New Experiment: Oil Face Wash

Sounds crazy, right?  I couldn’t agree more.  And never would have thought to wash my face with oils.  I mean…isn’t that what we are washing our face to get rid of?  And what about acne?  Eeeek!  But I recently read this article by Denise Prichard, a health and nutrition writer, that was featured on the site MindBodyGreen.

Denise was a previous acne sufferer and was tired of all the chemical products ruining her skin and not really clearing up her acne. 

She finally tried this “Oil Cleansing Method” which I will share with you.  And because I love to experiment for the sake of my blog (still drinking warm lemon water every single morning since this post), I have decided to give this a try.  I want clear, supple, glowing skin for a fraction of the cost of expensive cleansers too!

The ingredients are olive oil and castor oil.  And you mix them 50/50 according to Denise. 

Castor oil is not like other oils and it actually seeps into your pores and pulls out the dirt and bad oils.  And olive oil acts as a natural, gentle moisturizer to smooth the skin.  I found castor oil in the “digestive issue” aisle of my local grocery store but I assume health food stores may carry it as well.  A little bottle was about $2.70.

I mixed the two ingredients 50/50 in a travel bottle I purchased for .99 cents.

Now for the treatment:  Twice a day, put a quarter size amount of the mixture in your hand and slather it all over your face.  No need to use makeup remover.  These oils act as a GREAT makeup remover.  Keep rubbing in the oils for 1 minute.  Then dunk a washcloth in warm water and hold it to your face for 30 seconds.  This allows the steam to work the oils into your skin.  After the steaming, use the washcloth to wipe off the oils from your face.  They come right off and don’t feel oily at all at this point!

I have now tried it for several days before bed and in the morning.  I really like how it feels and the acne along my jawline (sorry for TMI) seems to be going down.

Denise claims she doesn’t even need a moisturizer.  I am not sure I feel the same.  But she may have younger skin than mine.  I followed this procedure with moisturizer morning and night.  I also read in the comments on her original post that it may make sense for some people to use LESS of the castor oil as it may dry out the skin too much.  I will stick with the 50/50 mixture for a week.  If my skin feels too dry, I will change it to 40/60 castor/olive oils or possibly even 25/75, respectively.

I am trying to talk a particular person (you know who you are!) who has very acne-prone skin into trying this so I can provide her opinion as well.  I’ll keep working on her.

What do you think of this?  I would love to hear from you!

UPDATE:  As a follow up to the Oil Face Cleansing, I am in love with my skin now.  I can’t stop wanting to touch my face.  It feels luxuriously smooth.  I had a few breakouts but they were “normal” so I don’t feel like the oil cleansing was the cause.  I just questioned if the oil cleansing was as good at preventing breakouts as other cleansers.  After a month, I added 10 drops of tea tree oil to my remaining oil mixture which was 1.5 oz. of 50% castor oil/50% olive oil – and this seems to have done the trick.  I didn’t know how much to add so I’ll keep watching for breakouts and add more if needed.  But so far….no acne!

Two of my coworkers have also been following this regimen and are very pleased with the results.  One coworker has acne-prone skin.  She says her experience is similar to mine in that she doesn’t have fewer breakouts but her skin heals in no time at all and the added softness is definitely worth continuing to use the oil wash twice a day.  My other coworker has combination skin and she says she hasn’t broken out even once since starting the oil cleanse.  She previously had little bumps on her cheeks that are completely gone now and she has loved the silky feel of her skin.  She also commented that before using the oil method, she would remove her makeup and follow it with toner on a cotton ball.  Her cotton ball would pick up a lot of leftover dirt and makeup.  Now after the oil cleansing, she still uses her toner and her cotton ball stays white!

As for me,