Skin Nurturing, Chemical-Free Facial Cleanser

For the past year, I’ve been cleansing my face with the most wonderful, gentle, soap-free, chemical-free cleanser. It’s something I mix together in my own kitchen in about 30 seconds. And it’s very inexpensive! Would you like to know what it is?

It’s oil.

Oh, I know what you’re thinking… washing one’s face in oil is quite possibly the craziest thing ever. But really, it’s not! It’s called the Oil Cleansing Method, and since I’ve been using it, my skin is the best it’s ever been.  I’ve tried all kind of cleansers to deal with my sensitive skin, which is prone to all sorts of irritation, blotchiness and other unsightly things, and nothing has worked as well as this.

There is A LOT of information online about this method and why it works.  Here is a good place to start, if you really want the how and why of it all. http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/

Here is how I mix my oil, and how I cleanse my face:

I use 1 part castor oil and 3 parts olive oil, mixed into a small squeeze bottle.  If your skin is very dry, you may want to use less castor oil. If it’s very oily, you might need a bit more.

To use, I squirt a little bit of the oil into my hands (make sure your hands are clean) and rub my hands together. Next, I massage the oil into my face and neck. If you happen to wear makeup, you will not need a separate make up remover. I only massage for between 10 and 30 seconds or so, because I’m lazy, but some sites recommend that you massage for a full minute or more. I never have, and it’s worked just fine. Next, wet a clean washcloth with really hot water (not so hot it burns, but nice and steamy) place it over your face for a few seconds, then wipe off all the oil, rinsing the cloth as needed. I do this part in the shower, usually.  That’s it! Your skin will feel clean and fresh, but never dry or tight. I use this method in the evenings, and then in the mornings I just wash my face with plain water.  I no longer use a nighttime moisturizer on my face, because I don’t need to since switching to the OCM. I do still use a moisturizer with sunscreen every morning, for sun protection.

I have tried SO many different facial cleansers over the years. Aside from the fact that most of them are full of nasty chemicals, none of them have ever really made my skin happy. Give this method one week. You will never go back to regular cleansers!