An explanation

WHAT IS THE CAVEMAN SKIN REGIME?

The caveman skin regime has been around for quite some time. It is a regime that requires one to become like a caveman by not washing their face, ever. Everyone has what is known as an acid mantle, which is a slightly acidic film on the surface of their skin acting as a barrier to bacteria, viruses, and other potential contaminants that can cause infections such as acne. The idea is that by washing your face you are stripping your face of its acid mantle and causing your pores to be unprotected and prone to infection. Often during the caveman regime you will "grow" a thick layer of dead skin all over your face because you are not washing a layer of dead skin off every morning and night.

WHAT IS MY GOAL FOR THE CAVEMAN REGIME?

• To heal existing acne
• To balance skins oils so my skin is not oily or dry
• To gain back my natural acid mantle
• To stop having to wash my face like an OCD person and never getting anywhere
• To stop stressing over acne
• To have my acne under control and maybe even permanently gone

WHO AM I AND WHAT IS MY SKIN LIKE?

• Age: 21 
• Sex: Female
• Bad Habits: I've picked my face since I was 11 in hopes to get rid of the acne, it now has become a bad habit that I do when I am stressed. I am at ease when my zits are replaced by flat scabs. I have been OCD about my skin ever since I first had acne at age 11: I can not go to sleep without washing my face and I can not start my day without washing my face. If anything touches my face that I haven't okayed I am very distressed as I think the dirt from the foreign object might get in my pores and cause acne. Finally, I've scrubbed my skin raw on many occasions causing scabbing (aiming to scrub the acne right off).
• Lifestyle: I exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet (whole grains, a lot of veggies esp. leafy greens, a lot of fish, almost no dairy, no junk food [I'll have a bite here and there] ), I am a student, and have a job I attend to 3 times a week. I live on the coast: mild winters and mild summers. 
• Skin: Blackheads all over my face (used to be only my nose and forehead until a year ago when I scrubbed my face raw with a towel for a week). Scrubbing and picking my face causes my acne to spread and my blackheads to become irritated and grow into whiteheads -- sometimes cysts. I sometimes get little clogged pores on my chest, upper arms, and upper back that I also pick and scrub and make worse. The skin on my face has been dry for years (probably due to the cleansing) and I must moisturise daily, sometimes three times a day (moisturise wears off, apparently) otherwise I will get irritated bumps all over flaky dull skin that causes "wrinkles" to form around my mouth and on my forehead. My face will get extremely dry even if water touches it and after moisturising my skin is very oily. I have never had a healthy glow (not oily or dry) since I began washing and moisturising my face at age 11. I have never had bad acne, and I think if I never picked and just let my acne heal on its own without cleansing two times a day my skin would be fine... perhaps beautiful.
• Current Skin: At the moment my upper back, upper arms, and chest are covered in little bumps and scabs. My face in covered in blackheads, clogged pores, some scabbing, and a handful of whiteheads. The skin on my body is not oily or dry -- "normal". There are dots of pigmentation all over my cheeks. No potholes or indentations from picking (HOLY COW I AM SO THANKFUL). 

WHAT PRODUCTS HAVE I USED IN THE PAST (AND THEIR EFFECT)?

I won't list them all (about 30 things) because they all had the same effect: drying my skin out. I will say though that I have used my fair share of "chemical commercial products" and natural products (e.g. coconut oil, just water, honey). 

WHAT ARE THE RULES OF MY CAVEMAN REGIME?

• No washing my face for a month, not even water
• If I accidentally get water on my face in the shower once in a while, that's okay
• No picking -- it will probably interefere with the process if I do (this will be the hardest part) 
• I am allowed to wear non-comogenic makeup to cover the acne 
• I am not going to clean my face of the makeup (there is a layer of dead skin that builds up during the caveman regime anyways) 
• However, if I wear eye-make up I may use makeup remover (olive of jojoba oil) to get it off
• At most, I may rinse my back, arms, and chest with water (unlike my face because the skin is not oily nor dry)
• After a month, I will gently rinse my face with water (shedding the skin)

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG?

• To hold me to the regime (I will post at least once a week)
• To inform people on my experience with the caveman regime (I will post pictures)