been using a moisturizer when I wash my face, but I have been applying aloe vera afterwards. I just have a plant that I break stems off of whenever I need it. What’s your take on aloe vera? Is it good for the skin? Is it drying? Can it be a moisturizer?
Thanks, Tracy!
I really like aloe vera… I used to use it on my face every night instead of jojoba… I don’t know if it’s a great moisturizer… some find it drying, some find it moisturizes. I liked it though
Im really excited you’ve written this post as Ive just started doing this myself now for the past week. I LOVE the laziness factor, anything to simplify my life is a good thing.
I noticed that as a nurse, I wash my hands A LOT but I hate putting mositurizer on them as I hate the greasy feel of it and yet… my hands are never dry. Meanwhile, my co workers are slathering on goop all the time. I wondered if the same might work for my face.
I’ve had no results so far but I see that as a good thing as it certainly hasn’t gotten any worse. My skin feels mega dry and as an experiment I’ve tried a tiny bit of argan oil on the jaw line of one side of my face only – a controled experiment so to speak.
The makeup thing is the scary part but I’ve done it and lived to tell the tale. I feel like everyone is staring at my face and I wish I could wear a bag over my head but meanwhile, I’ll just deal. It’ll be worth it if it works.
Looking forward to hearing your experience.
Yeah, I figure that even if it doesn’t actually get RID of your acne, it still is a great exercise to show you that not washing your face doesn’t result in imminent disaster and it at least doesn’t get any worse…. it’s really good to break that psychological need
I am sooooo interested in this. I really would love to do this whole caveman thing but… I could not go without make up right now. My skin is in a healing process from the cleanse so I’m kinda breaking out a little and wearing makeup makes me feel normal when I’m breaking out. Also, I love my manuka honey! It’s really helped out a lot with the texture of my skin and has even lessened a lot of my scarring from when I used to pick. So perhaps when my skin has cleared up a little, most likely in the summer, I will turn caveman. Do you think salt water is ok? I’m constantly in the ocean in the summertime.
Yeah, makeup makes me feel normal when I break out too and I know that I’m extremely attached to it…. I’m actually breaking out a little right now on my chin (I don’t believe it’s because of the caveman, just a normal breakout of a few tiny pimples that I would normally put a couple dabs of makeup on and not think twice about) and it’s absolutely testing me and I’m freaking out and wanting to throw in the towel
Hopefully I don’t because this is such a good learning experience to grow and realize that even if I don’t look perfect….. it doesn’t matter. No one cares. And if they did notice or even judge me… why does it matter? These are all things that I really want to address and not run away from just because they are so freaking scary. But DAMNIT it’s hard when it would be so easy to just go back to the comfort of the makeup. In fact, I probably would have if I hadn’t announced it to my blog.
I am so excited to do this but just one thing is stopping me from doing so. I live in a big city, loads of cars and another factor is that my parents smoke like crazy! So there will be fumes – which *drumroll*
will be on my face ofcourse, will sebum be strong enough to hold that outside of my pores?
That is a consideration but unfortunately I don’t know how air pollution interferes with this!
I was wondering about the same problem, since as an artist I work in the studio a lot, where I’m around paint fumes and dust. Anyhow, I will start again with washing my face less. Yesterday night I didn’t wash my face, even though I was wearing a little compact powder, and this morning my skin looked really good…until I went under the shower and water went over my face. Right afterwards my skin looked red, thin, dry and wrinklely..
Hi Tracy,
the caveman regimen – not thinking about skincare and all that stuff – can be very liberating …
I was “forced“ to try it once in my early teens: my addiction to creams resulted in a severe perioral dermatitis. Just skin products in general provoked, aggravated and worsened the condition. The caveman regimen was the only thing that helped. I just rinsed with warm water to open pores and cooler water to close the pores two or three times a week. For over 6 months.
At first I had such an awful time and felt naked without makeup. In the first two weeks I didn‘t even go to school at that time and tried to hide at home. I didn‘t dare to meet anybody, didn‘t socialize. That was the worst thing. But when my skin began to clear up, I became a little more self-confident. I began to live my life and after a while I simply forgot about it all!
Have you guys realized that in third world countries or in places where people do not have access to skincare their skin still looks great in most cases?
However, the caveman regimen works for me only for a relatively short period of time. My eczema just loves to show up from time to time, especially in winter, and asks for a little more attention … and oils!
But still I can‘t wait to read your next post!
Hey, how did you deal with your eczema? I think I have that, or psoriasis — since rinsing with only water and no moisturizing I’ve found that I have itchy, red, scaly patches across my face. Do you simply put oils on them and leave them be, or do you wash with honey and moisturize? What controls them? I’ve tries using a humidifier, and it makes it BETTER but doesn’t get rid of it — I can still feel the scales, even if they aren’t super visible.
I’m going to try this. Good thing is I’m at home right now anyway with no obligations to leave the house (wrtiting essay after essay for university, ugh) for at least another week. Will see how it goes, right now my skin has so much improved from cutting out dairy/sugar, drinking green smoothies AND manuka honey! God, I love this honey. Every other natural face care stuff failed on my skin, so thank youuu SO much for manuka!!
Tap water is def. not the best for my skin, it’s always a bit dry after washing. But I have this awesome bottled thermal spring water from Avène which I might use every 3 days or so instead of plain old tap water. I’ve had good experiences with this stuff. Plus maybe once a week a manuka mask. That’s the plan!
Yeah, caveman! I agree with the concept completely. It sounds so logical. We stress our skin out with lotions and creams and chemicals all the time… it just seems to logical to let the body heal itself.
I haven’t gone that far – I just use splash a little water on my face in the morning and leave my skin alone until the following day. But for those with dry skin I would definitely recommend doing nothing at all, I mean no water at all. My skin is dry, and the fact that I’m using water and no moisturizer isn’t helping… ahh, it’s not easy to take the full plunge! Can’t wait to hear your results
BTW about the make-up: I really think that this a psychological thing. My skin was never that bad but putting on foundation was/is the first thing I do before leaving the house. It’s so weird because sometimes I even think the skin looks better (or at least not worse) without make-up but it kind of feels more safe with it?! Like it’s not even about the appearance itself for the most part (I’d just need to hide some spots), it’s more like a safety shield or something. Really f*cked up tbh.
Also whenever someone looks at me for JUST a nanosecond too long I always panic that my face looks funny or red or that I didn’t cover a pimple good enough or something dumb like that. I told a friend about that, he was like “… did it ever occur to you that maybe someone’s looking at you because they think you’re pretty?” LOL no, it didn’t! Talk about paranoia! Uggh.
It really is all just psychological attachments. I’m not used to seeing myself without my bits of makeup to even everything out… so it just.. like… freaks me out. But I dislike how much it freaks me out, and I want to move past that. Only way to do that is face your fears head on and move through them, I guess
Tracy, if doing the caveman regimen (except with water every few days) has given me psoriasis, d’you think it’s time to throw in the towel? Or should I try doing NOTHING for a while? It’s just, I never had psoriasis before, and it seems really not cool to stick with this regime when it’s actually made my skin worse.
Hi Samantha,
I think that if it’s making your skin really dry and scaly, that you should cut out using water completely and maybe also use a tiny bit of moisturizing oil, like jojoba (still no washing or water, just rub a bit into your skin once a day). Water is so drying, and so are other factors, like dry indoor heat in the winter, and a dry climate… dry skin isn’t good!
Awesome post. Thanks! I actually never wear makeup on my face, since I think it makes my blemishes look worse (I’m probably just not very adept at application), but I am super attached to my mascara and eyeliner. How are you removing your eye makeup?
I’ll be honest…. I never remove my mascara (I’ll probably get some people telling me why that’s horrible, but it’s never seemed to be a problem for me). I wear waterproof and it just sort of… flakes off on it’s own after a while and then I reapply it. If I wore full eye makeup then I would probably make more of a point to take it off. But anyway… to answer your question… you can use jojoba oil or olive oil on your eyes to remove it… just put some on a cotton pad or something and swipe them over.
I just started doing this about 2 days ago, so I’m not seeing drastic results just yet, but I was wondering if you would do the same for your body if you had back acne? I started doing the whole baking soda and vinegar alternative to shampoo and this caveman regime for my face. But I don’t know what to do with my body. I’m constantly using cetaphil body wash, but I’m not sure if that’s good for my skin.
I don’t see why you wouldn’t/couldn’t try it for your back.. if you want to try this regimen, just don’t wash your back with anything except water… don’t know how you could do the completely no water thing for your back though
Its a new thing for me to hear about the caveman regimen. Does this really work. Did you ever try it out yourself. I have tried many other methods for getting rid if acne which were very beneficial.
Hi Love Vitamin, I have been very inspired by you, first, I started making kefir a few months ago (water kefir), and really love it. Then, I saw this post and decided to challenge myself with no washing, starting last week.
It was a hurdle to give up bathing, it is one of my beloved rituals, but after suffering from acne for so long (decades) it seemed worth the sacrifice. I have had really severe acne, which I have outgrown, but lingering was moderate bacne that has been the bain of my existence, my face is mostly clear, but I still break out, especially around my ears and neck (yuck).
And whoa, my skin started clearing up RIGHT away, my back is so much improved, it is pretty crazy to think that I may have been causing my acne all these years by essentially irritating it. (I had given up all serious acne meds for many years now, but I have been using lots of acne soap and AVC toners, and tried BP again last year). With no washing, the extra oils on my skin dried up around day 4!
I would like to start wearing foundation again, after doing a month of no makeup and soap, but now it seems like I really need to be looking for a foundation that a) won’t change my skin’s ph and b) I won’t need to remove with cleansers, just water. It seems like this is all about keeping the acid mantle intact.
It is also eye opening to realize that I (and other acne sufferers) have sensitive skin. Other people can wash with lots of soap and have perfectly clear skin, and I just can’t, it seems, otherwise I am going to get an overgrowth of acne bacteria (double yuck).
So the search begins for a new foundation.
Hey Christine! Crazy – that’s really cool that you’ve seen such great results with your back! Woohoo!
So I have mixed news to report. For the first week on the regime, my skin seemed to be improving, the texture got so much better, softer and smoother, but I have continued to break out. Now, five weeks later, I have not improved in terms of breakouts on my back at all, though my skin is still a much better texture. I am not going to go back to using soap, but I am going to go back to water, and also keep exploring the root cause of my acne. It is always a little deflating when something so promising doesn’t work. I just started a month of no-dairy, I have always been a big milk drinker and wondering if that is a big contributor to my acne, I am crossing my fingers.
Were you drinking raw milk? Because that could make a huge difference. Raw milk has lactase which actually helps our bodies process the lactose in milk.
Hey Tracy, just a question for you. I am a healthy person which only once in a month enjoy alcohol and junkfood otherwise I eat lots of fruits, vegetables, rice, potatoes, chicken, fish and nuts. I exercise every day with pretty intense workouts. As I’m into bodybuilding and cardio. I would like to try the caveman regime but after sweating on body and face cutting out showers is not an option. I just have to be washed everywhere! Do you think only washing with water is enough to see results. I wouldn’t say I’m the kind of person who has been using lots of BP, creams and stuff like that on my skin.
Hi Steven, many people do this regimen with water only… I find water only way too drying for me though, so I guess it depends on your skin! As for not washing off your sweat… well, I guess it depends if you have body odour… but you say you eat a good diet, so you really shouldn’t smell too much. The fact that you feel you absolutely must get the sweat off of you is a psychological thing which would go away after you got used to not doing it as much… couldn’t you just shower with your head out of the stream, and simply pat your face down with a towel? The sweat is part of the acid mantle and an integral part of this routine after all.
Scary – but I’m going to give this a shot!
So that’s nothing at all?
No Coconut Oil/ OCM either?
No steaming of the face either?
Giving it a go..
Yep nothing at all. I’m still doing the caveman now (45 days from when I started), and it’s awesome!!
Hi Tracy,
I’ve given the caveman regimen a try for two weeks now, but it seems as if I’ve gotten even more acne than before! When I started, I only had very mild acne, but now it’s become a liitle more moderate. Is there any reason for this? I know this plan won’t work for everyone, so does this mean I’m one of them?
Thanks and sorry for freaking out.
Hi Em… don’t apologize for freaking out. That’s totally normal… unfortunately I don’t know the answer though. I know it won’t work for everyone, but I really don’t know when to call it quits, since I’m positive it’s normal for some people to have some purging in the beginning… it’s normal to have that whenever you change your skin care routine at all, in fact – no matter what you change it to. So you need to just go with your gut instinct on whether or not you should continue or not. Lots of love xo
Alright, I’ll try sticking with it for two more weeks and see how it turns out.
Thanks for your advice and fast reply!
Tracy, I know this post is already old and I’m coming up with my question pretty late. And my question doesn’t even directly relate to the caveman regimen, but I don’t know where to put it: You are talking about the famous acid mantle here, which we all probably hear of a lot within our skin research. I’ve been reading here and there (unfortunately I don’t have any link right now) that some people say the acid mantle is a contemporary myth. they say that there is no such thing as a natural acid mantle. the surface of the skin is only slightly acidic because we are too acidic these days. those people refer to the fact that as babies in our moms bellies we bath in alkaline liquid and come out with babysoft skin. and then there is also the thing with alkaline salts, that when you take a bath with them and let the alkaline water dry on your skin it encourages your natural oil production and makes your skin soft. although the water is highly alkaline your skin goes back to normal right after the bath. i’ve been trying alkaline salts on and off, sometimes with great results and then again not so sure. but it’s definitely great for relaxation and detoxing. Taking alkaline baths is an ancient health thing, so it cannot be that alkaline=bad for skin. I’m sure there is also a difference between the water being alkaline b/c of high qualitay salts or b/c of some soap bar. Sooo, my question in general is, what’s up with the acid mantle and all these contradicting facts. Or aren’t they contradicting at all and I’m just not very educated in biochemistry? Would be great if you had some insight on this and could comment or make even a new post about this!!
(I tried caveman for five days, but couldn’t take it much longer. I have a lot of respect for that you went all the way, I guess it’s worth it)
Hi Eva,
Well, unfortunately I’m not biochemist either, so I can’t say for absolutely certain whether or not the acid mantle really exists, but the way I see it is that no matter what fact or knowledge is out there, someone will dispute it. That’s a good thing because obviously it keeps us thinking critically, but it also makes it super annoying when it comes to figuring out health stuff. Due to this, I usually I simply prefer to go with evidence based conclusions… in other words… just go with what works in actual application.
I personally have reason to believe the acid mantle is real, although I really don’t know how truly difficult it is to actually disturb it to the point of causing problems. The caveman thing is just a theory, but hey, it does seem to work for many people and maybe the acid mantle is why. Maybe it’s not though.
What I do know is that the ideal PH of a surface/organ etc completely varies throughout the body. For example, the mouth, esophagus, and stomach PH is acidic, the small intestine, however, is alkaline. Amniotic fluid is alkaline, where as the vagina is acidic. And it’s actually well known that babies inherit bacteria flora from their mothers as they travel through the birth canal, which can set them up for whether or not they have digestive problems in childhood and later on. I suppose it’s reasonable to say that they would also be covered in acidic fluid as they made their way through there too.
As for the alkaline baths and all that, I don’t know. I mean, I know baking soda and epsom salt and whatever are good for drawing out toxins from your body… so maybe they are great in one way, at the expense of another. Or, like I said, maybe it’s actually harder to disturb the acid mantle then we think!
Our body is alkaline, acidic, and neutral in different places. In fact, these differences drive many physiological processes. The process of glycolysis for example, creates a chemical gradient of electrons in within mitochondria, which further drives the phosphorylation of adenosine diphosphate. Your blood pH is close to neutral. You’re digestive system contains both highly acidic and alkaline substances which are necessary for digestive processes. The vagina of the female reproductive system is acidic and must be to ward off bacteria. The acidity acts as a spermacide. Sperm is highly alkaline, which neutralizes the acidity of the vagina, and facilitates further reproduction.
The acidic pH of skin seems to be standard biological and medical knowledge.
This idea that humans are too acidic is rediculous. The body is homeostatically regulated and will return to its natural pH levels, as changes to pH levels can cause disease and even death.
Hello,
I appreciate your well written article. I’m happy to say that after 3 weeks of doing nothing to my face and just not caring, I’ve finally cleared my skin. Along with eating like caveman, lots of vitamin-D and water.I’m so astonished by the results, I’d forgotten how handsome I really was.
People need to realize that we, ourselves are the biggest contributer to the cause of acne. I remember the first pimple I got was in my freshman year in highschool. I began to panic and immediately began a skin care regimen thinking it would cure it, but it only worsened and I got more and more spots. Please pay attention people, dermatologists, doctors, drug corporations don’t care about your well being, they care about their own well being and making more money is their number one priority.
As I always say, less is more!
Hey Victor, that’s fantastic and so great to hear! The caveman rocks, i’m still loving it nearly two months on.
This is extremely inspiring. I really need to kick the BP now that im on the anti-fungal/cave man diet. Today was my first day on just water, I have tried it before, but never combined with the diet. Its truly terrifying, but my dream is to get out of the shower and not have to do ANYTHING to my face..(and stop throwing out T-shirts because of bleach marks)
Heya Tracy!
I love your site, I’m glad to see it (and you) are doing great! I wanted to chime in on this because I tried the “no washing” thang a few years ago while I was 100% raw and vegan. While I had practically no pimples, I ended up with a sh*tload of blackheads…and in places I had never even had one before (chin, forehead, etc.). Just a note of caution to those who are prone to blackheads – blackhead formation is a different mechanism than a real pustule. Did you have any experiences with this?
~Steph x
Hi Stephanie,
Yay I’m glad to see you here, I love your site as well
Interesting to hear your experiences with the caveman! I had lots of blackheads when my acne was bad, but I wouldn’t say I am terribly prone to them in general, and I haven’t found anything like that from this regimen. I’m still doing the caveman two months on and really liking it.
Anyway – thank you though, that is a great warning for those with blackhead proneness to be careful with this. I’m curious though if maybe you’d have a different experience with the caveman now that you’re a paleo eater? Or do you not think that would make any difference?
Hi! Thanks for posting about the caveman.
I want to echo what Stephanie said. I have never tried this, but would be reluctant because of my larger pores. Blackheads pop up all over my chin if I go one night without washing my face
Has anyone else with blackhead-proneness/ oily skin tried this method and had success?
I have backne could the caveman work with that? and how would you do it? i’m also a dancer so showering after class or rehearsal is kinda a must. any ideas? could this work?
Hi Nasim – it might work. Do you currently use soaps and products on it? If so, stop using that and just use water. I don’t know how you could do it sans-water for your back… it would be pretty tricky, even if you bathed instead of showered
Thank you Tracy!
your site is a God send! Thank you so much for creating it! and your secret acne book, AmaZING!!!! thank you thank you thank you!!!!
I’ve tried this caveman regimen on every part of my body except my face which I am planning to start today. I can tell you that it has really helped with my back/chest/shoulder acne by a ton. I only wash my back once a day with water. Hope it helps my face.
Oh that’s awesome John
Hopefully it goes equally as well for your face. Good luck friend
I’m on month three of the caveman regimen. So far my acne has only gotten worse. I never got the “dead skin mask” so I feel that maybe this is just an extreme measurement to take after doing many extreme things to your skin? The only thing I ever did before was a gentle wash and then lathered on my prescribed topicals. Even then it never seemed to harshly affect my skin. But, the caveman regimen HAS cleared up my back and my chest, which is good. My face, on the other hand, is now worse than it has ever been. It’s not my diet, because I’ve already tested everything out of that to see what makes me break out and have been eating healthily for years. I suppose it’s probably hormonal acne which is no fun!
Hi Dee – I’m so sorry to hear it’s not working for your face (although I’m happy to hear it worked for your back and chest!). It’s interesting, I’m not sure why this works so well for some people and not for others. I mean, for me, I have been using natural stuff for a long time, so I didn’t think it would help so much… I assumed it would have been repaired a bit already from whatever extreme things I had used on my face in the past. But who knows. I’m sorry to hear Dee, I hope things get better for you :/
Hey Tracy,
Im on my 10nth day of the caveman regemin!
My skin complexion seems to be doing much better, however i am getting breakouts lk on places that i usually didnt get acne, such as my nose! I also have like a little congestion on my forehead…?
Did you also experience this? Any tips would be greatly appreciated:)
Im tryg to stick it through and hoping for the best! Yay,!! Ive made it this far!!!
Thank you
Hi Kim – I personally didn’t get much extra inflamed acne, but I got all sorts of congestion, strange dry patches, blotchiness etc… I somehow just knew they were healing reactions because they seemed ‘different’ than normal. It usually seems to be that if you experience breakouts in areas that aren’t normal for you, or breakouts that just seem “different”, after you start something new, it’s highly likely you’re having a detox or healing sort of reaction. Not to say if you get acne in the regular places too that it’s not a detox, but I feel that having it be kinda different is a more surefire sign.
Ok Tracy,
Thanks for the tip! It definetly makes a lot of sense!
My face is also itchy sometimes, the only thing i can of for this is that their is new skin growing underneath!? Kinda of lk wen you get a burn, i know when the new skin is growing, it sort of itches!
- Thanks for all your great advice and awesome information about acne!
I play a sports everyday of my life and when I’m done my entire face is dripping with sweat. Can I just use water on my face in the shower?
Also will this method get rid of my acne scars?
I say just pat it dry with a towel. But some people do the caveman with just water, so you can do that too (I think water only is way too drying for me though).
I don’t know if it will necessarily get rid of the scars… they will of course fade with time as with any other method. I have noticed that acne scars and marks look WAY less noticeable on this regimen than they did before
Well, I must be living proof that it “doesn’t work for everyone” then. I’m 22 and I’ve never ever worn any makeup and don’t plan to. The only time I’ve ever used cleansers, or washed my face were a few times my mom did it for me when I was younger, which I hated. I really hate anything touching my face, I even towel off excess water that comes from washing my hair right away in the shower. But I still get acne to this day.
Hi Laney,
Well, face washing is definitely not the sole, or even most common reason people get acne… it’s internal…. for some people, face washing is just making it worse though. I figure that most people who this “works for” (unless your acne is completely an external irritation thing) won’t actually cure their acne with it, but can hope it will get better to some degree. For you, perhaps your acne would be worse if you did wash your face?
Hi , Tracy !
I have started the caveman regimen .. i’m in day ten . The first days my face was very oily by the night but all the oil was absorbed by the morning. now i have many new breakouts , but i think its natural or hope so .. i keep doing it, it’s my last chance or i will have to take pills , which i avoid like crazy!
I would like to ask you if its better let that yellowy liquid from inside the breakouts to come out or i should wait till they disappear
thanks a lot!
[...] I went onto YouTube today to see if anyone was doing anything similar to what I am trying right now. As it turns out there is a whole skin care routine called the “Caveman Regiment”. Basically the only thing you use on your skin is water. But the hardcore people don’t even let water touch their face. There is a whole “scientific” theory behind it. I found a good article about it earlier to day. I’ll put a link here. [...]
Will this experiment work on people with oily skin? I mean doesn’t oil combined with dirt clog pores and cause acne? Would I just need to cleanse my face with just water twice a day?
A lot of the time, people with oily skin only have oily skin because their skin is overproducing after it gets stripped of it when you wash it all the time (or with harsh products). So this should help to calm down your oil production!
Thanks for your info. I just might have to try this regimen now. If it works imma love you do much! Thanks!
I have a lot of blackheads on my face and have tried everything to get rid of them plus my other acne. Would the caveman regimen help get rid of blackheads too???
Hi Stephanie,
Sorry but I honestly don’t know :/
I can’t believe I just stumbled across this post! I messed my skin up severely after using commercial products for years then topping it off with the evil Proactiv, leading to my skin’s development of rosacea. A few months ago, I got so fed up with hollistic skin washes that I quit using anything, and bam, my skin looks healthier than before (although not perfect)! I believe in drinking lots of clean, distilled water helps too. But I refuse to use any types of wash on my skin ever again, ever!
I actually stumbled across that “dead” skin mask the other day on my back while I was taking a bath. I went to scratch myself and underneath my fingernails laid a bunch of dead skin, and I kept doing that it repeatedly and more and more came. So interesting how our bodies do a lot for us.
Terrific piece. I am a dude and this works. I was using topicals and harsh cleansers for 9 years. I am in month 4 of this regime, and I am seeing noticeable improvement. Though I must say, my skin is still purging. The zits I get are not new ones, they are clearly deep, underground ones that are coming up. And these take a long time to resolve themselves. I do not expect my skin to look the way it used to for several more months, but I know, with time, it will return to normal.
I’m so happy this is working well for you Zach
Alright I know this post is old but I have a major problem with doing
This regimen. So far my skin is faring pretty well, I’ve been doing this
For about five days and I haven’t broken out. Up till now, I’ve been
Using retin a micro for over a year and used to cleanse twice a day.
Anyway, When the school year starts I wont be able to do this
Anymore because I’m a swimmer. How do I deal with this? How
Bad is chlorinated water on our faces? Thanks.
Hmm.. yeah I don’t think chlorine is great, but you have to do what you have to do – don’t quit swimming if you love it!!! I say if you want to continue the minimalist route – just maybe rinse your face with water after you’re in the pool, and apply a touch of oil or something to moisturize – because I know it really dries your skin out. But don’t wash your face beyond that
I am considering starting the caveman regimen but i have a question. Now that you’ve been on the caveman regimen for quite some time now do you still use manuka honey to wash your face every other day? and when you do wear make up what do you use to remove it (eyemake up and concealer?
Hi there – no I don’t use manuka honey anymore, otherwise it wouldn’t really be the caveman!
And makeup, I never wear full foundation, but I have found that if I just dab a tiny little bit of makeup if I have a spot, that it doesn’t seem to be any issue if I don’t wash it off. So I don’t. Eye makeup, I would use jojoba oil to take that off, but only have it on and around my eyes, and just kind of wipe the excess away with a cotton pad or something.
what do I do if I after a workout? just let the sweat sit?
I say lightly towel it off
Hi there – I’ve actually been doing this for many years now after realising that all the washing and moisturising I was doing was actually making matters worse. I think people like us have very sensitive skin and benefit from leaving it alone for the most part. I tend to moisturise my skin simply by getting in a hot shower and allowing the steam to do its job. I also avoid carbs as they upset my stomach and this in turn seems to aggravate my acne.
I must admit though that the major factor in clearing my acne was to get laser treatment. Without it I wouldn’t have had the confidence to go to college and, subsequently, university. But maintaining my clear skin has definitely been possible by not washing with anything, not even water. I do wonder though if it would be beneficial to remove the layer of flaky skin that seems to build up once in a while. Because I often think this may contribute to the acne as well – if left on too long.
Hi Martin – could you tell us more about the laser treatment you had? Was it a specific treatment for acne? or was it for scars? It made your acne go away?
Hi Tracy – I’m not sure what it’s called, but it’s a treatment for acne, as opposed to a treatment for scarring, although the clinic I went to (The Aesthetic Beauty Centre) provide that service also.
I began by getting treatments every few weeks – which cost £150 per treatment. I got about twenty treatments in total, then after that I simply frequented the clinic as and when I needed to whenever I had a breakout, and the Dr would simply zap any visible acne. And these subsequent treatments were free.
After the course of treatments my acne was all but gone. However, about two years later I started breaking out again, so I made an appointment for another session, and now I go very infrequently whenever I have a breakout and I’m treated very swiftly at a substantially lower cost (around £50).
I honestly believe however that we are probably predisposed to acne and therefore have to treat as opposed to cure. I doubt my acne will ever go away (as I’ve seen middle-aged men with it) but at least now I know that I can keep on top of it and lead a relatively happy life.
[...] been greasy and blemish ridden since puberty and have tried everything. I ran across this blog where there was a lot of discussion about the “caveman regimen.” It really made me [...]
I’ve done the no wash regimen for about a week / 2 week before until I couldn’t deal with it no more. I’ve had some crazy breakouts; however, they were all whiteheads. Mostly localized on my forehead and nose area. I understand that it takes about 35 days for the face completely detox itself, but its a hard journey. I’m just worried that I might break out again after I try this regimen. I’m on the fence about this :/
Hi Tracy!
I’m on day 5 of the caveman regimen and so far so good. I decided to try this at the beginning of the month (without knowing it was a real thing until I stumbled across this post!) and figured that simply not doing anything to my face might even work better than trying the OCM. I was considering trying the OCM but dug a little deeper and found that a lot of people were having bad reactions to the oils and I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of finding my perfect mixture/potentially breaking out like crazy. Anyhow, I started doing the caveman a few days ago and have noticed a BIG improvement in the oiliness of my skin. I generally have a really oily T-zone and after about the 2nd day, I noticed at least a 40% decrease in the amount that was on my face. I also have pretty stubborn sebum plugs all over my nose and under my eyes (where my glasses rest on my face) and over the summer have developed a bunch of congestion in my forehead as well (damn these humid Virginia summers!). Since starting the caveman I’ve noticed that those areas have become more rough and my nose/under-eye area is a bit more noticeable. I know that this is part of the healing process, letting the dead skin build up to give the skin a chance to repair, but I was considering steaming my face with a washcloth to try and loosen up some of the congestion. Do you think this is a bad idea? I know that it kind of goes against the whole idea of not doing anything to your face, but I can’t really go to school and work with big sebum plugs and dead skin on my face every day. If I do steam, I was only planning on doing it once a week, at the very most.
Hi Rhiannon,
Well, I do recommend leaving your skin alone as much as possible – which means not steaming it/exfoliating it – for at least the first month – to really let your skin heal. I know it’s hard.
But then again – this is not exact science. Maybe if you do that it will be fine. I really don’t know – you just have to decide what you are comfortable with and what you want to do and if you can’t leave it then don’t!
I never get acne and i don’t wash my face. I do use makeup but for some reason i don’t get pimples.
It just means you aren’t prone to acne. Lucky you – now get out of here and never think about acne ever again :p
Hey
I was wondering if you had blackheads before starting the caveman regimen, and if you had, did they go away?
I have been trying the caveman regimen for 5 days and my nose is full of white and black heads and is so rough, im losing my skin there as well. I have always had blackheads but never that much. Do you have any idea of what could make them go away if this regimen doesn’t? or if the caveman regimen works on scars and opened pores ?
Thanks
Hi Rose -
I personally have never been prone to a lot of blackheads (except in my really bad acne phase), but I do tend to get clogged pores and whiteheads on my forehead, and lately it’s been looking pretty clogged – I don’t know if this had to do with doing the caveman, or just because I’ve been more slack with my food over the summer – but either way, about three weeks ago, I decided to try just rubbing a small bit of jojoba oil into my forehead once a day. Still not washing my face or putting water on it or anything, but just adding in this one thing. Anyway – it took a couple weeks, but it’s pretty much completely dissolved all the congestion on my forehead. So this is what I would suggest trying!
“no poo” method? does it mean i’ll poo less while on the regimen? o0
it’s alright to apply lemon juice to face that stil have acne??
Generally yes, but it depends on how your skin reacts to it. For some it is may be too strong and irritating
I’m a guy (20 yrs old) with incredible sensitive skin and this works for me. I have bought hundreds of acne medications but now i have it figure out how to deal with my acne. I use makuna honey once a week (tried everyday ended up worsening) and now i wash my face once every three days (between those 3 days i use a shower head to spray water onto my face)
Hi everyone,
Ive read some of the comments and some are a few months old and I”m hoping someone has done this recently or is doing it now and is able to help me along with it and sort of keep me updated thanks! 
I’m 23 and I’ve had acne since I was 15… My acne mainly shows up on my chin and along the side of my nose on my cheeks and sometimes on my forehead..It is the worst on my chin though..when I first got acne I was on an antibiotic for a while, and remained off and on it up until a few months ago when I stopped because I figured out that antibiotics are totally bad for you and are doing more harm than good, wish I had stopped sooner… Anyways I came across this caveman regimen blog and I decided to try it….I also run 3 miles about 3 times a week and ive been drinking more water lately and eating way healthier. It has been 14 days that I have not washed my face… The first 2 days my skin was very oily (which has always been a problem for me) but after that the oiliness went away, which is awesome because I usually was dabbing my face 3 times a day to get rid of the oil, Now 14 days in I keep getting white heads and my problem areas are pretty congested… I have had a few big ones seem like they are trying to come out but they go away… I have also gotten a few on my chin recently that I would have considered really bad a few weeks ago but now they seem to not be getting so big and sort of figure themselves out, I still feel like its too early for me to tell, but I’m hoping that this works out for me and I’m wondering if anyone experienced the same sort of thing with the whiteheads and also if anyone else with cystic acne on the chin has tried this and it has worked for them? I’m staying positive also… Going without the makeup is hard because I work face to face with people everyday, but all in all I feel like this regimen makes me feel better about being myself
Since I’ve always used products on my face, I would feel like I should slowly stop using these products but substitute them with something else–something organic. Before going “caveman” what can I put on my face instead of harsh products, at least until I go “caveman?”
Hi Esther – yes, that might be a good idea. I feel that I may have had a less harsh transition to the caveman than some people are having probably because I had already been using natural products for a couple of years. Try raw organic honey, or google “14 natural face washing alternatives” for more help on what to choose
[...] have taken the no ‘poo fad (not shampooing their hair at all) to the skincare realm, using a “caveman” regimen of not putting anything on their faces, sometimes restricting even water. While many people have [...]
So,after 30 days,how often can you wash with water?? and if not with tap water,should i just use spring water(bottled water)?? or what did u use after the 30 days?
It depends.. you just have to see what works for you and how often you want to wash it, or not. I still continue not to let water touch my face (beyond a few dribbles in the shower, or swimming in the lake or something), but if you think there’s a lot of crap in your tap water that’s irritating your skin, using bottled spring water might be a good idea
and also, i drink alotta water during the day like, three or 4 bottles (even 5 or 6 sometimes)but at night,i tend to drink 2 or 3 (18 oz) cups of lemonade.could that cause more acne to come because im not drinking only water????
Hi Devaney,
Well, if the lemonade is full of sugar, then quite possibly yes!
Well its 29 g so is that too much?
Per cup?
Yea but I only drink one cup a dyay
That’s a lot of sugar!
thats probably why iI broke out like ctrazy lol
Hi! My acne is pretty bad so I’d be interested in trying out this caveman method because it just looks so easy to trash all the products I use right now. My one question is this: would it still work as well for a teenager? I understand that after puberty these products can irritate the skin that is already fairly healthy without them but what about during puberty where our skin is still largely sensitive? I can tell you that sometimes if I neglect washing my face for a day or two it does get extremely oily and for some reason my eyes start to burn (perhaps the oil is getting into my eyes?) and when I do wash my face after this period of time the dead skin cells come off when I scratch gently with a fingernail. Would you not suggest the caveman method at all, or perhaps a middle ground like using a gentle face wipe instead of the usual chemical products? Thank you!
Hi Andrew,
I’m really not sure how this works with teenage acne. You do have a lot of crazy hormones to push against with only a simple change in skin care, so it’s not really to say it’s going to do miracles and get rid of it all. If you’re going to do it, I’d strongly suggest also making some diet changes and things to go along with it.
However, it might help… it all depends on just how much the skin care you’re using now is aggravating and worsening your acne. The more it’s aggravating it, the more quitting it is going to help!
As for the oil, well, your skin gets used to being stripped of the oil constantly with all the washing and products, so as soon as you stop, your oil production is going to seemingly go nuts. So it makes perfect sense that your skin is going to be oily in the beginning if you don’t wash. It balances out though if you continue on. Or at least it should get a lot less oily, I can’t say that the caveman will get rid of all the oil though. If it doesn’t, after a while, you can try adding in using a little bit of jojoba oil on your face, as it helps to control oil production.
Decided to give this a try because it did make sense. In the past I have had periods where I haven’t shaved for 2-3 weeks due to being on holiday. During these periods all that has touched my face is water when showering. Before returning to work I would shave and my skin would be clear. Getting back to shaving regularly I would use cleansers, moisturisers, balms etc and my acne would return. I put it down to the shaving and that the acne was due to ingrown hairs, razor bumps and the like. Maybe its not using the products. I have just completed 10 days of the full caveman(no water) and so far quite happy. My skin is dry, I have congestion and a few spots on my forehead and both sides of my nose which are only small. Haven’t had spots here for ages since using a natural cleanser and jojoba oil from rawgaia.com based in the UK. Hopefully this is a good sign like suggested in previous comments. The rest of my face is clear. I have a few flaky areas but not too bad. Will definitely be continuing this regimen. I am using a beard trimmer on 0.5 mm setting. Is there any problem clean shaving with an electric razor?
Hi Ian – you’ll notice if a close shave irritates it or not! For some it would, others not
Have been doing ‘the caveman’ (no water) for 21 days now and am very pleased. I have had some congestion and whiteheads in the middle of the forehead, on the nose, and either side of the nose beneath the eyes. They have been small, not inflamed or sore, and have cleared up quite quickly. Have not had a sore pimple during the 21 days which is unusual for me. I have had no acne on my chin, sides of face or neck ie. the areas where I grow facial hair, this is also unusual. My skin has never been oily during the 21 days but is dry and flakey. It is not too noticeable except if I look in a magnified mirror so I’m not to bothered about facing people. Tracy,Does this mean my skin type is dry as I have been told by a beautician in the past that my skin type is combination? After 30 days I am planning on gently removing the dead skin with a muslin cloth and water, I assume this is ok having read the entire article. In summary, very pleased with the experiment, all is going to plan. Tracy you’re a star and thanks for producing the best website on the internet. Also, have been sticking to a healthy diet.
Yay! Awesome to hear it’s going well Ian. Are you doing full caveman or caveman with water? The reason I don’t use water is because my skin would get too dry. although it’s normal for your skin to be really flakey in the first month or so before your skin normalizes
Hi Tracy, doing the full caveman (no water). Because my skin is dry does this mean my natural skin type is dry? because I was told by a beautician in the past that my skin type is combination.
I suppose so… I’m not really sure, I’m just saying that if your skin is dry right now, that’s pretty normal in the beginning of the caveman. It might take longer to balance out and then you can see if it’s naturally dry. It also depends on your climate and that kind of thing.
What if you acne it’s not only on your face but your back and chest too and you havent used any products on those areas. Would this still apply?
Hi Kamila,
Hmm.. well, it sounds like you are already doing the water-only caveman with your chest and back, so unless it’s something specifically in your water that’s irritating it (which is possible), then I guess the acne has got nothing to do with external care and only to do with an internal imbalance. Although, you might want to think about the shampoo you are using, because that will run down your back and chest when you rinse your hair and could be a problem.
Hey Tracy i am thinking to start the caveman regimen but i want to wash my face with only water and apply argan oil only to my face will that be fine? Because i have red marks on my face and also get little whteheads.
Hi Jak! I can’t say what exactly will happen with your skin and whether this regimen will work for you, but water and a little oil moisturizer sounds fine to me
Tracy,
I literally just spent an hour at work reading everything from day 1. First off let me say you are amazing for doing this, fully committing, and most importantly answering people’s questions quickly and for such a long period of time you are ridiculously awesome. I have tried everything from BP to salaslyic acid and Neutragena kits and stuff. Of course nothing works. I have had bad acne for five years not since freshman year of highschool and of course freaked out using tons of products which most likely led to my demise.
Currently I am on a local regime where they can keep track of how I am doing, and I get a diamond microdermabrasion which costs hundreds of dollars. Needless to say it is not working. I break out and now my scars are even worse. Eventually I will try the caveman method but I work with people face to face on a daily basis.
I am 23 so I dont think I still have raging hormones, but who knows.
Sorry for my rant I have had a lot of time to think while reading the whole forum.
What do you think about extractors or lancets to pop white heads? I sterilize the tip with rubbing alcohol for each individual whitehead I pop. Of course my family has perfect skin and my little brother suggested using it to avoid infections anywhere else.
Hi Mitch! I’m glad to know you’ve enjoyed these posts! I think that if you are going to pop whiteheads, then using a sterilized needle as opposed to squeezing the skin is a LOT better
Hi Tracy, I would just like to say a big THANK YOU! for your website! I am a newbie to your site but was recently convinced that our tap water had something to do with the skin problems I had. (My houseplants are producing different coloured flowers would you believe!) I am following your caveman regime and already my skin has shown some improvement within 1 week. Today is the first day in years that I have been able to go outside without makeup! This is a massive milestone! My problem has been with facial redness aswell as acne and together with the hideous medication supplied by my GP I started to think my skin was burning from the water and meds. I intend to completely change my diet and lifestyle, albeit after Christmas!!, so I have a long term lifestyle change which I am looking forward to. Your recipes have given me so much inspiration I am really looking forward to my new diet and lifestyle. Keep up the excellent work!
Hey Sharon, that’s awesome!!! Stoked to hear things are going well… it’s fun when the solution is also the simplest thing ever!
hey guys, I actually have some pimple spot on my face, and they are so big black spots and i want to get rid of this thing. but i m not sure that this regime will help me……..
please h
Hi Kristan,
Unfortunately we can’t say if it will help either, the only thing you can do is try it and see!
Wow, this was rough. Today was the start of day 11 on the caveman regimen, and my face was so covered in dead, flaking skin I couldn’t stand it any more. And I was getting worried about a tear-duct infection, cause I had WAY more eye-krispies in the mornings than I normally do.
I still shaved, cause for me not-shaving is much more likely to lead to ingrown hairs and inflammation. It was weird not washing my face after shaving though
So today I showered and actually washed my face afterwards, bringing my caveman experiment to an end. So far it seems like certainly nothing bad has happened because of it, and my skin feels nicer than normal, even if it doesn’t look better than normal.
Thanks for the great advice as always Tracy, I love experimenting with “alternative” health like this.
From my perspective, washing your face actually stimulates mitosis (cell division) and oil production. Your skin naturally produces layers of dead skins cells to protect underlying layers of skin from abrasion. Oil contains enzymes that kills bacteria. If you are removing both of these and a constant basis, it would seem natural for the body to overproduce both skin and oil to keep up with the constant removal. Your body is basically trying to recover from continued disruption of homeostasis.
When you suddenly change your regemin, your body will continue to overproduce both skin and oil, which is why your face was covered in dead skin. I would like to recommend an adjustment to this caveman regimin: that is, people should be washing less and less over a period of time, instead of quiting cold turkey. Allow your body to have a stable and gradual return to its natural homeostasis. A sudden change may actually throw of homeostasis even more.
Hey can u use oil absorbing sheets. to wipe off all the on nerssery oil off for the cave man thing or is oil absorbing sheets bad for u what do u think?
I would probably avoid them since they’re covered in chemicals
Hi Tracy,
I started my own cavemen regimen 2 weeks before but in my regimen i wash my face with warm water twice a days and that’s it nothing else goes on to my skin.Now maybe after 2-3 months if my skin gets better than before,should i continue on with the cavemen regimen for the rest of my life or should i go back to cleansing?And if the cavemen regimen did not workout i would like to know how to cleanse my oily skin.I like to follow the simplest and cheapest cleansing routine which involves no moisturizers,no sunscreens etc and it has to be natural.What should i do?
Best regards,
Abinav
Hi Abinav!
Yes, if the caveman works for you and it makes your acne better, why go back to cleansers? I still do the caveman and it’s AWESOME.
If it doesn’t work out… my default recommendation for cleansing the face is to use smooth raw honey, and use some kind of an oil to moisturize.. jojoba is a good fit for oily skin.
Go to my “articles page” on the menu bar, and scroll down to “natural skin care and beauty” or whatever it says, and there’s tons of articles there to give you ideas about what to use on your skin that’s all natural. There’s one called “14 Natural Face Cleansing Alternatives” that you might be interested in.
Hey Tracy Ive been doing the Caveman regimen for almost 30days now but Im thinking I need to back track alittle. Okay so although my acne isnt severe by any means right now, its still moderate. Since I started doing the Caveman Ive ended up with a large cyst on my forehead and acne all around my mouth area.I think Im going to try your Manuka Honey washes and Jojoba Oil for awhile then give it another try. I need your advice please, what do think??? Thanks. Also I have Combination Dry skin if that makes any difference.
Hi there – unfortunately I don’t know what is going to work best for you… I get the feeling the caveman maybe doesn’t work the best for moderate or severe acne, perhaps use the manuka honey and jojoba oil until things get under control, and then maybe the caveman will work better for you
So, this is something that I haven’t seen addressed anywhere yet:
If you’re doing a strict no water – nothing regimen, what do you do if you happen to drool a bit one night?
Hey, it happens to people.
haha, you just wipe it off and don’t worry about it! That’s what I would do
I completed 30 days of the full caveman (no water)on 26th Dec. Everything went exactly as you suggested Tracy ie. congestion, breakouts in different places, dry flaky dead skin etc. But by 30 days my skin was clearer than I could ever remember. Very pleased. So on that 30th day I decided to remove the dead skin with a baby hair brush and muslin cloth. Loads came off, it was great. Since then every second day I have been cleansing with manuka honey and applying a lovely jojoba oil. So far so good, my skin is staying clear, touch wood. I have stuck to good healthy eating avoiding dairy, gluten, soya and sugars. I have been taking FCLO, Primal Defense Probiotic, a liver cleanse, DIM, zinc picolinate and L-glutamine. There maybe one factor that has cleared my skin or a mixture of some of the above. I may eliminate one supplement at a time and see what happens. I have become a little obsessed with reading ‘the love vitamin’ daily and your ebooks (which are fantastic)but in an enjoyable way as my skin clears so I’m not getting anxious or stressed. Thank you ever so much Tracy, you’ve really cheered me up.
Hey Ian, this is great! I’m really stoked to hear this has helped you so much
And I’m glad to hear that I provide you with some comfort as you heal!! Yay
Hello, my name is “Greasy Mess”
I have always been able to wash my face with plain bar soap and exfoliating gloves, then applied a light layer of unscented “whatever is available” lotion to my face and have not ever had any acne or oily residue build up on my face. Since I was 13 years old, this has been my “tried and true” preferred method of cleaning my face and I have never, not once had any issues…until now.
I am now 31 and am a total and complete grease ball. It’s not anywhere else, other than my face and it seems to be the most prominent at night, starting around 11pm, after I have done my normal face washing regime. It seems to start up once I lie down to go to bed or if I take a nap during the day. It’s gotten so bad that my gf of the past 2 years has taken notice and has herself wondered what is making this happen to me. Now, I don’t have a normal sleep schedule (because of work) and I rarely drink water (cant stand the taste or the waterlogged feeling i get) but other than those 2 things, I am very active, my stress levels are at a minimum, and I don’t wear make-up.
Since this began (about 6 months ago), I have started to use oil-free face washes or washes that are made to work on oily skin, and I have cut down on the amount of moisturizer I use, which I was barely using any to begin with. I hardly ever have break outs, it’s just my face getting so oily that is making me absolutely crazy and grossed out. I find myself getting up throughout the night just to wipe off what feels like a thick layer of cooking oil on my face with a towel or the sleeve of my t-shirt.
After reading about the cave-man regime, I don’t know if it would work in my case because I don’t really do all that much to disturb my “mantle” to begin with, but I need to do something to combat this. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions other than going out and buying a bunch of chemicals to put on my face or engine degreaser. Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated as I am completely out of ideas and do not want to have this issue anymore. Thank you for your suggestions and taking the time to read this.
Sincerely,
Greased Out Girl in Texas
Hi Pinion,
Sorry to hear about the oil problem.. my guess is there is some kind of hormonal thing that is going on that has caused the oil to get out of control. Usually it’s excess testosterone/androgens that are responsible for that. Improving your diet and lifestyle as per suggested on the rest of my blog might very well help to get your hormones back doing what they’re supposed to be doing, which will cut back on the oil production. The caveman might also help a great deal, but it’s hard to say since the oil problem just started out of nowhere, not after a change in skin care.
Hi,
I started getting acne when I was turning 17 (currently 18)and since that first day my mom offered me face wash (salicylic acid) after that I continued to use it twice a day, and things seemed to get a little worse (but not too bad).
When I first went to college this past summer all hell broke loose very quickly, I went from having 2-5 pimples to a ton. In response I bought some BP and started moisturizing, I also applied a bunch of other crap from hydrocortisone, to vicks vapor rub etc.
I’m not sure what caused the eruption this fall it could have been diet (even though I never ate healthy), the extreme humidity in august, the ton of chlorine in the showers, idk.
I just wonder what you think will happen to the ~20 pimples (some small, some large) on my face if i completely stop using a face wash. I don’t really want to look awful for a short period, im conflicted at this point.
Hi Tracy!
So, after a year my acne has gone from servere to moderate, still with breakouts and scars. I want to move off of commercial products, but I don’t want to go cold turkey nothing right off the bat. I was thinking of using honey for a couple of weeks, and wearing no, yes no, make up, and then moving to nothing but water, and then nothing at all. Do you think doing this will help clear the remaining acne up? Thanks!
Hi Hannah,
I can’t make any promises, but I think it sounds like a good plan!
This “Caveman” regimen indeed works for the resurfacing of your facial skin. I recommend that this be attempted in the winter when the temperature is cooler and when the skin is less prone to perspiration.
Also, when not washing your face for long periods of time, make sure to continue and wash your hair, forehead and temple areas. Otherwise there can be significant damage to the hair follicles and eventually loss of hair.
By the way, if you hadn’t realized from me name, I am a male, of 25 years of age.
Hi Russ – Interesting. I’m curious as to why you recommend not washing your face, yet not washing your hair and forehead would cause damage and your hair to fall out?? What is the difference?
Can I blot some of the oil off with a towel?
Yep
hi tracy,
m 21, suffering from acne since last 7 years, tried almost evrything. my skin is too dry congested n acne prone. for how long should i follow d regimen? n will the dead skin mask goes off itself o i need to remove it myself? let me know the best way to remove it…
Hi Altab,
I’ve answered these questions many times throughout the comments, go through them and you will find your answers
Hi Tracy:
I just read your site and I am completely thrilled with what you have written. I have stopped washing my face except for once a week when I take off the dead skin with a natural scrub and I have had so little acne that I am amazed!!! I also started to exercise everyday…both cardi and weights and my diet has changed to a vegan… would like to be a raw vegan one day. I wash my hair twice a week…recommended by my haircutter in order to keep the natural oils in it and do not use tap water as much as possible. I am 42 and look in my 30′s, be careful with showering or bathing to often as you want to preserve your natural oils to keep your skin young.. You are amazing and I will keep on reading all your info. At first it was so wierd to not use soap…I took a bath everyday for an hour and I would still get pimples and tons of rashes and my skin would feel sunburnt and hurt. Try this and I hope all works for you as it did for me even though I had to be patient.
We’ve all been indoctrinated to consume products that we don’t need …
As you stated, the skin has an acidic pH level that is unwelcoming to bacteria. Adding alkaline substances neutralizes the acidity, which invites bacteria to set in.
The oil produced by your sebaceous glands also contain an enzyme that kills bacteria.
The layer of dead skin cells is natural and serves to protect underlying skin from abrasion. Skin naturally sheds off.
I learned all of this in undergradute biology courses, and cured my own acne by allowing my natural defenses to take charge. I’ve had moderate acne since puberty, and now my face is cleaner that it has ever been in my entire life.
I have not washed my face directly for over a year, except for shaving or for the removal unwanted particles. I started off by taking baths to keep tap water off my face. I would clean my face with bottled water and a terry cloth (I would soak the terry cloth with the water, then gently swipe my face with it). I would wash my face once a day. As my face started to clear, I washed it less and less, until eventually I stopped washing my face altogether except for those cases mentioned above. I mean why should I? It stays clean on its own.
Oh and to anyone reading this, I highly recommend NOT using tap water. I think this is one of the culprits, not just soap or chemical products.
I have just started this about a week ago! I recently went on a date, and gave in and wore makeup so I had to wash my face :/ so I guess I am starting over now. Well spring break is comming up… what should I do about sun protection on my skin?
Just wear a bit hat that shades your face, or don’t spend a ton of time in the sun! That’s what I do all summer.
I had been on the caveman regimen for three months and the result was scars ( little , but all around my face ). Perhaps the lack of any source of moisture has such results ..
Please be careful and never EVER stop moisturising ( a eco- friendly moisturiser would be the best choice )
Hi Anne,
I’m really sorry to hear that – were you doing the caveman with or without water? If your skin isn’t naturally very oily, rinsing with water can be very very drying. That’s why I do the no water caveman version, because my skin isn’t overly oily and it just gets really dry if I put water on it and don’t moisturize after.
I was doing the caveman regimen without water , and i have to say that my skin was always very oily. We have different reactions , because we have different skin.
I am going to try jojoba oil and raw honey and see how my skin reacts .
and something else : has the regimen left you any scars ? or do you have acne scars anyways ? how do you treat them ?
Oh okay, I guess I misunderstood. I thought you said that there was no moisture, which lead me to believe your skin wasn’t oily… anyway… hopefully the honey and jojoba work better for you
As far as scars, are you talking indented or raised scars? or just red marks?
Mainly red marks and 3-4 such marks have become indented scars …I’m afraid that the same will happen with the other ones
And of course i don t blame the regimen for my scars , all i only want to say is how important is to moisturise your skin .
What about sunscreen???
What did this do for blackheads? About 90% of my issue is blackheads. Did this help them go away or did you have to treat them another way. I have them all over my face and even when I get a red spot it eventually turns into a blackhead
Hi Kristie,
I didn’t have a lot of blackheads when I started this, so I don’t know. Many people say it doesn’t really help with blackheads, but everyone’s experience is different. Check out this trick for blackheads: http://www.thelovevitamin.com/8823/cheap-easy-natural-blackhead-solution/
I AM SO HAPPY I DID THIS NO REGRETS.
This is the BEST treatment so far. ive only been on this regimen for 5 days (started monday) and my acne has gotten considerably better im telling and ive tried ALOT OF THINGS my acne has gone from moderate to mild in just 5 days and oiliness has reduced SO MUCH. cant wait to see what will happen in 1 month of this.
JUST TRY IT! your not going to loose money the only thing your gna gain is less irritated wonderful clear skin like it once was as a child
Yay!! Great to hear it’s working for you!
May i ask, for months didnt wash face, can i put on the sunblock? or just ignore the sunblock didnt touch and put on anything at all?
Hi Tracy, I’m wondering when you did this if you experienced itchy skin? I’m currently on the start of the third week and my face is starting to get really itchy … is that a sign of healing?
Hi Meaghan… hmm I actually can’t remember if my skin was itchy or not. Sorry I don’t know what it means! I wouldn’t worry too much unless it never goes away. It’s probably just a phase in the healing process
This the second day i’ve started my caveman regimen and my face is really itchy aswell but its all good haha
Day 2 : So far I feel like i’v seen the light at the end of the tunnel already. To be honest the right side of my face is getting back together, i could see the few pimples, maybe five of them are been shrinked drastically but leaving white heads and veeeery tiny white heads as also settled on one are of my fore-head and they itch me so badly that i’m tempted to scratch them off but i will just make the slightest contact with clean hand so i can satisfy it and myself. But so far I’m so glad have seen the way to end acne and I cant wait till the end of this week to see what my face will look like.
Can we use powder in our face to make it look fresh? Or does it have any effect on the experiment? If yes, what are those? Thanks!
I think I would avoid that on the caveman, personally
Hello Tracy,
I just wanted to know if you use any moisturizers when you wake up in the morning? Or do you just wake up and begin your day leaving your face untouched ?
Hi Jerry,
No, I don’t. Pretty much the vast majority of the time, I really actually do nothing to my face. Occasionally if it’s looking kind of dry (or I got it bit wet after washing my hair), I will put a little oil on it to moisturize (just tried extra virgin olive oil and it was so moisturizing and made my skin look great, it was awesome). But I will only do that ever once in a while, not every day.
I’m one week into this and the world hasn’t ended like I feared it would…zombie apocalypse style, myself looking like/being the zombie.
I’ve suspected my tap water as irritating my face for a long time, but I’ve been way too chicken to stop using anything. It’s actually incredibly liberating, and although it’s too soon to know…so far, it’s helping. My skin looks the calmest it has in months. Knock on wood, fingers crossed, etc. I’m taking off eye makeup with jojoba oil, dotting on concealer as needed and leaving it there. And I haven’t mutated into a beast yet. Key word, yet. I’m still nervous.
I’m not sure what I thought would happen, but I’m honestly stunned I look so normal.
It’s crazy how much we cling to things like that, and how much fear it produces to let it go. And just how amazing it is when the world doesn’t cave in!!
it’s really is incredibly liberating
Absolutely! Even my old derm told me a 2x daily face washing was a must…I’m tempted to call her voicemail and leave a message telling her she was wrong, even though I stopped seeing her years ago (after she told me I was wrong and diet/lifestyle couldn’t affect my skin. Lol.)
I’m really hopeful that this is my last puzzle piece after resolving my food allergies. Going to do my best to give it three months before I really celebrate.
I’m wondering if you told anyone that you were doing this? I mentioned it to my sister (in an attempt to help her in her own acne struggle), and she called me “absolutely nasty.” I understand the strong reaction, but it kind of hurt. I don’t think I’m going to tell anyone else for awhile :/
Yeah, people are brainwashed pretty hard! Sorry your sister said that, but she might change her tune if it actually works for you well. I don’t remember if I told anyone when I was doing it. Probably not, but maybe. I probably waited until after it kind of “worked out” to be like “hey. I don’t wash my face anymore and it looks better than ever!” just so no one can contest me that it’s a bad idea hahaha
Hi there
I had recently tried this after having an operation being bed ridden and feeling just too excused to get up and down twice a day to wash my face and moisturize as usual.
First few weeks i’d reduced it down to only once a day instead of the usual morning + night (twice) then for 2 weeks stopt after looking into and seeing no true damage could be done or anything that wasn’t reversable as most would initially thought.
And have to admit I’m quite glad i did.
Have never had much pimples, but because my skin did dry out a fair bit did find was much less oily or any signs of any tiny pimples!
The overall complexion was also more even.
Since doing this I have also done it with my hair.
Thing I worked out was it may get worse before better but then after is alot better for good!
And can tie in your routine matinince making it alot healthier.
Like mentioned with the skin (same for hair) all it’s doing bar cleaning is stripping of natural oils, then it can’t regulate itself and naturally the body (skin + hair) produces more oil then to compensate for the ones it’s just been striped of.
So your then trapped in a vicious cycle of dry hair that gets oily at the routes, so you need to wash it everyday, but it’s like that because you wash it everyday!
on going cycle.
to break this & with skin drop it down gradually then stop for skin would say under 3 wks, hair up to a month, then can do hair once a week or when needed if on occasion gets something in it or gym etc or face less than twice a day and instead wiping it down with a fragrance free oil free for sensitive skin face wipe when sweat or in between washes.
Not wearing any makeup or minimal helps also as does when you first doing the ‘hair detox’ having it swept off the face not touching as the oil build up could cause pimples when tranffering the oil.
Is funny old revalation that all these anti aging creams or thinking your being more healthy or clean are actually more damaging for your skin than not using them!
Problem is in today’s living many are in polluted cities where not washing hair/ face wouldn’t have the same effect as when in the country or smaller city.
And many also feel the need to wear much make up everyday.
This beauty regime concept is very european over american where PRESERVATION is the idea of natural beauty rather than putting all the crap on top of your skin and in your hair NOW and everyday to change it to a way you’ve been conditioned to think is ‘beauty’.
Two week mark. I suck at washing my hair this way…I almost always get little splashes on my face, especially since going back to the baking soda method and needing to scrub it out. I just pat my face dry ASAP. Oh, and I’m a total slob and spill drinking water down my chin on occasion lol.
Despite how liberating this is, not doing anything (when you’ve done stuff for twelve years) is HARD. I’m starting to get the flakes/congestion, and it’s so, so against my nature to leave them alone.
I will say that my skin tone/color looks incredible. I really have high hopes for this…Is there any way to tell if it’s a healing phase, or something to worry about? Would it work like any other detox/herxheimer, or is it different because this is about external issues?
I think it’s your skin just sorting itself out. I got flakey and totally congested and then it fixed itself! I kind of felt it was just a healing phase, and it was.
Tracy. Tracy. Tracy. I sound five years old but I don’t even care. You were totally right about the caveman regimen. THIS IS WORKING FOR ME! The purging breakout passed, and even though I’ve ended up rinsing once a week with distilled water only (didn’t want to walk at graduation with visible dead skin on my face), my skin looks WONDERFUL and my oiliness is totally resolved. My complexion is absolutely glowing. The breakouts have become super tiny and infrequent, and it really does seem like they’ll be all gone soon (I’m just starting week four). This, in combination with finding a naturopath and healing my gut (also per your advice), is finally freeing me from this eleven-year acne curse. I am so happy to look normal – in face, I have better skin than many people I know (haven’t been able to say that since the year I tried Accutane). So, if you’d like, put me down as a success story – I am FREE, and I can’t thank you enough. I have referred lots of people to your site and you have my utmost gratitude. Lots of love!
YAY!!! I’m so happy for you Kit!!! Such wonderful news
I’m going to add this to the “praise” page if that’s okay?
Yes, of course that’s fine!
I’m having a blast telling people I don’t wash my face and watching them gawk at how good I look…hahaha.
Hello!
This post is pretty old, but I thought I’d comment and *fingers crossed* get a reply.
I really really want to start this regimen because I know that the clearest I’ve ever been was when I rarely washed my face. As soon as I started piling OTC products on my face, I got more acne. I’ve also noticed that as soon as I wash my face, I become conscious of it. I feel the oil and dirt slowly building up. Before I wash my face, nothing!
The only problem is, I’m really worried about breaking out on this regimen. I only ever get a couple of whiteheads every couple of days, but I have terribly oily skin. I’m hoping that if I stop washing, the oil will significantly reduce.
Is the initial few weeks that bad? I’m thinking I should wait until I have time to hide away for a couple of weeks…
Lewis
Hi Lewis,
I understand your fear! But if the clearest you’ve been was when you rarely washed your face, why are you worried you’ll break out on this? I don’t think most people who do this break out more in the first few weeks.. the issue comes in weeks three or four when your face gets really flakey!
This makes so much sense! I wasn’t crazy about washing my face in high school, but I’d do it every now and again because I thought I had to, but my face would end up breaking out afterwards! I FIGURED it had something to do with messing with the natural oils on my face but I never looked into it.
Now I know! Thanks.
Hi! I find that when I’ve remove the dead skin mask I get more pimples and skin irritation. Tracy, you said eventually the mask can go away on its own after a while (since you’ve continued doing it long after your 30 day experiment)…? Or am I misinterpreting you?
Yeah it goes away. Well, I guess technically it is still there, but you can’t see it. I haven’t washed or exfoliated my skin in over a year, and I definitely don’t like I did that first month or so on the caveman with the mask. It looks like normal skin, but it has a secret added layer of protection from stuff that wants to mess with your skin!
I am glad to know it becomes more “secret”! I guess it is worse now for me since I am in the beginning of healing stages like you were…? Was yours thick too and that is why you exfoliated? I had to clean some of the mask away this weekend because I had people point it out to me (some spots were VERY thick and looked “orange”).
in my experience youll need to remove some flakes, the obvious ones by gently rubbing them off with a qtip or a cloth. but like tracy has said, those flakes will go away once the hyperpigmentation and other scarring goes away…those flakes are there as dead skin is flaking away just like any other scar tissue would. after they heal and your face is clear your face will have no need to be in repair mode any longer, and it should not produce as much flaking.
if you go 30 days without washing, no water, and then reintroduce water or washing your skin will have a lot of dead skin on it, this is because you are drying out the outer most layer. Pretty much everyone that washs their face is removing the outer most protective layer, drying it out, taking away the acid mantle and leaving it prime grounds for bacterial breeding. look at solitary tribes in afica, island nations, and australia and asia. these people dont have showers, running water, soaps, creams etc. yet their skin is flawless….hmm i wonder why?.
its not rocket science, but you have to de-tune yourself from the American brainwashing AKA American marketing. lies are put forth to make money, no company truly cares for ones health, all they care about is making money. if you dont use their product continuously, they dont make money, so they make up lies to make their products continuous sales.
Ok, Im interested, but I do workout 4 times per week, am I suposed to not even wash my face with water after working out? gross
just splash your face with water a couple of times, thats all you need
On the yoga video website I use, I just watched a video where the instructor talked about the acids in our sweat actually being healthy and beneficial to our skin – that’s why lactic acid and such is a common ingredient in skin lotion. Apparently in some parts of the world, yogis don’t wash off the sweat – they let it dry and some even rub it in. I’ve been caveman for almost a month now and although it was a huge mental hurdle not to wash the sweat off my face, I managed it – and my skin actually looks and feels pretty damn good.
I agree, to an extent. I think sweat can help, but it should be removed every so often, not always but on occasion. I use to get this dry buildup of dried sweet otherwise and it traps dust particles really easy, so my skin looked blotchy sometimes. But like you said, it’s not going to harm your skin like those Acne product companies want you to think.
Cool. It’s great that you figured out what works for you. I’m still on the fence about how often I’m going to end up rinsing with distilled water. Personally, I’ve noticed that I have a certain healthy “glow” after a good workout/sweating session. Maybe it’s the increased blood flow…or the sweat itself? Dunno.
I think it’s funny how sweat is portrayed as dirt and grime though. And how I believed it for so long. I don’t even smell when I sweat – it’s just dampness. Not a big deal at all, really.
I don’t think it would negatively impact you, however, if you acne or a cut you should try to keep the sweat to a minimum, it could create a staph infection.
Oh, and what about shaving? I need to razor shave every 3 days at least.
use an electric razor
Hi Tracy, as you’ve said you haven’t washed your face for over a year, are you putting anything on it at all such as jojoba oil? I just put jojoba oil on it every few days and wipe off with a cotton pad slightly moistened with bottled water. Is this ok?
For a while I was putting little jojoba oil on my forehead every few days (just rubbing a little in and leaving it). Now I use extra virgin olive oil (in the same way, just rubbing it in and leaving it) every once in a while if my skin feels dry, like after I’ve washed my hair for example and my face got wet
Hi! I’ll first like to say, amazing article. I’ve been battle on and off with acne….my problem is i’m constantly picking at it and it’s hard to stop because of being self-conscious about it. But my question is, i exercise daily and sweat a lot….for the caveman regimen, if i don’t wash my face after a good sweat wouldn’t that worsen the problem? this is something i need to know.
Thank you!!
in my experience no, sweat does not cause issues…
Tracy, is there a reason you use EVOO instead of jojoba now? I plan not to use any oil. I find when I do (I tried the oil cleansing method a while back) my skin does not like it. I don’t seem to get too dry as long as I drink lots of water and hydrate from the inside.
My dead skin mask is getting so thick again! (I cleaned some of it off last week) Is this an OK sign and just shows my skin needs a lot of healing but the mask will get less and less thick over time?
Hi Krista,
I pretty much tried it because I heard it was more moisturizing than jojoba, and it does seem to be. In this case, I wanted to use it because my skin was all dry, especially after a shower. I was mostly using jojoba on my forehead to unclog my pores, but now they aren’t clogged anymore so I stopped using it.
As for the mask, yes, it should get less thick over time until the point where it’s not visible anymore, and if it’s staying thick, I think you just need more healing time.
This and the other articles you have posted about the caveman regimen are so helpful, thank you!
I started the caveman regimen about 3 months ago, I had already been poo-free since July. I was nervous about both the caveman and no poo because I am high school teacher, and so I need to be professional and cleanly-looking. However, I had no problems with the skin mask or with looking unkempt(my skin leans to the oily side, although less and less since I cut out dairy back in October).
I do still wear eyeliner on school days on my lower eyelid, because again, I need to be a bit professional. But otherwise, no makeup and my skin has never looked better. Most of all it helped me to get over my skin-picking addiction!
Yay!! Awesome stuff Ann Marie
So happy it’s worked out for you!
Will it work if I put sunscreen on ???
Because apparently sunscreen stop the UV rays from damaging the skin, so I usually put physical sunscreen on, but my face is just horrible right now and I really want to try this !!!
use clothing, clothing (hats, etc.) are around 20 spf…get shade, chemicals clog pores in my experience, you can take the risk and try it…just note how your skin does with it
Never take advice from anyone who has dreadlocks and doesn’t wash… I’m guessing this person doesn’t have a job either!!
hahaha. This IS my job (aka. successful entrepreneur!). Keep on toeing the line of the status quo and thinking inside the box, my friend.
he’s pretty closed minded individual that likes to judge others, and if you notice he is judging your success, he’s probably jealous…keep up the good work tracy
It’s cool… apparently if no one ever disagrees with you, you never make any waves in this world!
PS- thanks for helping me to answer questions about the Caveman, MJ – you know a lot about it. I appreciate hearing other people’s experiences with it!