Woman, 22, behind controversial ‘caveman skin’ trend defends herself after giving up face washing – as dermatologist brands it ‘extremist’

A TikTok video of a young woman’s adherence to what’s been dubbed as a ‘caveman skincare routine’ has created controversy this week, with thousands weighing in on the ‘new trend’. 

A video of Tia Zakher was viewed over 10 million times after the influencer declared that she’d ceased using ‘all skin care’ and had stopped ‘using any water’ to wash her face.

The 22-year-old posted the video after her alarmed followers questioned the state of her skin, which appeared excessively dry, flaky and even yellowish along the forehead, cheeks, bridge of the nose and around the mouth.

In the video, the Canadian woman explained that she’d adopted the variation on the trending caveman skin method as a purported means to enable her skin barrier to ‘rebuild itself naturally’.

‘My skin is basically just shedding all the damage and attempting to re-regulate itself,’ claimed the TikToker, who has over 135,000 followers.

After the video went viral, it was picked up by media around the world, resulting in experts worldwide slamming the unscientifically-backed skin care method as potentially harmful. Others suggested the young woman had some kind of skin ailment or fungus… or making up the saga entirely.

‘I post publicly so it is okay for people to publicly comment and share their opinions, a lot of people are coming from a place of concern too,’ Tia told FEMAIL.

‘All I can say is I wish I was making it up because it’s not easy going through this and being patient as someone who has a history with [skin] picking too.’

A video posted by TikToker Tia Zakher had over 10 million views after she detailed her adherence to the controversial ‘caveman skin’ approach, which entails not washing her face with water or using any skin care products

Tia explained that wanted to ‘try something different’ when she adopted the cold turkey skin care routine.

A few weeks after she’d stopped washing her face with water and using any products, Tia said she noticed there was visible ‘build up’ on her skin.

‘It was difficult when [the build up] started becoming noticeable, but I also did notice my redness calm down a lot, so I felt like something was working,’ she said.

The influencer cautioned that she didn’t believe this approach was appropriate for everyone and recommended people ‘consult a professional before trying something like this’.

Tia also said that she had since begun to reintroduce water to her skin care routine and will start using ‘moisturiser very soon’.

Despite Tia’s cautionary message about the suitability of her caveman skin care routine to others, dermatologists fear that the viral video may have already inspired copycats, which could have potentially devastating skin results.

FEMAIL spoke to Australian dermatologist Dr Ryan De Cruz, who said that ‘as the name suggests, the caveman skincare method is outdated and really doesn’t reflect the evolution of not only the human species, but also medical science and skincare’.

The dermatologist and founder of Melbourne’s Southern Dermatology slammed the caveman skin approach of ditching ‘all kind of scientifically proven self-care and hygiene methods’ as ‘archaic’.

Tia Zakher told FEMAIL that she’d decided to ‘try something different’ when she adopted the caveman skin method. Dermatologists worldwide have slammed the approach as lacking scientific evidence

Tia Zakher updated FEMAIL on her skin routine journey, explaining that she’d recently reintroduced washing her face with water and would soon recommence using moisturiser

‘To absolutely abandon all hygiene methods is extremist and has no scientific evidence,’ he added.

The skin expert was particularly troubled by the basic lack of hygiene in not using water or a cleanser.

‘In general terms, hygiene applies as much to the skin on the face as the skin on the rest of the body – and the risks of not cleansing the skin include development of excessively oily or excessively dry skin, pigmentation, inflammation and odour.’

‘Not cleansing is not only harmful in terms of environmental aggressors, but simple infections such as staphylococcus or viral infections like yeast overgrowths.’

While Dr De Cruz was critical of the ‘extremist’ caveman skin routine approach, he did recognise that buried within it were aspects of merit.

For instance, the dermatologist accepted that he had seen patients whose skin improved as a result of ceasing use of skin care products. However, he added the caveat that this was usually in the instance of people who had previously overused ‘harsh cleansers and active ingredients to their skin’s detriment’.

The expert explained: ‘The skin moisture barrier is something that needs to be protected, and skin care when used inappropriately or when not tailored to the person’s skin type can be quite damaging.’

‘There is certainly a balancing act between using hydrating and reparative products versus harsh anti-aging products and acne-targeting skin products, which can strip the skin and destroy the skin barrier.

FEMAIL spoke to Australian dermatologist Dr Ryan De Cruz, a dermatologist and founder of Melbourne’s Southern Dermatology about the controversial caveman skin trend 

‘Therefore, I certainly do agree that patients may notice an improvement in their skin when they actually reduce the number of things they’re using on it.’

Dr De Cruz also noted that ‘many organs in the body have natural ways of maintaining itself’ – including the skin, which ‘naturally turns over every 28 days or so’. This type of thinking may have underpinned the methodology of the caveman skin approach.

However, factors in the modern world such as the environment, pollution and even diet ‘affect the quality of our skin’, making it markedly different to the skin of our centuries-old ancestors. Therefore, the use of cleansers, and particularly those containing research-backed skin improving ingredients, are now encouraged to help assist with this natural turnover process.

‘For example, if we look at patients who have atopic eczema or dermatitis, we would recommend utilising cleansers that are ceramide based or have hydrating factors such as hyauluronic acid,’ Dr De Cruz suggested.

Although Tia is not a patient of Dr De Cruz, his assessment from seeing pictures of her is that she may be afflicted by an underlying skin condition like ‘retention hyperkeratosis, which is an innate inability for the skin to exfoliate naturally’.

He explained that any kind of underlying skin condition, be it eczema and psoriasis, or a tendency towards acne-prone skin and oiliness, or excessively dry skin could stand to benefit from incorporating simple, scientifically backed skin care ingredients.

‘All of these skin conditions can be improved or ameliorated through using appropriate cleansers,’ Dr De Cruz said.

The one aspect where the doctor’s professional opinion aligned with Tia’s controversial approach was in the belief of ‘keeping skin care simple’.

‘When it comes to a reasonably priced and evidence-based skin care routine, the three elements that should form the basis of a gentle skin care routine are a gentle hydrating cleanser, daily moisturiser and SPF 50+ sunscreen,’ said Dr De Cruz.

‘You need only head to the pharmacy to find excellent skin care routine products that have good research to back it up, without breaking the bank.’

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