Oil Cleansing Method - Week 2 Update!

Okay...so I'm very sad to have to write this...but my face took a serious turn for the WORST last week! I followed my regular routine last Thursday and Friday night and then when I woke up on Saturday, I had tons of painful red bumps under my mouth, on my chin and along my jawline.

I was afraid I had put too much lavender and/or geranium oils in my mixture so on Saturday night I used just the Castor Oil and Grapeseed Oil to wash. When I woke up Sunday morning, I had tons of whiteheads and I mean TONS! Like embarrassing amounts of little white bumps mostly on my chin and under my mouth but a few on my cheeks and I still had the painful red bumps under my mouth and on my jawline. AHHH!!!!!! As many years as I have been breaking out, my face has NEVER EVER looked like this.

So I went online and searched around to find out if anyone else was having this problem. The only thing I could find was that my skin was possibly "purging". Apparently this is when everything starts coming out of your skin and you break out at first and then it clears up later. I want so so bad to give up but I just can't do it. I truly believe in this natural process and I know it is helping because I can see where it has cleaned out my pores!! I won't give up just yet. See, I feel like I'm a special case since my face was SO unbelievably clogged and I think it's going to take a lot to get it cleared up.

I kept with the plain Castor and Grapeseed oil mixture and on Monday morning I still had massive amounts of white heads but some of the red bumps were clearing up. Tuesday morning...still more whiteheads...less red bumps.

Tuesday night I tried Castor Oil with Jojoba Oil instead of the Grapeseed. I am still getting tons of hard white balls coming out of my pores everytime I wash!! As bad as my skin looks right now, it still makes me feel good to know that I'm cleaning it out. Wednesday morning I had no whiteheads but still the red bumps. Not as many painful ones and my face looks like it's starting to clear up now. Whew!!! I don't know how much longer I could have gone in public looking like that! LOL I don't know that it's from the change in oil at all but I am going to stick with the Jojoba Oil for a while to see.



Thursday morning (this morning), I woke up to a few whiteheads but the red bumps are almost completely gone. The ones that I do have left have gotten smaller and are drying out. I used the Jojoba Oil again last night and I actually think I like it a lot better than the Grapeseed. It's not as heavy and doesn't seem to leave nearly as much residue. It gives me more friction while I'm rubbing and my face is never oily the next day!






I feel like maybe this purging thing will clear up after another week and then I will be clearer than ever!! I've got my fingers crossed anyway and of course I will keep y'all updated!! I feel like if I don't keep it up and see what happens later, not only will I never know what could have been...but neither will y'all!!

A couple of y'all have told me that you are doing the OCM now too and so far you all seem to love it! I'm so excited that it's working for everyone!! Has anyone else broken out from it?

Oil Cleansing Method Update!!

Okay girls!! I have GOOD news!! So far the oil cleansing method has been AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! I only did it 4 nights out of the 7 because Saturday, Sunday and Monday night just didn't work out for me. LOL I'll list my exact procedures for the last week and the outcomes. It's going to be long but I promise I will make next week more regular so I can just tell you how my face looks rather than giving you all of this procedure stuff.

I went to the health food store and picked up my oils and a little plastic bottle to store my mixture. I chose castor oil, grapeseed oil, geranium oil and lavender oil. These are NOT cheap but they are natural oils and I feel good about using them on my face. Geranium oil is known to balance sebum and stimulate the lymph to clear out toxins. Lavender oil also helps to balance sebum, is antibacterial and helps reduce scarring. Here are the measurements I used for this first batch that should last me a good while unless I feel I need to change it.

1 1/2 ounces of Castor Oil

4 1/2 ounces of Grapeseed Oil

15 drops of Geranium Oil

20 drops of Lavender Oil

Thursday July 8th -

Morning: Washed my face with Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash

Night: (Wash Procedure: Shook up the bottle of oils to make sure they were completely mixed, squeezed out a quarter size in palm and rubbed hands together to warm up the oil then applied to dry face.) I had applied some concealer that morning. I rubbed gently in circles for 7 minutes. 

After about 5 seconds I could already feel little balls coming out of my skin. I kept looking at my hands and could see little white specks as I can only assume are coming from pores. Some of it may have been makeup but I looked in the mirror while rubbing and could even notice some holes in my face that had been clogged pores that morning. I was SO EXCITED!!!!!

(Rinse Procedure: After I finished I took a clean washcloth and wet it with hot water, squeezed it out and draped it over my face until it felt cool. I then gently wiped my face off with the washcloth.) I did this 3 times and then splashed my face with cold water. 

My face did not feel oily. It looked a bit pink but I know I was rubbing it for 7 minutes!

Friday July 9th -

Morning: When I woke up my face felt a little bit oily. I rinsed it with hot water then splashed it with cold water.

My face looked better than it had ever looked! It brought a few whiteheads out but I think of that as a good thing. My skin looked and felt smoother than before. It was a little bit oily during the day but it wasn't the same kind of oily that I had before. This didn't feel icky...it felt kinda nice! I think the more I do this, the better it will get.

Night: (Wash procedure) I had no makeup on today. I rubbed in circles for 7 minutes and had the exact same experience as Thursday night.

Little white specks were coming out of my skin and I was loving it! I noticed more empty holes which I'm hoping will go away after a while. At least they are unclogged!! I am also noticing some blackheads getting darker meaning they are coming closer to the surface which is great! I had a lot of really deep blackheads that I couldn't get out so this is bringing them closer! I have so many clogged pores and blackheads so I know it's going to take many oil washes to bring them all out. I am just so excited that it's working!!!!!

(Rinse procedure) I did this 4 times to help really get the oil off and then splashed with cold water.

My face did not feel oily. It looked a bit pink again.

Saturday July 10th -

Morning: Washed with Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash and applied Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer.

My face looked and felt WONDERFUL! It was a little pink all day but it looked much clearer and smoother.

Night: Washed with Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash

Sunday July 11th -

Morning: Rinsed with hot water and splashed with cool water.

Afternoon: Washed with Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash and applied full makeup.

Wow!! My skin has never looked this good!! My makeup applied so smoothly and perfectly, I almost didn't need concealer and my makeup looked great for 6 hours in the heat and humidity on the beach for the concert. This NEVER happens!!!

Monday July 12th -

Morning: Washed with Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash and applied full makeup.

Again my face looked great, my makeup went on smooth and lasted all day.

Night: I had every intention on doing the oil cleanse but I got home at 1am and was DEAD TIRED so I just washed with Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash.

Tuesday July 13th -

Morning: Washed with Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash

Night: (Wash procedure) I had makeup on today. I rubbed in circles for 7 minutes and had the exact same experience as the other times.

My makeup including my eye makeup came off better than it EVER has before! Still white specks coming out but noticing a few red bumps.

(Rinse procedure) I did this 4 times and then splashed with cold water.

My face did not feel oily. It looked a bit pink and I could still see a few of the red bumps. I'm not worried though because I know this procedure is drawing stuff out in the beginning. I'm going to stick with it!

Wednesday July 14th -

Morning: Rinsed with hot water and splashed with cold water.

My face did not feel nearly as oily during the day as it had the other days after not washing my face in the morning. I still notice a few red bumps but the texture of my skin still looks a million times better than it did. Still have some clogged pores and blackheads but I know it will take a while to get it all out.

Afternoon: Washed with Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash and applied full makeup. (I don't know if I'm supposed to but I just can't bring myself to put on makeup without washing first! I might try it one day to see how it works...but not today. LOL)

My makeup still goes on more smooth than ever and looks great! It lasted through 4 hours of line dancing and looked much better when I got home than it usually does!

Night: (Wash procedure) I had makeup on. I rubbed in circles for 7 minutes.

I decided to look in the mirror while I rubbed. I could actually see little white gunk coming out of my pores!! I am still amazed by this and sooo excited. My skin looks so much better and I'm so excited to be cleaning my pores out. I can't wait until they are completely cleared out. :D

Oil Cleansing Method

Okay, a little background info for y'all. I have TERRIBLE skin. I have hormone problems and I'm pretty sure that is why I haven't outgrown my acne/oily/clogged pores/blackhead crap. It gets old after a while so of course I'm constantly searching for a solution. That gets old after a while too and it gets rather expensive! I've come to the conclusion that my skin is sensitive, oily and easily clogged. While I am taking hormones to balance mine out and I've been to numerous dermatologists who have prescribed numerous medications, they aren't helping a bit. As usual, I must take matters into my own hands. Have y'all heard of the Oil Cleansing Method? Sounds scary to me especially since I have oily skin...but I've read some amazing reviews on it and it actually sounds pretty great!!!!! Definitely worth a try anyway!

Basically, you cleanse your face with a mixture of Castor Oil and another oil such as Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Jojoba Oil...etc. The reason it's so appealing to me is because it's natural. I always feel like by buying all of these commercial products, I am putting chemicals and unnecessary ingredients on my skin and making it worse.

Once you apply the oil, you massage your face really well and it is supposed to actually unclog your pores and you can feel the grainy bits coming out as you massage!! Then, you apply a hot cloth to your face to steam and open your pores more. Then you just wipe the oil off with the cloth and start over. You do this a couple of times or until you feel that the oil is completely removed. For a more thorough explanation, please click here and read all about it. It's VERY interesting!!!

So in conclusion, I've decided to try this oil cleansing method! I will do updates of course to let y'all know the exact process and ingredients I'm using and how it's working for me. I'm headed to the natural foods store this afternoon to pick up some oils! Wish me luck!!!