natural facial cleansing

Feb 27, 2012 by Renee +

My adventures (so far!) with the oil cleansing method

Despite the fact that I’ve spent a few years cleaning up my family’s diet to remove processed food in a budget friendly way I really haven’t spent a lot of time examining the ‘cleanliness’ of our health and beauty products.

Don’t get me wrong – there are some great resources out there like the Cosmetic Safety Database in our sidebar from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) – but it seems like a monumental task. Have you ever counted the number of products in your bathroom? Thinking about examining and replacing them all can be a bit overwhelming.

As I started peeking around (and maybe hyperventilating a bit) I ran across the Oil Cleansing Method.

The premise behind the Oil Cleansing Method is simple: like removes like. So instead of putting soaps on your face to remove dirty oils that clog pores you are just removing and replacing the dirty oil with clean oil. This prevents your skin from feeling stripped and overproducing oil thus causing breakouts.

Oil to clean your face?! Yup, it sounds strange – and a bit scary. However, since I have been working from home I figured: “What have I got To lose?”. That was two months ago.

So how is it working?

For me it is working great! My skin looks healthier than it has in a long time. Its feels well hydrated and the fine lines on my forehead don’t seem as prominent. I am having fewer breakouts. When I do get the occasional blemish it seems to clear faster.

What I love most is that a single teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil once a day is replacing three expensive and potentially chemical laden beauty products: eye makeup remover, cleanser and moisturizer.

I do have some cautions though.

You really need to get the right oil combination for your skin. I have normal skin with a tendency to break out on my chin. Most of the guidance on the OCM would suggest a 50/50 olive oil and castor oil blend.

I am using (and liking) just evoo with a few drops of lavender and tea tree essential oil. Essential oils are not for everyone as some people have sensitivities to them.

Some people also respond better to oils other than olive like jojoba. It is all about finding the combination that most closely replicates your skins natural sebum.

You MUST remove the oil with a warm/hot washcloth. Adding more oil to dirty oil without removing it by just rubbing it in – recipe for breakout disaster!

My only criticism so far is that it does seem a bit ‘addictive’ in that if I skip a day then I seem to break out faster than I otherwise would skipping my normal routine.

Here is my personal OCM recipe and routine:

1 cup evoo
2 drops lavendar eo
2 drops tea tree oil eo

I use this at night.

4 oz purified water
1 drop lavendar eo
1 drop tea tree eo

I use this ‘toner’ in the morning.

Thats it!

Have you tried the OCM? Love it? Hate it?

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