The Oil Cleansing Method: It Really Works!

Oil Cleansing Method

I have always had acne.

I mean, I suppose there was a short time as a child that I was blemish free, but I also remember being the first kid in my grade to sport a pimple.

My acne in high school was painful. My parents wouldn’t take me to a dermatologist, so I just tried over the counter product after over the counter product. Nothing worked!

Finally, once I left my teens, my acne did die down a bit. No longer did I deal with painful cystic acne, but I still was far from clear skinned!

I had the best skin of my life when I was pregnant with my son. I remember feeling so beautiful! For the first time since that first pimple popped up, I felt confident leaving the house makeup free.

Unfortunately that was short lived.

Having kids taught me a lot about being confident in the skin I’m in, so thankfully I wasn’t crippled any longer by stepping out in public with bare skin.

I knew there had to be a way to conquer my bad skin though!

I heard about the Oil Cleansing Method several months back and thought it was ridiculous.

I have combination oily/dry skin so the idea of putting more oil onto my skin seemed incredibly counterproductive! Finally I’d had enough though and I decided to give it a try.

I found this website (The Oil Cleansing Method) that gave me the following options:

:: Oily Skin: Try a blend of 30% Castor Oil to 70% Sunflower Seed Oil
:: Balanced Skin: Try a blend of 20% Castor Oil to 80% Sunflower Seed Oil.
:: Dry Skin: Try a blend of 10% Castor Oil to 90% Sunflower Seed Oil

On that website, she states that you can also use Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (cold pressed) in place of the Sunflower Seed Oil, and that you might need to play with the percentages until you hit your sweet spot.

I ended up finding that a blend of 25% Castor Oil and 75% Olive Oil was perfect for my skin!

I don’t use the oil cleansing method daily because that dried my skin out a bit too much.

Instead I make a habit of doing the following routine every other night:

1. I have my oil blend in an airtight container in the bathroom. I pour a quarter size amount into my hand and start rubbing it in all over my face/neck in a circular motion. The oil takes off all of my makeup so no makeup remover is necessary. I do this for at least 3-5 minutes so I can be sure the oil has had time to really get into my pores.
2. Next I run the water until it’s very hot. I wet a washcloth and wring it out so it’s dampened by the hot water.
3. I place the hot washcloth on my face and let it stay on there until it starts to cool. Then I gently wipe away the oil. I usually repeat this at least one more time. Sometimes 2 more times.
4. Now that the oil is off my face, I follow up with a cotton ball and witch hazel.
5. Finally, I put on a good thick moisturizer. I’ve been using Olay Regenerist Night Recovery Moisturizing Treatment, which is a bit pricey but feels INCREDIBLE.
6. That’s it!

It’s a longer process than simply washing your face, but it feels good to pamper yourself a bit after a long day. In between oil cleanses, I  just use water to rinse or if I am wearing makeup I use a gentle cleanser like Cetaphil.

My skin looks so much better! I don’t have a good before picture because I avoided pictures like the plague when my skin was broken out and I wasn’t wearing makeup. Here’s a not so great picture of me now though. Skin still isn’t flawless, but it’s come a long way!

I would never have posted a no make up picture prior to the oil cleansing method (although I have to admit, I’m not feeling too super confident about it now either, LOL).

I love the oil cleansing method and I definitely think you should give it a try.

Have you tried the Oil Cleansing Method?