The Oil Cleansing Method

Today we are talking about the oil cleansing method.  If you haven't heard about washing your face with oil, yet, then you are totally missing out!

Does washing your face with oil seem counter intuitive to you?  Yeah, it did to me too.  But hear me out.  Washing our faces with washes, soaps, and the various products out there actually strip our skin of the oils that the skin naturally produces.  Not only do the natural oils moisturize your skin, but they also heal, protect and lubricate so that it may function properly.  When you strip your face of these oils, your skin will be tight, dry, and irritated.  Now your skin works overtime trying to replace all of the oil that was taken away – leaving you with excessively oily skin.  Add to that the fragrances and other toxins present in over the counter products that will add to your irritation!

Oil cleansing is a method of cleaning that will keep your face clear, properly balanced and beautiful. 

So, how does oil cleansing work?

Basically, oil dissolves oil!  Steam will allow your pores to open and the oils massaged into your skin will dissolve the hardened oils and junk that is stuck in your pores.  Then you wipe it away!  It all seems too good to be true, right?  Well, it is time for you to give this a go and see the results for yourself!  I have been doing this for a while and I love it!  Oil cleansing even removes make up!!  I was doubtful until I tried it, of course.  And now I am hooked!  The other day I read about using coconut oil for acne.  It makes sense, right?

Recipes for oil cleansing

Finding a recipe for oil cleansing can seem overwhelming.  Which oils do you use?  To keep it simple, you choose a blend of oils to match your skin type, with one oil being an astringent.  Let's start there.

Astringents

I like to keep it simple and choose from two astringent options:

• Natural oils
• Essential oils

The astringent natural oil I prefer to use for oil cleansing is hazelnut oil.  There are a lot of tutorials that include castor oil in the astringent oils list.  I am not going to go into all of the castor oil details here, just do your research.  The reason I choose not to use castor oil in my oil cleansing is simply because it is very drying.

The other option for your astringent is using an essential oil or blend of essential oils.  I love to use lavender and frankincense in my oil cleansing for their healing properties.  Other astringent essential oils can include ginger, rose, rosemary, myrtle, carrot seed, juniper and patchouli.  When adding essential oils as your astringent, do not exceed 12 drops of total essential oils per 1 ounce.

Additional blending oils

Now that you have chosen which astringent to use, now you can pick additional oils to support your skin type!

For dry skin:

• avocado oil
• sweet almond oil
• hemp seed oil

For oily skin:

• apricot oil
• sunflower oil
• grapeseed oil
• turmeric oil

For any skin types:

• sweet almond oil
• sunflower oil
• argan oil
• jojoba oil

Blending your oils

For oily skin try this ratio:

1 part astringent and 3 parts additional blending oils

For combination skin try this ratio:

1 part astringent oil to 4 parts additional blending oils

For dry skin try this ratio:

1 part astringent oil to 10 parts additional blending oils

When I talk about additional blending oils, feel free to experiment here until you find a blend that is BEST for YOUR skin.  Start with what you have at home that addresses your particular skin type.

Personally, I have combination skin.  Currently I am using avocado oil and sweet almond oil in a 1:1 ratio and add 4 drops each of lavender and frankincense per 1 ounce.  That is working for me.  I have also used hazelnut oil in the past in lieu of the essential oils.

How to oil cleanse

So you have your recipe all mixed up.  Now it is washing time!

1. Splash your face with some water.
2. Pour some oil mixture into your hands and really massage it into your face.  Just massage it all over.  Really get it in there!
3. Grab a wash cloth and get it wet with really warm water.  The trick is, you want to steam your face with the wash cloth – not BURN IT.
4. Place the very warm wash cloth over your face and allow the steam to open up your pores.  Leave it there until it starts to cool.
5. Wipe away the oils from your face.
6. Then do it again.  Place a rinsed wash cloth over your face and allow it to steam a second time.
7. Wipe your face again.  Feel free to do it a third time if you feel it necessary to remove all of the oil blend.  If I am wearing make up sometimes a third steam is necessary.
8. All done!

There should be enough oils left on your face to moisturize.  If your skin feels tight, massage in a tiny amount of your oil blend onto your face and go about your day!

So, are you ready to get started with oil cleansing?  You will love the results!  If this still sounds crazy to you why not try this DIY skin cleaner for sensitive skin!

Do you oil cleanse already?  What is your favorite blend that works for you?

Are you ready to start detoxifying your beauty cabinet?  Check out this awesome PDF that we created just for YOU!

Pin it!