Saturday, April 12, 2014

My Start with the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM)



Let's talk skincare for a minute. This is definitely not something I've ever talked about on the blog before, which is strange because it's a huge part of my life. I've never had particularly great skin. It's always been sallow and pale, plagued with dark circles under my eyes. And spots? Oh yeah, I've got those. Photos of me as a toddler show me with giant swollen spots on my face, and puberty was absolutely no cake walk. Painful cystic acne took over my cheeks, as well as bad acne on my chin and forehead. It all cleared up around the time I turned 17 - though even three years later, I still have scarring from it - but even now I still get break outs with regularity. My nose is speckled with stubborn blackheads which I've long ago accepted as a permanent thing. I always get one very painful spot around the time of my period, and it isn't uncommon to have a new spot pop up every few days. It's not nearly as bad as the painful acne I used to have, but I still yearn for beautiful, spot-free skin. Point is: my skin definitely falls under the label of "problematic", and I've definitely tried every fancy acne blasting product on the market to no avail.

When I was 17, I began integrating natural products into my skincare regime, which I credit as the reason my acne cleared up. I began using rosewater toner after cleansing and put tea tree oil on all of my spots. In just a matter of days, I saw drastic improvements, and the best part was that my skin never became immune to the products, meaning my skin stayed clear even when I used the same products for years after. However, I still want to improve my skin. Those stubborn black heads are still going strong, and, like I said, I still break out with regularity. My skin has improved in using Lush face cleansers (their Christmas face wash, Buche de Noel, is my saviour), but nothing has beaten black heads. I had heard a bit about the oil cleansing method (OCM) and saw some comments (on Pinterest, so, you know, a reliable source) about OCM helping with black heads and under eye circles.



I decided to try the Oil Cleansing Method. I made the switch in mid-February after doing very minimal research about the OCM (first big mistake). I made a mixture of Castor Oil, Olive Oil (second big mistake), and Tea Tree Oil and began cleansing my face with it twice a day (third big mistake).



At first, I saw a definite improvement. My skin was soft and supple. The fine lines under my eyes disappeared and my T-Zone wasn't oily by mid-day. I didn't break out for several days. I raved about it to everyone. And then, after about a week and a half, the acne came back. Acne that I hadn't had for three years. However, I continued using the OCM, knowing that sometimes it takes a few weeks for skin to adjust to change. After a month of using the OCM, only to have my skin get drastically worse and painful, I decided to hop online and do some more research about it. When you Google "Oil Cleansing Method", one of the first links to pop up is an article at Crunchy Betty. Right away, I noticed that, in her list of good cleansing oils, olive oil had been crossed off. When I saw this, I scrunched up my nose and thought, "Well, oh shit..." And then, at the bottom of the article, a glaring link points you to an article about why you should not use olive oil! That night, I washed my face with Lush's Angels on Bare Skin and haven't let my oil mixture touch my face since.



However, just because olive oil didn't do good things for my skin, doesn't mean that the OCM is the wrong thing for me. I did some more research about other oils to use in the OCM, and found a helpful article at Minimalist Beauty detailing how the amount of linoleic and oleic acids in an oil is key to understanding which oils will work best for you. Olive oil is extremely high in oleic acid, an acid that acne-prone skin's sebum is composed of (meaning that putting more oleic acid on your face is very bad). From this research, I bought some new oils (Tamanu, Grapeseed, and Sunflower) from Mountain Rose Herbs. Tamanu and sunflower oils are higher in oleic acid (but still more balanced than olive oil) while grapeseed and castor oils are higher in linoleic acid (the good stuff that my skin needs more of).

Tonight I am mixing up a mixture using my new oils with plans to use this cleansing method only every other day, rather than twice a day. I'm usually a "go big or go home" type of person, but I think the OCM is something I should have eased into more. Oops! My skin suffered for it, but hopefully my research will pay off and I'll concoct a more suited potion. Have you tried the oil cleansing method or other natural skin care regimes? What was your experience with it?

8 comments:

  1. That's exactly what I was reading about for the past week. How strange. I need to get hold of some castor oil and I have the tea tree but I need 1 more oil to complete it, got to research that. Let us know how it goes because I'm interesting in starting it. The recommendation I read was for 3 times a week treatment

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    1. The oil cleansing method has definitely been on my radar for a year or so now, but I never bothered to research it much! I never found a recommendation of how many times a week/day to use it, so I just completely replaced my cleanser with it - bad idea! Check out the Minimalist Beauty article if you're looking for another oil to use.

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  2. This was really helpful information. I've been doing the OCM for about two months and have been disappointed with the number of breakouts I still have. I had read the Crunchy Betty article (which is what started me on the method), but it was the article from Minimalist Beauty you shared that shed light on the real issue. I've been using jojoba oil, but it looks like I should switch to grapeseed or something similar with a high linoleic acid content. I wasn't ready to abandon the method because all my other changes to natural health care have been so successful for me. BTW, lavender essential oil has been a great soother for my irritated skin, in case you'd like to try.

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    1. Exactly, natural care has always yielded the best results for me, so I'm not ready to give up! I'll be updating in a month or two with my progress using grapeseed oil, so be sure to check back - and if you make changes yourself, let me know how it results!

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  3. I had the exact same thing happen to me about a year ago. I've had cystic acne (and still do) for almost a whole decade now and I was so excited about the OCM that I felt like I coiuld actually will it to work. I gave it a good four month trial, because like you I started to see worse and worse acne that I hadn't had for years with it. I just kept telling myself "This is a miracle method, it will work if I keep up with it". But it absolutely didn't and I was seriously almost broken hearted about it. This is the first that I've read that you shouldn't use olive oil, and I'm so glad you brought it up. I was using a mix of EVOO and grapeseed oil, but I'm willing to ease into it again very slowly with the right oils. Please please let me know how this works out for you! Being a 23 year old with the same skin that I had at 14 really freaking sucks. I totally feel you girl. Good luck!

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    1. Cystic acne is absolutely the worst! It's so painful and it seems like it'll never end because right when one bump heals, you can already feel another one forming deep in your skin. As far as the OCM goes, I feel like you have to dig a bit to find the anti-olive oil stuff (probably because most people who tried olive oil & found it didn't work for them just gave up instead of trying more options). Check out the Minimalist Beauty article I linked to and toss out your olive oil mixture! Also, if you're looking for natural skin care options, have you checked out Lush? Their cleansers, especially ones like Angels on Bare Skin, calmed my skin down to wonderfully. It was so much less inflamed and got my cystic acne in check. And even after my disastrous beginning with the OCM, my skin is back to how it was before, thanks to Angels on Bare Skin. Best of luck to you and check back to the blog in a month or two, because I'll be sharing my updates on my new OCM mixture (:

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  4. My heart skipped when you mentioned Lush. My skin is 10 times better than it was when I started working there. I love AOBS but Ultrabland (their oil-based cleanser) and Gorgeous Moisturizer has been my saviour! Ultrabland did wonders for my skin and I love the way it feels. Im excited about your cleansers too though. You'll have to let me know how your new Oil-based formula works for your face! (and tell LUSH that Buche de Noel should be year-round. They brought back let the good times roll as a permanent stay, so you never know!) -Kari

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    1. Hey Kari! I've thought about applying for a job at Lush so that I can try more of their products! I love their cleansers, and I've had great luck with their moisturizers as well, but the prices skyrocketed! I'm obviously still using AOBS as I start the oil cleansing method, but Buche de Noel has definitely been the best Lush cleanser for my skin. I wrote a review for it online pleading them to have it year round, because when I bought it a few months ago, one of the girls in the store suggested I do that, citing Let the Good Times Roll. We'll see how the OCM goes, but I might have to go back to a full-line of Lush skincare!

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