Check this out! "Oil Cleansing Method"!

[girlndocs]

This is freakin' amazing. 10 pages of people saying they love how it works. I'm very intrigued & plan on giving it a try. I like my oatmeal scrub but I worry about clogging the drains with it. Plus, who can resist something that might be *better*? :LOL

[amcal]

Wow! That's so fascinating. I'm going to try it too! Thanks for the link

[amcal]

I tried it - interesting. I don't think it really made a difference either way. I guess the purpose of it would be to not use chemical soaps on your face??? I make my own gentle, moisturizing soaps and it's a lot less work to just rub a bar of soap on your face in the shower. Not sure I'd do it regularly but it was a fun experiment

[MyOcean]

I just tried it w/Burts Bee's Apricot Oil and my skin doesn't feel greasy at all. Afterwards, I put a little oil around my eyes where the wrinkles are starting :

So far, I like

[KLK7]

As a member over there, I have been doing this awhile with great results.

[~*max*~]

I tried it too. And liked it alot. . (I just used Olive Oil however.) The oil actually seemed to heat up w/the facial massage & it felt really nice. I can see myself using this meathod at night to wash off makeup, but probably just continue w/a quick wash in the shower in the am.

[marilynmama]

Wow, I never thought about that but when they say "oil dissolves oil" that is such basic chemistry principle- "like dissolves like" and being the Bio/Chem major that I am I can't belive that is not more ovious to me!

I will have to give it a try

Marilyn

[Losgann]

I'm going to try this, thanks!

I've been a week and a half no poo, and now I'm thrilled I found this! I have always had horrible acne no matter what I do. I hope this will help.

Does anyone have any natural remedies for acne scars?

Thanks!!

Erica

[girlndocs]

I tried it - interesting. I don't think it really made a difference either way. I guess the purpose of it would be to not use chemical soaps on your face???

nak

you must have really healthy skin!

the purpose of it is to clean the skin w/o disturbing its natural ph or stripping its oils in any way, which even gentle soap does do. also, olive oil is chock full of antioxidants & apparently (i didn't know this before) castor or "palma christi" oil is used for all kinds of healing, cleansing, drawing qualities in many medicinal/healing traditions (ayurveda is one in particular).

also it seems to be a godsend for people with rosacea or acne, who flare up when their skin is irritated or dried out.

i've tried this for 2 nights & really am amazed at how velvety & clear my skin is. it's very dewy & almost translucent. dh is used to me trying new things & asking him what he thinks & usually he's like, yeah, sure, but last night he told me he really thinks my face looks different. i like to massage my face and all -- it's like a little spa visit!

anyone else feel that "drawing" sensation when they massage the oil? it feels to me like it does when i steam my face. i also have found comedones slipping out of their pores as i clean. ick! glad to see 'em go!

[amcal]

Originally Posted by girlndocs

you must have really healthy skin!

I don't really have healthy skin (breakouts and blackheads). Maybe I just didn't use the right combo of oils? I used 1/2 olive, 1/2 castor.

I did try it again and I found both times that my skin was a bit dry afterwards so I used a little touch of jojoba oil but I didn't care for the oily feel on my skin - made my forhead feel like an oil slick. The second time, I used my normal moisturizer because I feel like I need the SPF but I still got the oil slick feeling. I'm rinsing really well so I'm not sure if it's the oils I'm using or what???? I like the idea of this but since I make my own very mild soaps with no artificial ingredients, I'm thinking I might just stick with that. But, I'm not giving up yet - I'm going to try it for a couple more days and see how it goes.

[girlndocs]

Yeah, you have to rinse really well -- as I understand it your face shouldn't feel "oily" afterwards at all, let alone like an oil slick. After you're done massaging, the oil contains all the crap it loosened out of your pores & if you don't get it off your skin, you'll have one nasty breakout coming your way (I learned that by experience).

It helps me to steam 2 or 3 times with the cloth, rinsing the cloth really well in between each one in water as hot as my hands can stand. Then I do some more wiping, wiping, wiping especially in places like along my hairline, under my chin & alongside my nostrils. With all that wiping I make sure to use a super soft cloth! And be really liberal with the amount of oil you use in the first place.

I believe the author of the article said if you can't bring yourself to use very warm/hot water on your face, this method won't work for you. Cooler water just won't lift off the dirtied oil. I was really uneasy about using hot water on my face, but I can't argue with the results I'm getting

[amcal]

I'm going to keep trying but since I'm doing it in the shower, I'm pretty sure I'm getting all the oil off. I do use very hot water and wipe, wipe, wipe but it seems like an hour or so after the shower, I'm greasy. Are you using any type of moisturizer afterwards?

[girlndocs]

No, my skin's never felt dry or tight after cleansing with the oils. I think I read castor oil can be drying ... maybe change the ratio so it's lighter on the castor?

On second thought I *do* use a sunscreen on my face fairly often these days & it *does* make me feel real greasy ... wait, on third thought it's always done that. I can't say as it's more so since oil cleansing. I wash my face before bed, & put on sunscreen (obviously) in the morning. Do you shower in the night or morning?

[amcal]

I shower in the morning so what I've been doing is using the oil, rubbing in really good, getting in the hot shower with a wash cloth and steaming it on my face for a minute or two then wiping it off. Then I take my regular shower - washing hair and body but not my face. After the shower, my skin feels good but if I don't use a moisturizer within an hour or so, it feels dry so I use my daily sunscreen/moisturizer. Today was actually better, no oil slick but I'm not really noticing a difference in my skin. My nose blackheads are just as prominent as ever. I really want that feeling of the blackheads just popping out! gross, I know

[alexisyael]

I tried it after reading this thread and it was awful for me! No matter how hot I got the washcloth (and it was hurting my fingers hot) I couldn't wipe away all the oil... and I got an awfil breakout, too, on my chin

I was going to commit to it for a week, but I have a performance this weekend, so I went out and bought a cleanser from my HFS

Shoulda just kept with the water cleansing, like I'd been doing before...

Oh -- and today, it's so humid, my face and hair both feel like they're wet! My dh had to change shirts twice

ARGH!!!!!

(I will probably reattempt this experiment in the winter, when my skin gets drier).

[corrie43]

I have been halfheartedly doing it, like maybe every other day, but I like it. My skin hasn't changed at all, but it feels good while I'm doing it.
Corrie

[MaryLang]

I've just been using moisterizer to clean my face and then put almond oil on as part of my bed time routine. It works great!

[girlndocs]

I wish it worked as well for everybody as it's been working for me.

Maybe you could go to the link in the original post & ask the author why it's not working? She probably knows way more about it than I do. OTOH, maybe it's just a body-chemistry thing.

Hey Amcal, have you tried steaming your face *before* applying the oil? That oughta bring the little buggers out

[amcal]

Originally Posted by girlndocs

Hey Amcal, have you tried steaming your face *before* applying the oil? That oughta bring the little buggers out

I'm going to try that. It seems like this is making my blackheads so much worse! I could drive a truck through them now I'm not giving up yet but I'm close. I'll try steaming before my shower tomorrow and see how that goes.

[jadegirl553]

I just tried it tonight, 75% castor oil/25% EVOO ( I love to say that :LOL) and it's kind of nice. My skin feels tight, but to the touch it feels moisturized, but not oily. I just did it, tho, so we'll see how greasy I get overnight! I also would like to just see those blackheads popping out- so satisfying! I think it might work better in the shower in the morning.

But if it works, I'll have to get some softer cloths! My forehead feels a bit raw!

I guess that my reasoning is that the breakouts can't get any worse, they can only get better! Right?