24 March 2013

Oil Cleansing Method

Boo!! The weekend is almost over! It's snowing heavily here in Springfield, IL and a snow emergency was just issued for the next 72 hours. Maybe I won't have to go to work tomorrow! :P Fortunately, I went to the store this morning before the snow got too bad :) If anyone is in the path of Winter Storm Virgil, stay safe and warm, and don't drive if you don't have to! Or even go out, for that matter!!

Today, I'm going to do something different.. this will be a somewhat long post and picture heavy! :) I've been hearing a lot about OCM, or the oil cleansing method (<---- definitely read this! It is very informative!), and decided to give it a try! In my teen years and early 20s, I never really had issues with my skin. I could fall asleep with makeup still on and my skin was perfect! Two kids and maybe 10 years later (I'm 30!), my skin just went crazy! I have tried everything available on the market, except Proactiv and prescription strength treatments. NOTHING helps. I still get pimples here and there, but the biggest thing is blackheads and whiteheads. No matter what I use, nothing gets rid of them. My pores are so clogged with icky, they look huge! From what I've been reading, when you wash your face with cleanser, it strips away all of the oil on your face and essentially dries it out. Then your skin overcompensates and produces more oil, which clog your pores, entrapping everything in your pores, i.e. makeup, bacteria, dead skin cells. Doing this twice a day, every day, will wreak havoc on your skin.

I'm not going to go in depth with the OCM, especially if you read the article I linked to. I'm just going to document my experiences with the OCM and blog about them :) I have no qualms about posting pictures of my not-so-perfect skin sans makeup on here! :)

So on we go! We need two ingredients, castor oil and olive/sunflower oil, and something to store our mixture in! I bought my castor oil from Walmart.. you can get it in the laxative aisle. It was about $3 for a 177ml bottle. I also got sunflower oil, which you can find in the aisle with the rest of the cooking oils. It was also around $3. Take a look at those prices.. Around $6 for this oil cleanser. That's about how much it costs to buy a facial cleanser from the store, unless you use Clinique or Lush or whatever. (You're not freaking out yet, are you? Trust me! You can put oil on your face! :) ) 


To store my mixture, I just cleaned out an empty Garnier container. You can use whatever you want, just make sure it is clean!


And let's roll!! The first few pictures are with makeup on.. Ignore the pajamas! o.O (Mother's Day gift :P)


I don't know if you can tell, but I have some redness in my cheeks from skin irritation and blemishes.





Now here is day 2! These pictures were taken earlier today after doing another round of OCM last night before I went to bed :) Also, these were taken sans makeup :)




So far, I'm loving the OCM! :) My face feels cleaner, it's not dry and tight after "washing" it :) If there is any dryness, I take a little bit of the oil mixture and dab it on the dry spots. In the morning, I just use warm water on my face!

Have you tried the OCM? How has it worked out for you?

2 comments :

  1. I've never tried doing this myself. I don't have huge problems with my skin, just a dry spot here or there. B/ut my biggest problem area with pimples has always been my forehead.. and then I discovered my hair/bangs were the problem. If I would go a day longer than usual before washing my hair, or just got in a hurry and didn't rinse conditioner out properly, my forehead would break out where my bands sat against it.

    Then I stopped using shampoo/conditioner, i use baking soda and vinegar instead now. (Google going no poo if interested) And if I use shampoo or conditioner even once now, i'll get pimples again around my forehead, chin, and nose area. Might be something to try and see if it changes anything for you as well!

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  2. I have very dry skin. Dry to the point that it itches and flakes. My forehead is the worst of all. I started OCM (with avocado oil and castor, 9:1) 3 weeks ago and noticed an improvement immediately. I went home over spring break and my skin dried a little while there, even with OCM--I don't think my skin liked the hard water of south Texas. It got back to normal when we returned. I've been cleaning and getting ready for Passover and was so tired, I didn't do my OCM for two nights and paid for it--the peeling and itching returned after a day and a half. That taught me! I have to stick with it--it really makes a huge difference for my very dry skin.

    I have scalp issues, too, and plan to start the "no poo" method Katherine mentioned for my head soon.

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