The Oil Cleansing Method

The Oil Cleansing  Method: A One Month Update

I had five major resolutions this year, one of which was to take better care of my skin.

 Acne "medications" like washes and creams focus on "cleansing" your skin, or "correcting" oily or dry skin. The basic idea is that your skin is dirty and it needs help. Your skin is an amazing organ. When we over-cleanse, we're robbing our skin of its natural oils, causing it to work harder and over-produce oil to make up for what we wash off every morning. I've come to realize I am over-washing and needlessly exposing my skin to various "helpful" chemicals.

Luckily this resolution has complimented my other resolution of creating less waste. I've stopped buying facial cleansers, saved a little bit of money and also cut down on my packaging waste. I will say that this method is not for everyone and I think its important to have realistic expectations when you start out. No system of skincare is going to eradicate your acne, its a normal process for your skin, especially if you suffer from hormonal acne.

My mixture:

I started out with 100% olive oil. After one week I began adding castor oil. At one point I realized I had added too much castor oil and now I'm at about a 70/30 mixture. If you notice your skin drying out, you've used too much castor oil. It really is just trial and error in terms of the mixture.

Some observations
- at first the olive oil smell bothered me, but once I started adding castor oil that went away
- you'd think that your skin would feel greasy but it doesn't. We are so conditioned to think of "oil" as negative that it was surprising for me for it to feel so light
- My skin got worse before it got better. I spent about a week with really bad skin, but finally smoothed out my process and now am doing very well

My Process:

I have a routine for morning and a routine for the evening.

Morning: Get a washcloth steaming hot (almost too hot) and place it over your face. Don't leave it sopping wet but don't wring out all the water either. Leave it on your face until it starts to get cool. Repeat 3 or 4 times. On mornings where my skin feels dry I will first use a small amount of sweet oil (a mix of olive, almond and other oils, available in Hispanic grocery stores.) and then use the cloth.

Evening: Use a small amount of your olive/castor oil mixture. Spread it evenly over your face. Use the steaming cloth 3 or 4 times and then gently dry your face. Don't wipe off the excess oil, but try to blot it a little.

Every 3 or 4 days make sure to exfoliate. I've been using a coffee/sugar scrub that works really well. I found that not exfoliating often enough left me with clogged pores.

 So far I am pretty pleased with my results. My skin feels better and it doesn't get that tight, dry feeling after I wash with store bought cleansers. I will be updating about the process as I continue with it!


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