The conventional wisdom says “Don’t leave sweat on your skin.” “Sweat is bad for acne”. “Get it off your face as soon as you start to look even a little bit hot.”
So in the caveman regimen article, where I prescribe the idea of not washing your face as a way to clear acne, it appears the biggest objection people have is that they just can’t get over the idea of not washing their face after they sweat. What about the sweeeaattt????? OH MY gaaaawwdd the sweeeeaatttt.
This is a topic I simply must address as I’ve been asked this about a thousand times now in the comments of that article, and it kind of makes me laugh a little how upset people get about it just on principle.
To be honest, I don’t have a really great answer for you. Not washing my face as a way to clear acne was simply an experiment that happened to work pretty well for me and lots of others who have tried it afterwards, but I can’t know how it’s going to work for every single person who tries it. There’s no real rules.
All that I know is that conventional wisdom says don’t do it. Don’t leave that sweat on or you’ll regret it!!
But the whole caveman regimen in general is not exactly conventional wisdom either. Conventional wisdom everywhere says wash twice a day with chemical face wash, doesn’t it? If you’re even considering not washing your face, you’re already considering taking a different view to the conventional one.
So why is it so hard to extend that a little further and suspend disbelief that maybe it’s not such a big deal to leave a little sweat on your face?
Personally for me, I have absolutely no problem letting sweat dry on my skin, or if I was really sweating a lot, simply patting it off with a towel. No problem at all. It doesn’t gross me out, it doesn’t irritate my skin, and it’s, like, way more convenient not to care.
That’s just me though. I realize that my experience does not extend to every human ever. Maybe your sweat really does irritate your acne. But do you know that it does, or are you just afraid of it because that’s what you’ve been told over and over?
After all, I like to think our bodies know what to do better than a sweat-shaming beauty industry who want to sell you face wash.
Now, I don’t know the science behind sweat, but I have read that it contains a natural antibiotic, dermcidin, which means sweating may actually be good for treating acne! Maybe that’s actually why the caveman regimen works for many people!
I also have the feeling though that if you eat a really, really poor diet and your body is very toxic, that those toxins may come out in your sweat and irritate your skin. Maybe this is why the caveman regimen doesn’t work for everyone.
So as with over all holistic approach to acne, I do recommend, of course, eating good food and taking care of yourself so that sweat doesn’t have to cause you any issue, and may even work in your favour.
All in all, I think this is a definite case by case situation, and there aren’t any real answers except see for yourself! I don’t think a little sweat on your face has to be such a gross and horrible thing in all cases.
Watch Me Talk About Sweat and Acne in Video:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQJSr1TCB54
What do you think about sweat, sweating, and acne? What are your sweaty experiences with sweat and acne?
59 Responses
But sweat is sticky.And thus it attracts more dust particles and such.But then again over the skin is a layer of protecting sebum that it is doing his job against those particles.But too much sebum is not good.So you must not overwash your face.But what about the sweat?
Hahah. I don’t know. My suggestion is to stop overthinking it.
PS – what I speculate is that when you do the caveman regimen, you build up your acid mantle – which is a combination of sebum, sweat, and dead skin cells, which protects your pores from bacteria/dust etc that may normally cause a problem if you were washing and scrubbing the acid mantle away every day.
Yes…we are all overthinking it.All these face products on the market.All these ideas on what to do and what not to do.God should have made an user guide when he created Adam and Eve.That would have made life much simpler.
Yep, that’s why I advocate getting ideas on what works by looking at nature. We’re technically animals. I don’t see any animals anywhere going around worrying about sweat and face wash. Why would sweat be bad for us by design? It doesn’t make sense.
It could be…yes.
But animals eat right.Their sweat(from design) must be good for them or in the worst case neutral(just there to lower their body’s temperature).
Humans started to eat a lot of bad food.Hence sweat may be bad.When you eat bad food you modify the original design.
It works for you because you eat right.
PS:from you video i got this idea
Yes, that’s right 🙂
Omg I love that you addressed this in article form. WHAT ABOUT THE SWEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTT…lol 🙂 You DO get asked this a lot. Too bad you can’t autoprogram a response (or can you?)
I’m on month 2 of caveman! I love it so much! I will admit that it was really hard for me to leave the sweat on my skin (have struggled with OCD since developing acne), but I did it. Not only has my skin improved a lot, but I notice that I look especially “glowy” after a good, sweaty workout. It took a few workouts to stop freaking out, but yeah. Sweat doesn’t hurt me.
The more pieces of conventional wisdom I let go of, the happier and healthier I get.
Glad to hear sweat’s not an issue for you either Kat 🙂 I agree, one more thing to let go of, the better
I had to post how much the caterpillar incident made me laugh LOL!!! Sorry about that.
I hardly ever sweat which probably isn’t a good thing… I don’t care about it though.
Hahah… yes. Unexpected comedy. It’s the best.
Hi,
I don’t have any problem with sweat on my face, but my armpits sweat a lot. Like more than I think they should. Is there something that causes this?
I’m not sure. My guess is that it might be a hormonal thing. I remember when I was going through puberty my armpits were pretty damn sweaty (much more so than now), so it obviously IS linked in some way to hormones. I don’t know which ones though.
SUPER glad you made clear the speculative nature of your response, I feel it really helps show that trying things, in the end, is how you tweak your own experiment.
Just today, at the gym, I was dripping head to toe. I’m no foreigner to sweat, but lately, I’ve been getting really itchy when I sweat. Maybe it’s just the heat and sweat together, or maybe it’s the dermcidin going ham on those bacteria!
cursory search: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/256818.php
hahaha “going ham on those bacteria” .. love it
Yeah, I’ve realized I actually know nothing concrete at all, only a bunch of informed possibilities of things to try and experiment with. Everyone is so different that there are no rules, yet everyone wants these crisp, clean rules about what to do. It would be nice to have an exact formula that worked for everyone, but it can also be freeing when you don’t have to do things exactly a certain way, or if you find that you don’t need to follow certain annoying “rules” about skin care and acne – like that you have wash your face and get the sweat off at all costs.
I don’t mind the sweat itself, but when I sweat on my face (normally during exercise) it’s kind of all or nothing and if it’s all, it’s pretty substantial. So what bothers me is that crusty salty layer that dries and sits there, on my face or arms or wherever. I don’t really worry about it causing acne but it does feel quite nasty, I mean, it’s quite visible, like little tiny white pieces of salt, I think it looks rather dirty, like, I wouldn’t leave jam on my face after eating toast, hahaha!
Interesting! haha… yeah… I guess that would be annoying, I’ve never had salt on my skin after I sweat that was visible. What if you pat it off while your face is still wet?
yeah I try to stay on top of it while I’m running, but sometimes if I’ve got no sleeves or run in just a sports bra there’s nowhere for me to wipe it, (and I definitely don’t want to be touching my face with my fingers). I guess I just assumed everyone was a salty sweater but maybe I’m a weirdo!! I also tend to run for an hour or two at a time though, and often in the sun, so maybe that’s why it seems excessive to me, haha.
ps: I commented awhile ago about successfully giving up picking and touching after reading your site and some of your text and I just wanted to tell you that I’m still going strong! Every time, well, almost every time, sometimes I falter, so MOST times that I get the urge I can take control and tell myself NO, WALK AWAY, andn sooner rather than later that little spot I was going to squeeze has gone away and I’m not dealing with the aftermath for weeks to come. Seriously so freeing, love walking around with my “naked face” (makeup free). So…thank you!
Hey that’s so wonderful Cati ! 😀 Would you mind if I used your words on the info page for my skin picking book?
Oh my gosh, not at all. I want everyone to have the dermatological (??) peace that I have!!
ahahah… dermatological peace. Love that
Great article Tracy! I think its really interesting how eating more ‘naturally’ or organic has become so easily understood and accepted as healthy.. yet there is still alot of resistance when it comes to ‘natural’ skin care or the caveman. I mean, people don’t argue that carrots from your garden are better for your body than carrots from a can… but still they think layers of chemicals from a bottle rubbed all over your face is healthier and ‘necessary’ instead of just letting your skin heal itself.. And I’ve read that what you put on your skin is absorbed and travels through your blood stream and organs – so just because you don’t ingest chemicals in foods doesnt mean you’re safe from their long term effects. It even seems like there is a growing understanding that internal medicines come with zillions of side effects and aren’t always the safest choice and often just treat symptoms instead of healing the body.
I love reading your posts about going natural and carefree with your skin care. I just get that gut-feeling that YES this seems like the right path (atleast for me) to heal the body physically, emotionally (and in some ways even spiritually)
I actually think the only reason why organic foods caught on quicker than a caveman/ natural skin care regimen is because there is no money in telling people to ditch soap! The beauty industry is HUGE business and big companies wouldn’t have a leg to stand on by telling people ‘this actually doesnt help your skin’
I mean just look at the big cigarette companies that went from marketing smoking as sexy and cool to now placing warnings on the packs that say ‘smoking causes cancer etc’ Imagine if acne soaps / BP / SA etc came with warnings on the bottle “WARNING: this will destroy your acid mantle!” or something like that.
Hey Tim, yeah it’s so true. Money is why the “you need products” myth began and that’s why it will never die! The caveman is just so not profitable!
Hello: Another point I wanted to make in favour of the natural method — when I used to wash my face with a face wash twice a day, I regularly woke up with excess oil around my T-zone. There was enough oil that I could feel my fingers getting greasy when I touched the area and certainly could see the oily sebum when I wiped the area with blotting paper or paper towels. Now, I use olive oil as a moisturizer and cleanser — I have not seen any excess oil on my face in the last 10 months.Although this is contrary to conventional wisdom, this is what works for me.
Awesome! Yep, that’s how it works… by washing all the time, your skin just thinks it needs to be super oily all the time! By letting it regulate itself or giving it what it needs, it calms down 🙂
I think sweat on the face is one thing- but leaving sweat on your body after you workout (i.e. chest and back) seems like it can be a breeding ground for acne. Maybe because of how your clothes trap it into your skin, if that makes sense…
I had the same question about leaving body sweat (as opposed to face sweat). I have never noticed face sweat causing me a problem after working out, but I do usually rinse off in the shower after working out because I’ll break out around where my sports bra straps are. Do our bodies need this acid mantle too? I’m hesitant to leave too much body sweat on when my workout clothes are restricting but I would give it a try if anyone else has had good results with it.
I didn’t have body acne in mind when I wrote this, but actually, you’re right — adding friction in the form of tight clothing or bra straps might definitely have a negative effect
My body acne is definitely really sensitive to friction but I agree that I don’t think the sweat on it is a bad thing, if only I didn’t have to worry about bra straps!
I’d get really annoyed every time I would get a facial I’d get a lecture about washing my face and back right after my workout because I’ll get acne for sure. Even though I was struggling with acne at the time, I had to roll my eyes at that. If that’s the case, why do people who still live primitive lifestyles/who don’t have access to hot showers and expensive soap+moisturizers have clear skin? Now that my back acne cleared up, I STILL don’t shower and wash my face right after my workouts and that proves to me it doesn’t make a difference.
you have to sweat
if you dont you have a bigger problem than acne
my regimen after trying everything is:
#working out/ exercise just try going for a month 3-4 times during the week, i swear it does wonders.
#washing face after a day with just water
#aloe vera application from time to time(i live in texas soooo i get a lil more sun than i prolly need)
#and sunshine! safe sun in the morning and towards the end of the day is ideal
and daily i take a raw zinc supplement from the garden of life company
but seriously
sweattt!!!! you cant get that bacteria outa you with out sweating!!!
Is rinsing with water part of the caveman regimen? What about chlorine.. I swim 4/week and would like to try this but not sure I shouldn’t get the chlorine off..? What do u think? 🙂
Hi Krystle,
I avoid water touching my face as much as possible, because my skin is on the dry side, I find water to be too drying. Also, water itself could have irritating things in it. However, some people do a “water only” regimen instead, just washing with water instead of anything else. As for chlorine… I don’t know. Doesn’t sound very great for the skin, so I don’t know what to say! Unfortunately a lot of people in this modern world have a lot of situations where the caveman is really not ideal/impossible, and there’s not much I can say, its all an individual decision. I don’t want you to give up swimming or anything!
I’m glad you wrote this article, Tracy. My skin has suddenly flipped from being oily to extremely dry in the past month or two, and I suspect it’s down to me showering too often (I’m not a fan of using modern skin care at all). Perhaps the water is messing around with my skins natural state – perhaps the water is too hot… either way, I’ve decided to try and heal my skin by not letting water touch it at all for a few weeks and see what kind of difference that makes. My need to shower daily is definitely from this social expectation to remove any bead of sweat on our skin, and this article has truly opening my eyes – it’s only natural that we sweat. What do we have against it? It’s obvious – the big name companies will tell us anything so we buy their products, make the problem 100 times worse and begin a cycle of reliance on their products. Definitely food for thought. Thanks again Tracy.
Hi Michael, definitely an every really hot shower can definitely affect the skin adversely! I find any water on my face, especially hot water from the shower extremely drying. This is why I do the “no water” version of caveman
Hey Tracy! I love this article, it’s really great to know that someone who loves to run (like me!) doesn’t have to worry about sweat making your face lose it’s mind. I’ve been eating healthy, de-stressing, and basically flipping my lifestyle in the right direction for about a month, and almost all of my inflamed acne is gone (THANK THE LORD) but I still have hyperpigmentation marks everywhere. Will the caveman be just as good for making those go away? I’m just a little hesitant to try it..
Hi Amanda,
I wouldn’t say the caveman makes hyperpigmentation marks go away any faster, but what I have noticed is that any red marks are WAY less noticeable, I guess because their colour is almost, like… softened under this layer of acid mantly stuff, if that makes any sense. AND, red marks are always the brightest after you wash your face/exfoliate/moisturize, and since you aren’t doing that anymore, they don’t seem nearly as obvious, which is definitely a plus for your mental state!
This topic is very interesting, my Dr told me sweat is proabably making my back acne and acne on my face worse. Im on oral antibiotics and a topical gel! Its not helping, new spots appear every day! I was told to shower immediatley after exercise (I train every day!)Dr wants to be me on Roaccutane, as you can imagine I am horrified at the idea but my skin wil not clear up!I have never heard of the caveman regime? I presume using make up is a no no! help! x
Hi Claire,
Well, I have personally found that putting a dot of makeup on a pimple if I have one and not washing it off is no big deal. It hasn’t been a problem for me at all. However, I would definitely say full foundation is a big no no. If you want to read more about the caveman check out the article: https://thelovevitamin.com/3135/caveman-regimen/
I seem to find that my skin also is at it’s best appearance when I’m sweating and working hard. Maybe the pores are expanding and kind of evening the texture and appearance?
ps – how did your p90x thing turn out?
I fell off the wagon 🙁 Did great for a month and then went on a little trip with Luke’s parents and never got back on! I think I have hopes I’ll start up strength training again soon and then I’ll update and can say “Hey!! I fell off… but I’m back on!!” haha. I have continued with yoga very regularly though.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with letting the sweat dry on your skin. It doesn’t cause me to break out. Patting it dry (and not rubbing) with a towel will minimize skin irritation and then enjoying a cool or warm shower helps to calm down the redness after a workout.
Hi Tracey! I have completely given up on trying to wash my face because there is either no improvement, or I break out anyways. I was using things like baking soda, and bentonite clay, and manuka honey even and none worked. They didn’t break me out either. But when I stopped all together I don’t get as many break outs and they heal faster than ever before. And I’m still on a horrible diet, to be honest. I never worried about sweat and actually makes me feel good for some odd reason. But I do need to change my diet to a healthier one for more than just acne, and I plan on doing so too. But I did want to ask you this… what do you use for deodorant? I heard that sweat doesn’t smell on it’s own until bacteria gets in it, and that is when people get body odor? What are your thoughts on this? If you haven’t already it’d be great to see an article/video about all the everyday things we use cosmetic wise and such that you have replaced with a holistic substitute. If you have already that is fantastic! I heard that some people use lemon for under their arms, and some use coconut oil or a mixture made with natural ingredients. And it seems like those things would lessen the bacteria, and with a healthier diet maybe sweat is less likely to attract bacteria. I’m not sure! I’ll look into meanwhile but I’m still curious about your thoughts. ( : Thank you for all that you do! I appreciate your blog/videos as they are very informing but don’t feel like they’re forceful if that makes sense. Some people just go about things like it’s their way or none, and you’re just giving us all sorts of options and I love that! Anyways, have a nice day!
Hi Cassondra,
Here’s my video about that:https://thelovevitamin.com/728/suggestions-for-chemical-free-hygiene-products/
As for BO, from my understanding, body odour is directly due to toxins in sweat, poor diet, etc. And probably a touch of genetics! haha. Because obviously not everyone who has a poor diet smells, but most people who eat a good diet don’t smell much.
I heard that when you sweat the sweat actually helps to push out any conjestion within your skin! so sweating actually helps to get rid of acne i think. Think about it this way: most people’s skin tends to IMPROVE during the summer, and summer is when you sweat the most. It’s summer here and I’ve been exercising a lot more lately, so I’ve been sweating a lot more lately, and yet I have seen nothing but improvements of my skin. I never wipe off my sweat or worry about it at all!
So Tracy, I was supposed to go on a backpacking trip that got cancelled this weekend- so I decided since I had 4 days off to experiment.. I did not wash my face Friday or Saturday, my skin got really oily by Friday night, but Saturday it looked more normal. Sunday AM I did a 30 min manuka mask, but did not wash Sunday night or this morning…
Results? Pretty great so far. My skin looks alot healthier and not as read or inflamed, I think that even the ‘natural’ topicals I was using to wean off BP were irritating my skin (burst bees spot treatment, tea tree oil, apple cider vinegar etc) and giving my skin pretty much 4 straight days to breathe and catch up a little helped ALOT. I still have spots but they dont look nearly as bad. I think going forward for a while I’m going to try doing just water in the AM and maybe a manuka mask once a week. Then next stop: caveman!
Also, to boost my mood, I did a major spring cleaning this weekend. Got rid of the clutter, gave away / donated a lot of my old things, books, clothes, records, movies, furniture etc. Very healing process, brought some great vibes into my home , was very liberating and apparently great for my skin.
I can’t tell you how grateful I am for your site/blog/videos/stories. I doubt I wouldve found the courage/confidence to make so many great changes to my life. And to everyone out there who is on the fence: HECK YES it is worth it to ditch the old ways of life (and skin care) that you are hiding in and pursue your dreams and follow your heart/gut and grow as a person.
thankyouthankyouthankyou
Woohoo, this is great, Tim!! I’m so happy that you’re still moving forward and you’re excited and making progress!! 🙂 warms my heart… I’m so happy I could help you.
It’s interesting! I exercise so vigorously that I’m soaked in sweat afterwards. Whenever I don’t shower straight away my skin feels sticky after half an hour or so, it’s pretty uncomfortable even if I don’t think it’s toxic or anything. I do think that sweating itself is really good for the skin though 🙂
Hi Tracy,
Glad you addressed this. I have trouble with acne, but leaving sweat on my face does not seem to bother it. But did you say you never wash your face? Like morning or night? I wouldn’t say I wear a ton of make up, but if I didn’t wash it off at night or if I didn’t wash the oils off in the morning before applying it I would definitely break out. Do you think it is a good idea to work towards not wearing make up so I don’t have to wash my face twice a day? This would be a big life change, but if it would better my skin I would consider it. Thanks!!
No I don’t wash my face anymore, check out this article and its follow ups: https://thelovevitamin.com/3135/caveman-regimen/ – I probably wouldn’t do the caveman if you wear lots of makeup. I have found that if I get a pimple, I can just put a dot of makeup on it to cover up the redness and not wash it off and it’s not a problem, but I probably wouldn’t spread makeup over my face and not wash it off. I do think it’s generally better for the skin not to wear much skin makeup but it depends on whether not wearing it is going to cause you lots of stress. In which case, that’s not good for the skin either.
Greetings.
I’ve decided to stop washing my face, but does that also mean I should attempt to avoid dampening my face during hair washing? Should I avoid moisturising or facial scrubbing? I fear developing blackheads. It would be liberating to simply discard such routines, but what do you think?
My diet has mostly consisted of fruit, vegetables, green tea, water, an omega-3, zinc supplement in the morning and mostly protein based meals in the evening, such as home-made Chicken Soup with potatoes.
Hi Christian,
just be careful and try not to let too much water run down your face while washing your hair, but personally I wouldn’t freak out about it. Doing the caveman regimen consists in avoiding everything: moisturizers, facial scrubs and so on. Everyone is a different individual and reacts differently to different skincare “routines”. That’s why I cannot promise you that you won’t develop any blackheads, although this method seems to work for many people. The only way to know for sure is to try it…
Hey.
Today, I managed to do it! I carefully laid back, the water rinsed my hair but didn’t touch my face. I have to use hair growth shampoo, but luckily I succeeded in avoiding that too.
I also managed to brush my teeth without getting any toothpaste on my chin. I simply brushed them while facing upwards without excessive toothpaste.
I’m actually finding this quite fun. I haven’t decided what to do about the scrubbing, maybe only when I feel it’s absolutely necessary and with a muslin cloth. I’m just going to ignore my concerns for blackheads.
I have had experience with the smell like from exercise and stuff. but I deciced that Personally I don’t think people should hate the smell of their own sweat during like exercising and stuff.Cause it’s the smell of their own HARDWORK!YEAH!Lol.The smell of your own hardwork.
What about you Tracy do you love the smell of your own hardwork(sweat)???
Hey Tracy, i recently found your blog and im really intrigued by your philosophy of putting edible things on your face. 🙂 Just this week i decided to give up using chemical-filled face washes and instead started using agave nectar, but im not sure if this is the same as honey. Im also getting a lot more pimples and whiteheads… Is this normal? Thx!
I don’t know… I’ve heard agave is not as natural as it is supposed to be! I have no idea if it’s as good as honey face wash wise. But anyway, regardless, when you quit chemical face wash that your skin has become dependent on, it can often break out a bit more as it adjusts to something new… so keep that in mind!
I know this is an old post and I don’t know if you’re still following these, but I’m so glad I found it. I’m trying to do modified caveman regimen, I wash my face with a very gentle cleanser at night and apply serum, but in the mornings I want to try doing nothing to keep that healthy glow I wake up with (our skin really do have a glow when we wake and we haven’t touched it). But I was scared to do it because I work out in the mornings and I sweat (oh no, lol). I will try to just pat it off with a towel like you do. Thank you! ??
Hey Tracy my face is flaky now and more
On the dry side rather than
Oily. I would Say a patchy with a few
Oil spots. BUT not a trace of any new active Pimples ;)and my old pimples are turning crusty/ getting smaller. What do you recommend at this process. I want to exfoliate but ima scared my skin will get irritated and turn red and get oily again( causing me to breakout again. Can i just continue to not do anything and it will go away or do i have To get rid of the dead skin? It’s been 22days so far btw. Thank you ??