‘Caveman Method’: Skincare Genius, or Genuinely Worrying?

If you’ve been on TikTok over the past few days, you’re probably aware of a little something called the ‘caveman method.’

Flaking skin, compacted dirt, oil and sebum and whatever else skin produces simply resting on a person’s face in a bid to repair their skin barrier. No cleanser. No soap. And of course, no water.

Such is the content being shared by user @tiazakher – a woman from the Canada who has not cleaned her face in over six weeks, and is documenting her journey on TikTok.

Tia says that for years she over exfoliated and damaged the skin on her face, and now wants to allow her skin’s barrier to repair itself.

@tiazakher Replying to @purppanther ♬ original sound – tia zakher

Her theory is that the so-called caveman method will allow new skin to form below the dead skin, which will eventually fall off. “My skin is basically shedding all of the damage and attempting to re-regulate,” she says.

Tia’s videos have amassed hundreds of thousands of views at the time of writing, but viewers aren’t praising her back-to-basics methods.

Rather, they’re concerned that she appears to have either developed a fungal infection from not cleaning her face, or is suffering from something called dermatitis neglecta.

Dr Madalyn, a dermatologist and creator, says that dermatitis neglacta is a skin condition caused by inadequate cleansing and cleaning of the skin, leading to a serious build up of sebum and dead skin cells.

@drmadalyn share this with someone who thinks ‘doing nothing’ is the answer 🥲 #thecavemanmethod #dermatologist #skincareroutine #skincaretips #skincare101 ♬ original sound – Dr. Madalyn

“It’s not a natural skin purge and you are not healing your skin,” she said on TikTok. “Imagine not brushing your teeth for months. Your mouth would still function, but it’s also collecting plaque, bacteria, and a smell no one signed up for.

“Washing your face isn’t about scrubbing your skin raw, it’s about helping your skin do what it’s already trying to do. Just without the crusty side effects.”

Skincare guru Natalie O’Neill has also weighed in on the trend, saying: “What you see is what you get with this, she’s got dry, dead skin cells on top of her skin combined with sweat, sebum, and oil.

“All the reasons you exfoliate is to do the opposite of what is happening here. You don’t want a build up of dead skin cells, and sebum that then block pores.”

@natalie_oneillll Is the caveman skin method really a thing? Cus I honestly reckon cavemen were washing in streams and making weird soaps out of plants #dermatitis #cavemanskincareroutine #skincaretips ♬ original sound – Natalie O’Neill

Natalie added that to heal your skin barrier, all you need to do is cut out active products for a while, and only cleanse and use moisturiser.

So, why are people into the caveman method, all of a sudden?

The boom the skincare industry is currently experiencing is the result of one thing – social media. Trends like ‘glass skin,’ ‘filtered skin,’ and ‘mirror skin’ are creating a largely unattainable beauty standards that many people are, rightly, pushing back against.

However, not washing your face at all in a bid to shed dead skin cells isn’t quite the flex some users seem to think it is.

As O’Neill mentioned in her video, the caveman method isn’t actually a thing. To repair your skin’s barrier, all you need to do is take a break from your active skincare.

Washing your face has always been, and remains, a must.