Oil Face Wash -- the Update!

In June of 2010 I met a woman with the most radiant skin.  She said she always had trouble with acne (same here!) until she found the recipe for the oil cleansing method.

I know -- oil on your face?  Oil on an already oily face?  I was really hesitant, but since nothing else had ever worked (dermatologists, prescriptions, Proactive...all would work for a month or two, then I would have issues again), I thought I should give it a try.  Here is my first post on it with lots of links.

More people have asked me about the oil cleansing method as more and more is coming out about the harmful additives in commercial beauty products (Skin Deep resource page, news areticle on the call for recall on Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo!).  Plus, since I started using the oil cleansing method, I have seen articles in Elle, Real Simple, and even Martha Stewart Living.  It's the new thing people!

Here is the recipe I use and love:

•  Dropper bottle from health food store
• 1 part castor oil (if you have oilier skin, you would want to use more)
• 3 parts sunflower oil (high in vitamin E. I usually use a mix of grapeseed oil and sunflower oil)
• 1/2 part of neroli oil (neroli is fantastic for your skin as it helps regenerate skin cells, reduce scarring, etc)
• About 10 of drops of sweet orange essential oil (reduces redness and smells great!)

To use the wash, wet your face and then massage a small amount of oil (about the size of a nickel) into your face for about one minute.  Focus on trouble areas, like the t zone, and just think about massaging all the dirt away.  Then, wet a washcloth with as hot of water as you can stand and hold the washcloth to your face.  I focus on an area at a time and hold it there till the cloth cools.  You are blotting, not wiping.  Except I do wipe off my eye makeup.  (*Note: I use an old washcloth for this as the mascara never really comes out, but it is so nice to wash your face and get all the makeup off at the same time!)  When you are done, your face will be slightly oily (you'll want to do this at night before bed), but when you wake up you will be dewy fresh!  Just rinse your face quickly with water and you are ready for the day!  You may break out more the first week, but keep going!  Once all the impurities are rinsed out, you will be so happy with the results!

Check out the Oil Clensing Method website for lots more info and recipes to tweak to your specific face type.