Wednesday, January 30, 2013
I
recently discovered a facial cleanser that melts away impurities,
moisturizes, removes dirt and makeup, and leaves me with a healthy,
youthful glow. It's called extra-virgin organic olive oil.
No,
I'm not kidding.
Like
many people, I've gone through countless beauty products over the
years in search of the one that would make my skin radiant and movie
star flawless. This has led to nothing but disappointment and a lot
of money wasted. In fact, most of the facial cleansers I purchased
from the drug store actually made my skin worse than when I started!
Anything
marketed as an anti-breakout cleanser makes my skin so dry it feels
like it might crack from smiling, whereas the so-called
'moisturizing' cleansers are usually so full of perfume they give me
an instant headache and leave me feeling itchy and irritated.
So
this year I'm making it my mission to convert to as many natural
hygiene and beauty products as possible, starting with my facial
cleanser.
Oil.
Friend of Foe?
People
who suffer from acne are often reluctant to put anything on their
face that includes oil. But according to TheOilCleansingMethod.com,
acne is largely attributable to hormones, bacteria and dead skin
cells. You'll notice that oil is nowhere to be found in this list.
That's because our skin actually needs oil to be healthy, otherwise
it wouldn't produce it.
The
problem with mainstream cleansers is that they remove the oil from
our skin which then forces the largest organ in our body to repair
itself by producing more oil, which it needs. Did I mention that our
skin needs oil? Oil is our friend.
The
other thing to remember is that oil dissolves oil, which is key to
why the oil cleansing method works so well. Essentially, the
oil used to cleanse your skin will dissolve the oil that may be
trapping dirt, bacteria, or dead skin cells deep within your pores.
What You'll Need.
In my research I've come across many
different ways of using the oil cleansing method. Some folks
recommend castor oil, others use olive oil, and some use a blend of
different ingredients. The recipe I'm using includes:
- 2 ounces of organic extra-virgin olive oil (60 grams),
- one ampule of pure vitamin E, and
- one single drop of tea tree oil to help counter breakouts (you can replace this with chamomile oil if you're not prone to acne).
Simply mix these three ingredients together in a clean pump bottle, give it a good shake and you're ready to go.
The Method.
Once you have your concoction put
together, the rest is really simple.
- Massage your face with enough of the mixture to form about the size of quarter in your palm.
- Do this for about a minute until your entire face and under-chin area is completely saturated, making sure to pay special attention to any problem areas (do not be afraid to use the oil on breakouts).
- Next, wet a clean wash cloth with hot (not scalding) water and place it over your face for about a minute to steam open your pores.
- Finally, wet your wash cloth again with hot water and use it to gently wipe away the excess oil, making sure not to scrub.
If your skin feels dry afterwards you
can either massage a tiny bit of olive oil into your face, or if you
have a natural moisturizer that's free of parabens, fragrances, etc.
then you can use that. I clean my face with this oil mixture every
night before bed and in the morning I simply splash some warm water
on my face while I'm in the shower.
What You Can Expect.
I've been doing this for about two
weeks and I'm loving the results. I'm not going to lie and say that I
wake up every morning looking picture perfect and ready for closeup,
but my skin tone is noticeably more even, softer and smoother,
and I've had less breakouts. I also attribute part of this to my new
lemon water regimen, which you can read about here.
It's possible that your skin may go
through an adjustment phase within the first few days by producing more oil than usual but this shouldn't take
long to balance out. The new oil is actually the result of your pores
being clean and clear of blockages, which is a good thing
(TheOilCleansingMethod.com).
Bear in mind that I'm not a dermatologist so I can't
guarantee that this will work for everyone. But there are tons of blog posts out there made by people like me who have seen great results using the oil cleansing method. If you're unsure in any way though you should speak to a professional.
If you have any success stories with
oil cleansing I'd love to hear about them. Perhaps you've tried oil
cleansing with castor oil or some other combination. What were the
results?
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