Monday, April 26, 2010

Oil Cleansing Method (OCM)::::




I've been doing an experiment some months and I've been loving the results so far!

I have a very dear-to-my-heart friend, Mandi. Go check out her blog...you will learn cool crunchy hippy things.

Mandi is a kindred spirit. She also has glowing, radiant, beautiful skin- and striking green eyes (but that is besides the point...back to the skin).

Upon one of our many conversations- me learning and she enlightening me- I asked her what she "washed" her face with.

Much to my surprise, she told me about how she cleanses her face with oil. Gasp!

Instantly my brain thinks through how this would NOT work for me because I have oily acne-prone skin. I would be committing skin suicide if I put oil on my skin, right???

I had bought "oil-free" everything my whole entire life per the costly dermatologists requests.

There lies the problem.

For the majority of my life since I've been old enough to have pimples and bad skin (which most likely dates back to the ripe ole' age of 7.......not really, I tend to exagerate. It just seems that long.) I've struggled with skin issues.

I won't deny that a lot of my skin issues in the past have been hormonally related (PCOS), dietary related (the SAD diet), and an imbalance of good vs. bad bacteria in my stomach.

That whole statement above really irks me! What is the first thing a dermatologist prescribes for someone with acne?

Birth control and antibiotics??? Ding, ding, ding! That's right! And then they tell you to lay off the chocolate. Much to my surprise, chocolate was the least of my worries.

Well, I don't know that a dermo can technically "prescribe" birth control, but I know it was suggested that I use it to help with my acne and so I went to the "other" doctor to get on the pill- who highly recommended the pill for acne. Do you see the cycle?

Okay...I need to focus. I can't get into all of that right now because I don't want to bore you to tears with a reaction chain of all-things-wrong.

We're about solutions around here.

A large part of my problem has been what I've put on my skin on a daily basis.

From the www.oilcleansingmethod.com:

"The reasons we have so much trouble with mainstream skin care products are numerous, but two reasons, in particular, lead the pack. These products strip the oil out of our skin, leaving our largest organ trying to repair itself by replacing the oil stripped away. This leaves us in a cycle of being tight and dry followed by the inevitable oil slick. Each time we strip the oil away, our skin over-compensates for the lack of moisture by creating more oil. On top of the drying effects, these products are highly-scented. Fragrance is one of the top skin irritants and strangely enough, even the so-called "unscented" products usually contain fragrance. See for yourself and check the labels. Dry, irritated skin replaced by oily skin, inflamed and trapping debris."

After talking to Mandi and reading that paragraph above, I had a light-bulb moment. I love those!

I had no idea that taking care of my skin could really be this easy.

I'm not claiming that I have perfectly spotless skin, but during "a time" when my skin is usually the worst.....it looks pretty good I must say.

And on "normal" days, my skin glows like it never has and looks better than it has in years. I do attribute this to the oil since my eating habits have mostly been on track and I've changed my cosmetics over the years.

I really noticed the most improvement when I switched to the Oil Cleansing Method.

I have normally oily skin. When I'm done oil cleansing, my skin feels balanced and soft. Not squeaky clean and not overly oily.

I've noticed a big decrease in blackheads. I can't tell you how many times I've declared war on those suckers.

I cleanse my face with oil at night to wash off my make-up. In the morning when I wake up, I just rinse my face off with water as a good refresher.

Side note.....Another light-bulb moment for me was when I realized that I was washing my face every morning after only sleeping on a newly washed face before I went to bed. How dirty can your face get sleeping??? Not very I don't think.

I will never use soap on my face again. Never! And I will never spend another dime towards expensive cleansers, moisturizers, or toners claiming to be awesome. They are not awesome.

I noticed a HUGE drastic improvement of the "feel" of my skin in just a few days of doing this.

Here is a post on The Oil Cleansing Method website with recipes and information.

Here is a post on Mandi's blog with her great recipe.

I made some modifications for my facial oil based on my skin type. I do have oily skin naturally (my momma says I'll be thankful when I'm older) so I use a little more castor oil than normally balanced skin people should use.

Some people like to use Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) in place of the Sunflower Oil.

But, this is where I like to have a little fun.

The recipe on The Oil Cleansing Method website suggest only Castor Oil, and Sunflower Oil. I suppose you could do that. But, there isn't a whole lot of fun in that now is there?

So, like Mandi, I added Neroli and some essential oils for fragrance. Many many many essential oils are so great for the skin. At the top of the list is orange oil. Not only does it smell scrumptious, it does wonderful things to your skin.

The main thing is to keep it simple and do some experimentation on what works best for your skin.

Try and use medicinal or therapeutic grade (organic is possible) essential oils if you choose to add them.

Before you spend another dime on a bottle of "the next big thing", try going simple and back to basics of skin cleansing. I think we tend to over-complicate things in this world of ours.

Cleansing your skin can really be as simple as using two ingredients (or 4 in my case) and not a list of ingredients the length of your hand with a million words you've never heard of claiming to do things they were never intended to do in the first place.

If you give this a whirl or have used it, give me a shout out and let me know!

22 comments:

Rachel said...

Okay, Lynsey, I think I might just have to try this. I had been reading about it for a long time, and even considered doing this when Mandi posted about it (and after meeting her and seeing her fantastic skin, it made me want to try even more), but then I chickened out. Thanks for posting your story!

Brandi Tejeda said...

I have been doing this for about 8 7 months now. I also "no-poo" lol. I like to use coconut oil as a moisturizer. Smells sooooo yummy! I just use EVOO with the Castor oil. But I may look into other options when Im done with my current bottle.

mandi said...

girl-
you are too kind. making me blush over here.

lately i've only been using neroli mixed in jojoba. i've been really pleased with that. i don't even have to use the coconut oil moisturizer as much with this combo.

i'm with you. i love the mixing and trying new combos out- it's lots of fun to take matters into your own hands!

Cottage Dreamers said...

I've been doing that too! I started sometime last summer and have been really impressed with it! I've never heard of neroli though, I'll have to look into that. I also use raw coconut oil to prep my skin for makeup and when I feel anything wanting to breakout on my face. I'd say, 75% of the time or more, it stops anything serious. I have oily skin too but when I turned 30, it seems like the elasticity of my skin just started disappearing! Grrr. I love the oil cleansing though.
☺ Celeste

Megan said...

I am so going to have to try this. Like you, I have struggled with skin issues for years, years! I keep thinking it will get better when I turn another year older and that is just NOT happening.

I want to be that girl who can just throw some mascara on and be done. Instead I am the girl who goes through bottles and bottles of foundation and cleaners.

I am starting ASAP and will let you know when I start seeing results. I hope this works! (And I'm sure Brock does too so he can quit spending so much money on foundation, cleaners, and moisturizers!)

Grace said...

Great post. I have naturally oily skin too, and for years I tried all the oil-free stuff too. I got off of the oil-free stuff about 6 years ago, and my skin has been so much better since. I am pretty low maintenance with my skin-care now. I just wash it with whatever soap I have on hand and hydrate with baby lotion. I will put on some light powder if I'm leaving the house...sometimes...and that's it! It still gets a bit oily, but the good kind that makes me look all fresh and glowy...not like a grease-monkey! Haha!

Kayla said...

Hey sis!
I have been doing this for several months now and I LOVE IT....let me say that again I LOVE IT!!!!! .........I have never in my life gotten so many compliments on my skin. I have never had great skin either! It has been so nice to find something that works, and it is not full of yucky chemicals! I have been using 80% organic sunflower oil and 20% castor oil. I found that the more castor oil i used the dryer my skin became, as i am not too oily to begin with. I will say it took me a while to get used to this and a few weeks before i noticed dramatic results.
Kayla

Kirby said...

Girl! Why didn't you tell me about this last week when we were talking about cleaning your face with the Norwex rags? Either way, I'm so glad you posted! You are "my" Mandi...so keep soaking it all that knowledge up from her and I'll keep asking you! (By the way, disregard my dumb email from earlier about the ear oil...totally figured it out...I thought I was going to have to mix up some fancy concoction!)

I am going to try this, but I'm scared...

Kayla, I totally meant to tell you last week when I saw you at Lyns' that your skin looks so GREAT! GREAT!! Charlie and I have only been brushing with baking soda for the last few days. Surprisingly, I feel like it is working better as a disinfectant for morning breath than the "normal" toothpaste. I think you should guest post on Lynsey's blog when you finish reading the tooth book and give us a review from a dental hygienist's perspective.

Okay, that was a tangent, but I loved this post, Lyns! Keep 'em coming, girl! Keep 'em coming!

Carpio Family said...

ok, simple mom had on there about the oil method and even how to wash your hair w/o shampoo. such good things, i believe its on the simple organic tab on her site.

Jess said...

Okay, I'm totally going to have to try this. I'm so thankful Kyle sent me to read this. I was just talking to her this morning about trying something new out with my face. I have to say, since I cut out artificial sweetners, that has done WONDERS for my complexion, but I've still never had clear skin!

I've been looking into alternatives for shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, and other things, so PLEASE keep posting about new things you're trying or have already done as alternatives - I love soaking up wisdom from you ladies!

And I'll let you know how the oil cleansing goes...

the herzogs said...

Lynsey, I have been doing this for months now and I have LOVED it! I actually have to use a pretty low amount of castor oil because at first it totally dried my skin out! I am 7 1/2 months pregnant, and my skin looks WAY better than it did when I was pregnant with our first. I agree on the blackhead thing - so much better! And I do use a homemade face cream - just olive oil, coconut oil, beeswax, and water! I do the same as far as only cleansing at night. My skin feels so good and SO SOFT and is consistently way clearer than it ever used to be using a huge variety of products! I love how simple it is and how you don't have to go to the store when you run out of stuff! It is so easy and so worth it! I also used to buy into the whole 'oil free' thing because of breaking out - now I totally loooove oil! thanks for everything you post about! I have learned so much from you!

Erin

M'Lynn said...

this.is.awesome! i have horrible skin...we'll see!

I've enjoyed your blog the last few months!

melody said...

Hi Lyns,

Just wanted to let you know I tried this and I love it. My skin is just like yours from the sound of it and this is working very well for me in DRY New Mexico. I'm 10 weeks preggo and my ob told me last week to make sure and get an oil free cleanser for my acne and that nights I read your post on a whim...love the irony! Thanks! Miss you.

Rachel said...

I just mixed up my first little batch and will try it tonight. I have a question (a few, but this is the one I remember right now). I understand about doing the oil cleansing only at night and in the morning just washing with water, but what about after you workout? I workout and sweat a ton almost every morning--either running outside or working out indoors. What would you recommend to use after a workout?

Also, what about sunscreen? My current moisturizer has sunscreen in it and since I spend a couple hours outside most days, I am curious about your thoughts on this. Preventing wrinkles in the first place is important, too, according to my mom. :)

Unknown said...

LOVE LOVE LOVE your site, family, blogs, comments...I've been laughing my suburban livin' toosh off over here.

Just so you know, this OCM works for dry skin too. BUT...drum roll puhleez....did you know that there is a product (probably more than one but this is the one I use) that doesn't strip your HAIR in much the same way you describe the soap stripping your skin? Why do we strip our hair of all the natural oil with sodium laurel sulfate (which by the way is the same thing in cleaning products like soffscrub and ajax) and then put un-natural conditioner back in it?

That was my DUH moment. I use "Wen Hair Care"...love it. One product - no shampoo-then-conditioner ever again. No suds. GREAT shiny hair. and no I don' work for this company - but they sure should give me a referral check….not holding my breath though.

www.wenhaircare.com. Like I said, I'm SURE there are a million more, but this is the one I use. And you can tell them that you DO NOT want to be on a monthly program right off the bat and their customer service is terrific. I've been very pleased.

Keep the faith, family and farm living, woman! LOVIN’ it from Cypress, TX.

Teri

Unknown said...

Should have clarified...what you're looking for is a product for hair that does NOT have sodium laurel sulfate..the sudsy stuff. What I put on my hair to clean it, feels just like a really thick conditioner...scrub it in..no suds..leave on about 3-5 minutes (while you shave)...rinse off...put on about 2 pumps for leave in conditioner. You'll love it. The trick is..you canNOT use too much...you CAN use too little.

Kelly said...

yay! i used to work for a skincare comp that sold a product that was basically pure oil... you need oil to draw out the impurities.. it blew my mind. love it.

love you!

kuliejellogg said...

Thanks for posting about this. I read about it about 1 year ago but was afraid to try it. Now with your "testimony," I tried it, and I really like it! My husband even commented about how good my skin looked just a week after I started doing this. (That is a BIG deal.)

I've been meaning to thank you for the post for some time but kept forgetting until this morning when I read the following verses in Psalm 104:

14 He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth:
15 wine that gladdens the heart of man, OIL TO MAKE HIS FACE SHINE, and bread that sustains his heart.

God is very smart.

P.S. You don't know me. I'm just a girl who came across your blog after finding it on my friend's blog. I'm pretty sure my friend doesn't know you either, so I think that makes me a blog-stalker twice removed?

Unknown said...

I really would like to know about the purging period that seems to follow. I tried OCM for about two months, but the purging was really bad. I really, really want to go back to it.
My purging was a massive break out of cystic acne. My blend is about 30% castor oil, 70% evoo (i have dry skin)...
Please let me know as soon as you can. I'm really lost!

HomemadeMother said...

I've been "washing" my face with oil for about 6 months and I LOVE it!! I had problem-prone skin for years, and as soon as I stopped using the conventional products and started using a combination of extra virgin olive, castor and jojoba oils my skin has never looked better!

Here's my daily facial routine:
http://www.homemademothering.com/2010/02/facial-every-day.html

Debbie said...

I stumbled here from Haiti :) I've been reading up on castor oil and have been using it for about 2 months. I love it! I'm also getting ready to try coconut oil...eating and slathering it on my skin. Thank you for the motivation!

archana said...

i have facial hairs on my face, can i use castor oil , as its benifits to promote hair grwth while dng regular OCM METHOD