GOING CAVEMAN (ISH)

When I first went on Roaccutane, I was under the care of a Dermatologist who was adamant on this piece of skincare advice:

"Don't use anything on your face but water".

This was big news to me. Seriously, just water? Not even a Simple Face wash? Not even cleanser? Toner? Nope, just warm water and cotton pads and that's it.

I was 19 then and up until that point had always had an extensive skin care routine at night which was forever changing. My thought process behind this was that the more products I used on my face, the better my skin would become. I never thought about whether it was actually doing anything to help, nor had I ever considered simplifying my routine until that point. What the Dermatologist was unknowingly recommending to me is what some people refer to as the Caveman routine.

A really strict Caveman routine doesn't even involve water. It is literally nothing. The theory behind this is that due to all of the chemicals used in the vast majority of skincare products, you are actually damaging your skin more over time. Your skin also has it's own natural PH balance and using a lot of products disturbs this, causing your skin to break out or "purge" (which I'll talk about more in another post). The Caveman routine strips everything way back beyond basics so that your skin can adjust to it's natural state.

The majority of this makes a whole lot of sense to me. Over the counter skincare products contain a vast array of chemicals, the exact effects of which are unknown. Do big brands care about your skin? No, what they care about is selling a product. That's not to say that these ingredients are exactly harmful, but some of them aren't exactly gentle either. When I looked back over my experiences with all of the products I'd used, I couldn't pick one that had made a difference to my skin.

However, using nothing is too extreme to me, and also seemed a little impossible. How could I avoid getting water on my face in the shower? Plus , I wear pretty heavy eye make-up and there's no way I can't use a make up wipe to remove it (at least)!

So whilst I've never gone this strict, I have stuck to my own a modified version. Simple face wipes to remove my eye make up, followed by warm water on a cotton wool pad. For any stubborn make up I soften it with coconut oil (which deserves it's own post entirely!) and then use a damp cotton pad to remove. Pat face dry with a clean towel.

Done :)

The best thing about this routine is that you can modify it to suit you. Remember, everybody is different and what works amazing for somebody may not work for you. It's all about trial and error, take baby steps and monitor the changes and you'll find something that works for you xo