Earlier this year I did a few posts with the theme “What’s in your _______?”
I could – and may – easily write one of those about what is in our skin cleaning products. The laundry list of chemicals and sometimes potentially dangerous ingredients in a basic facial cleanser is long and daunting.
The price tag isn’t always pleasant to read, either.
Sure, there are cheap facial cleansers on the market, and sure, it’s easy to find specials and coupons for such things, but when you combine the health factor with the money factor, it seems clear that there must be a better way.
There is! It’s the Oil Cleansing Method, and I’ve been using it for about two years now.
It’s a very simple concept: water and oil don’t mix. You need soap or a surfactant to break down oils to remove them.
But soaps and surfactants remove ALL the oils, leaving your face dry, exposed, and out of balance. So then you have to moisturize. But man-made moisturizers are not natural skin oils, so your skin starts producing MORE oil to try to compensate for the lack of oils – a small amount of which are necessary for healthy skin – and you wind up with super duper oily skin as a result.
However, oils will link up with other oils and play nicely together. So if you put a cleansing oil on your skin, rub it in really good, and use heat to open up your pores, the clean oils will bind together with the oils that have been hanging out on your face all day and will carry them away, effectively cleaning your skin.
Your skin will feel smooth, clean, and soft once you’ve wiped the oils away.
Sounds sort of ridiculous, even though the logic is there, right? At least, that’s what I thought when I first heard of it. I’ve fought against super oily skin my whole life, and these crazy people are suggesting I USE oils to clean my face?
For whatever reason, though, I decided to give it a try.
Did I mention I’ve been doing this for two years?
Yeah. It works!
Interestingly, after using this face cleansing method for a short time, I discovered something: I don’t have oily skin! In fact, my skin actually borders on dry. I just have very efficient oil production, and with all the severe oil removal products I was using I sent my face into oil production overdrive!
Okay, so how do you do this? That can be a little complicated. There are many oil combinations you can use, depending on what your skin type actually is.
Considering that many people learn they’ve been incorrect about their skin type for a large number of years once they begin using the OCM, I’d suggest starting with a basic recipe in small quantities and making adjustments as you go.
You’ll want to use a small bottle for this; I’ve been using a glass apothecary bottle, but I’ve used small plastic bottles with little pop-up lids before.
Basic OCM recipe:
- 1 part castor oil
- 5 parts jojoba oil
Lately, of course, I’ve been falling in love with tallow. So when my current bottle runs out I plan to experiment with substituting tallow for jojoba.
The castor oil helps draw the skin impurities out, but it does have a tendency to dry out your skin if you use too much.
I’ve had to adjust my proportions as time has gone on to use much less castor oil for my (ha!) normal-to-dry skin.
This is a good place to start, though.
As for how to clean your face, I’ll tell you what I do. First, I grab a clean washcloth and get in the shower. I pour out a little oil into my hand, rub it all over my face, and then take a minute or so to rub it in really well.
Then I get the water as hot as I can handle, wet the washcloth, squeeze out most of the excess water, and drape the cloth over my face. I leave it there until it starts to cool, and repeat the process at least once, and sometimes two or three more times.
Finally, I get the cloth wet again, squeeze out the excess water, and use it to wipe the oils off my face. When I’m done, I can’t feel ‘oil’ on my skin at all. My skin just feels moist and clean!
Now, how is this economical? After all, these fancy oils aren’t exactly cheap, right?
Well, for starters, it takes VERY little of the oil to clean your face. My bottle of jojoba oil is 8 oz., costs about $20, and lasts for at least two months.
Secondly, you’ll find that by using the OCM at night to help remove the impurities and dirt of the day, you won’t have to “wash” your face in the morning at all. Simply using a warm washcloth and water will freshen you up and leave your skin dewy, moist, and perfect for makeup application – or going bare-faced, something I never would have dared to do before using OCM.
Will the OCM completely clear up your skin so you have perfect, never-get-a-pimple skin? No. Of course not. Nothing can promise that!
From my experience, though, I no longer get those nasty, cyst-type zits that cause pain, and the rest of my skin feels soft, youthful and better than it has in years.
I still get whiteheads and blackheads, but that’s because I’m lazy and don’t always wash my face every day. (You Mama’s know; sometimes at the end of the day all you want to do is fall into bed. Personal care can wait in lieu of sleep, right?)*
Unfortunately, any skin cleaning method is only as good as your habit of using it, and, in fact, the few times I have used it daily I have noticed that I have exceptional results.
So there you have it: defy all your experience and clean your face with oils. It’s cheap, it’s healthy, and it’s simple!
Hope that helps!
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For more reading on this, including some troubleshooting, here are two useful websites:
The Oil Cleansing Method
Crunchy Betty’s Trying and Troubleshooting the Oil Cleansing Method (LOVE her blog!)
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Have you used the OCM? How do you like it?
*By the way, my jojoba oil usage estimation is based off times when I was cleaning my face every day. If you’re lazy like me, it will actually last longer and be cheaper!
