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The Oil Cleansing Method for the Skin
The oil cleansing method is a method that can be used to clean the face. It effectively unclogs pores by dissolving oil, dirt and other debris that may be in the skin.
Most people are skeptical about this method wondering why and how it even works when we don't want oil on our faces in the first place. Is seems as though oil is what caused the break outs!
But oil alone will not cause blemishes. It is a combination of dead skin, hormones in the body, dirt, and bacteria.
Our skin needs oil! When we use harsh detergents and soaps to clean our faces, our bodies will over compensate and produce more. In my case, my face became very dry and my nose became very oily.
So...What do I do?
In my cleansing method, I use castor oil and olive oil.
What you want to do with the oil cleansing method is steam your face. Take a towel and run it under hot water. Make sure the water is as hot as you can stand. It doesn’t need to be scalding hot. Allow the towel to sit on your face until it becomes cool. The steam from the towel will open up your pores, soften up any dead skin, and allow the oil to penetrate deep into your pores.
After you steam your face, apply a quarter size amount of oil to your face. Once the oil is on your face, steam your face again with the hot towel, and allow the towel to sit on your face until it becomes cool. You can do this process as many times as you feel is necessary. I like to do it twice.
Once you have done that, take the towel and wipe the oil off of your face. The oil, plus the steam, should have removed dead skin and any other debris that was on the face. Your face should feel soft and moisturized.
Ice!
Last I like to take an ice cube and rub it all over my face. This helps to seal the pores shut to avoid getting an oily face later on during the day. After I rub with ice, I’ll take a small drop of oil and rub it all over my face for extra moisture.
Scrub Washes
For me, because I have such dry skin, I have a huge issue with dead skin. The oil alone is not enough to get rid of dead skin. For others it may be.
What I like to do is, use the St. Ives Apricot Scrub to exfoliate my skin. I then use the method described above to steam and cleanse my face with the oil. This is very effective for me. Each time I do this my skin is soft and moisturized.
I will exfoliate my face twice a week.
Let’s talk about the ingredients!
Castor oil
Castor oil is the main ingredient because it cleanses the face. It also has anti-inflammatory properties and healing properties. Castor oil is the most important but it needs to be used in small quantities. A lot of castor oil will leave the face dry.
Castor oil makes up 10% of my oil mixture because I have dry skin already. The rest is olive oil.
Carrier Oil
A carrier oil, is an oil that carries essential oils into the skin. They are used to dilute the essential oils because of their potency.
Vegetable oils are usually carrier oils, such as:
- Sweet almond oil
- Grape seed oil
- Avocado oil
- Olive oil
- Sesame oil
- Evening primrose
- Canola (Rapeseed)
- Sunflower oil
- Jojoba oil
- Emu oil
Castor oil is even a carrier oil, but it needs to be diluted with a more moisturizing oil because of its drying qualities.
As I stated before, I like to use olive oil. It is moisturizing and readily available for me because I use it in my hair and on my body. Olive oil is an option but there are other oils that can be used as well, like the ones listed above. Some people also like to use Sunflower seed oil, and grapeseed oil. You can experiment and see what works best for you.
Olive Oil
Like I stated above, castor oil is so thick and strong that it needs to be diluted with a carrier oil. The carrier oil will help thin out the castor oil but it will moisturize the skin and help the castor oil sink deeper into the skin.
There certain ratios of castor oil and the carrier oil that work best for different skin types. I use 10% castor oil to 90% olive oil because I have dry skin. Some people may need 30% castor oil or 20%. It just depends on what your skin likes.
Just remember that castor oil can be very drying.
Take it easy...=)
This method does not need to be done every day. Every other day or every two days should be fine. You don’t want to overdo this.
I hope this was helpful and thanks for reading!
KySmith =)
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