Hello! It's been a while, but I have been holding on the posting mainly because I have been experimenting with a new method of cleansing my face. I've been using oil. Yeah, weird, right? This is how it all went down...
I was on The Knot a few weeks ago and got into a conversation about.... well I don't remember what, but one of the girls (J&K, *thanks, BTW*,) had mentioned that she does the oil cleansing method. Me, always looking for ways to improve my skin, asked what the heck she was talking about. She basically told me how she does it and where to look for more info. Google is a girl's best friend.
After quite a few searches, some hesitation, and finally sacking up to do it, I ordered what I felt would be best for my skin and went from there. Here's how it works:
Oil cleansing is done by using blend of oils (do some research like I did to determine what you should use for your skin type,) and massaging them into your dry, dirty face. This method does replace your cleanser. It's pretty important to know that, because if you try using both, you could really do a number on your face! Soooo don't.
Here's a step by step:
1. Mix your oils *I use about a teaspoon of Jojoba Oil with 4 drops of Castor Oil. This is because I have combo skin, and I am also playing it SUPER SAFE. Castor Oil can be really drying and can really give your skin a strong reaction, I've read people who have broken out a lot, or have had rough patches on their faces after using too much in their first week . *
2. Take oil mixture and massage it into your face, using an upwards motion. I like to do it for at least 30 seconds. I also like to make sure that all of the makeup I am wearing has come off the first time around.
3. Take a hand towel, run some really warm water on it (as warm or hot as you can stand it,) wring it out, and put it on your face for again, about 30 secs.
4. Rub off excess oils.
5. If you have oil remaining on your skin, repeat steps 2-4.
You're done! In about 2-3 minutes, you have just given yourself what I like to think of as a mini facial.
I am doing this EVERY NIGHT. Why? Because I wear makeup everyday. I have to admit, I did use a sulfate free cleanser on the 5th day, in the morning, because of the fact that I didn't have my oils handy.
So, why does this work, you may ask...well, it's simple. You are basically replacing the bad oils on your skin with good, nourishing oils. Have you ever heard that when you dye your hair, and you get a spot on your skin, that you can use some of your unused hair dye to clean off the stain from hair dye on your skin? Yeah, same thing. "Like dissolves Like". Yeahhhh... I got all smart on ya'll... *Ok, you can thank my Fiances' knowledge of chemistry for that! ;)
So, there it is. I am one week in, and my skin feels AWESOME. My pores are shrinking, my skin is NOT oily, and it's soooo soft! I will say this, though; I am breaking out a bit. This is to be expected, since my skin is basically "purging" from all the bad oils that remain in my skin. Nothing too bad, but I feel like I should let you know so that you're not here thinking that I have perfected this technique, versus everyone else in Internet land that have had different experiences. Well, I hope I've covered everything. I am obviously open to questions you may have with my experience in doing this, but do your own research to get a good idea of what you are dealing with in doing this.
Til next time!
