Thanks to Pinterest, I have discovered two new beauty methods that I've been trying out for about a month and a half now: The Oil Cleansing Method and the No 'Poo Method.
I am always interested in trying a natural alternative for skin, hair and (of course) food, so on October 7 I set out on my journey to stop washing my face and hair. That is, with chemicals. I still shower daily, guys. With soap even. But my face and hair are now washed with alternative products you may already have in your kitchen. It makes me feel like a hippy.
This is the post I stumbled upon via Pinterest that inspired me to try the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM): http://www.healthydiaries.com/2012/07/17/how-i-improved-my-skin-acne-scaring-overall-complexion/. Castor oil is used because it is great at pulling out the ick deep in your pores, and the EVOO is used for moisturizing. Castor oil actually has a long list of uses! (Just a heads up, if you're struggling to find it in the store like me--look by the laxatives. Yup, we're using a laxative on our face...) After learning that oil dissolves oil, I wasn't scared to put oil on my face. Seems counter intuitive based on what the beauty industry has taught us, but we didn't always have chemicals to wash our face.
After looking into this method further, I figured I'd give this a try since my skin couldn't possibly get worse. I'm 26 years old and still have acne. It's horrible. I wear natural makeup, I wash my face twice a day, I'm an adult, I wash my pillowcases weekly, I stay hydrated, I don't eat out very often... All things I feel should help fight acne, but it's a war I'm just not winning. I even saw a dermatologist a couple years ago. She prescribed me Epi-Duo and I used it for three months with no luck. I was actually going to repurchase it and keep going with it, but the promo price ended and it was close to $300 out of pocket. No lie. Needless to say, I didn't buy it again. I never went back to her either.
*Side note about my natural makeup* I wear Erth Minerals, and love it. It provides great coverage that I can build up or down. It doesn't wear off and it's organic. They even have Vegan products. I've been wearing this makeup for about three years now. Before this I was wearing Bare Minerals, but I made the switch because Erth is made locally in my area, and it was also a superior product in my opinion. It wasn't as orange as Bare Minerals.
Anyway, back to the OCM. I was also starting to question my choice of facial cleanser as of recent--AcneFree. Found at Wal-Mart, compared to Proactive. At first Mike and I didn't realize how harsh of a cleanser this is, but when he used a washcloth to help wipe off the cleanser at night, he didn't rinse it out well and the next morning my blue washcloth was mostly white. The cleanser also bleached our pillowcases! It's not like we weren't thoroughly rinsing our faces... How scary!
Get on with it already, what's the procedure for OCM?
I use the mixture recommended in the blog post linked above. I have oily skin, so my blend is 3 parts castor oil to 1 part EVOO. I also add a few drops of jojoba oil to combat dryness. I keep this mixture in an olive oil glass which lasts both Mike and me quite a while. You can find the jars at Wal-Mart by the cooking ware. I found mine at Hobby Lobby, because it has a cover to close the spout.
You only do the OCM at night before bed. In the morning I just splash some water on my face if I feel I need to do something...
So, on to the OCM... I wipe my makeup off with a baby wipe (mostly out of habit, since almost everyone says you do not need to do this with the OCM). Next I pour a quarter size amount of the mixture into my CLEAN hands, warm it up in my hands by rubbing them together for a few seconds, then massage the oils onto my face for about a minute. Next I take a wet, hot hot hot washcloth and lay it over my face until it cools. (I hate this part... It makes me feel like a terrorist in questioning. I feel suffocated.) I gently wipe the rest of the oil off with the cloth and call it a night. Make sure to wipe the crevice of your nose and your jaw bone well. I heard some girls were forgetting those areas and were finding they were breaking out in them. Your face will feel soft to the touch, but also you'll still have some oil on your face. That's OK.
I should mention that I use organic EVOO as well as cold-pressed castor oil. Also, I've heard that jojoba oil is a less-is-more type of thing, so I was very light-handed with adding drops to my mixture. With the cold Wisconsin weather moving in, my face has been pretty dry, so I've actually been putting jojoba oil directly onto my face, which has helped significantly! Some people use coconut oil as well. Your call. I bought my jojoba oil in the organic section at Festival.
I've heard finding the perfect blend can be a bit of a trial and error. When you do your own investigating into the OCM you'll find that this isn't a new trend, people have been washing like this for YEARS. You'll also find that some people use Grape Seed Oil or Almond Oil instead of EVOO.
So how has the OCM been working for me?
The day after the first night I did the OCM, I really thought my overall complexion was cleaned up quite a bit. I had a clean glow. For the first week my face was a lot less oily. I didn't have to break out my oil blotting sheets! For the first two weeks my acne was really quite the same. The third week my acne was heavily concentrated on my right cheek. I assumed that this was because I slept on my right side. I still found it be odd, because we wash our pillow cases every Sunday.
Then on the fourth week my acne was pretty much just around my mouth--the worst place to break out, in my opinion. I HATE it. Ugh. What is up? Why isn't this the magic cure that it is for everyone else? I knew that in a lot of cases, curing acne was about fixing the root cause, which may be coming from the inside--what you eat, if you're stressed, etc. Still frustrating since I eat a heck of a lot better now than I used to. Still not the healthiest person in the world, but my insurance's health evaluation scored me with a 96 points out of 100, so I am feeling like a bit of a rock star these days... Bring on the ice cream!
Well, I just so happened to have my yearly physical scheduled with a new doctor during my fifth week of the OCM. Upon reviewing my medical history, she noticed I had been on Microgestin birth control for about three years. She also noticed my acne.
I explained my new routine, and how my acne hasn't really gotten worse, but it also hadn't gotten better. She explained that the birth control I was on could be the cause of it, because of the levels of progesterone and estrogen. The BC I was currently on had more progesterone than estrogen, which can cause the oily buildup in pores, which I am plagued with. I am constantly looking at clogged pores in the mirror. Even when I was using harsh AcneFree face wash. She also said she could prescribe me with an antibiotic that could help speed up the process, but I declined. I really want to try to do it "naturally", and not add another variable to the OCM.
So I've had the new BC in my system for a little over a week, and my acne around my mouth is calming down and fading. Thank God. While I've had a few other blemishes on my cheeks the past few days, my overall complexion is more clear. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I think my pores are slowly unclogging.
Of course Michael's skin is greatly improved from the OCM. Although it was never that bad to begin with (he'd say otherwise). So jealous. Keeping my fingers crossed that over time and with new BC I'll get there.
If you decide to give this a go, I truly hope it works wonders for you! As always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments! I'm not an expert, but I've done quite a bit of research.
Stay tuned for details about my journey on the No 'Poo Method!
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