Monday, November 7, 2011

Oil Cleansing Method

A few days ago I read about a new facial cleansing method here and here. At first I was completely against it, then I was intrigued, and now here I am giving it a go! My skin problems began in highschool and gradually got better through the years but never completely went away. With all our traveling my skin gets confused. It either hates the new climate or loves it, then once its mellowed out we're off again. I tend to lean towards cleansers that strip all the oil from my skin and leave it feeling tight, dry and flaky. Then my skin overcompensates, opening the floodgates and covering my face with oil. So, what better solution than to wash my skin with oil, right? Right. From what I've gathered, the basic principle of this method is that oil dissolves oil. While soap and water wash over the surface of the skin, oil is able to soak into the pores and is thick enough to push out all the grime. Castor oil has anti-inflammatory components as well as healing and cleansing and acts as the base oil. You can mix various oils with the castor oil depending on the type of skin you have. For example, extra virgin olive oil is a more moisturizing oil which is good for dry skin. I'm mixing in jojoba oil because its good for acne prone skin. Its important to follow the steps to this method-

splash face with warm water to open up pores
massage oil into pores for about a minute
wet a washcloth with hot water and squeeze out. place washcloth over face to steam pores. repeat 2-3 times
rinse off remaining oil

Last night, I took the plunge and washed my face with oil. I'm pretty happy with the results. My skin felt cleansed and moisturized from the inside out without being oily. This morning I could already tell that the healing properties of the oil were taking effect. If you're unhappy with your current facial care regimen I would encourage you to read up on the oil cleansing method. Its all natural and there's a perfect combination for any skin type.

2 comments:

  1. Noelle, you crack me up. I swear I just read an infomercial. It's funny that you posted about this because I actually am going to wash my hair with some olive oil in the near future to try and kick that dry skin in the butt. (yes, it's still REALLY bad). anyways, we can both be nice and slippery and oily together :) love you!

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  2. I read about this method years ago, and I have done it at a few points since then. The main reason I don't do it now is because I don't have enough time to do the whole "steaming" process. Ah, motherhood, you strip me of all such time luxuries... ;-) --Bethany

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