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Sounds counterintuitive doesn't it? It's called the Oil Cleansing Method. I've been doing it for a week now and I notice a big difference in the look and feel of my skin. I've had blackheads on my nose and chin since I was about 12 years old and I could never get rid of them. I'd wash my face and they'd be right back. I could still see them. Even masks didn't really work. With using this oil stuff they are starting to go away! I keep running to the mirror to check and yeah, it's seriously working. My pores are still big, so I have empty holes in my face but I suspect that will change once all the gunk gets out.
I have acne prone skin that's oily, dry, and normal in some spots. Though I haven't had a problem in awhile, I get cystic ance too. It's only been a week but so far so good, no pimples no nothing execpt glowing skin and empty pores.
I use Extra Virgin Olive Oil (yes, the stuff you cook with) mixed in with a little Castor Oil (yes, the stuff that makes you poop). I also mix in a little tea tree oil because that's always helped with my skin.
So who's going to try this?
http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/
http://www.thebeautybottle.com/index.php?opti on=com_content&task=view&id=6&Ite mid=2
edited to add the following
Okay, for those of us who are having problems here are some Trouble Shooting tips. I would add this to the first post but since it's been edited by a mod it won't let me. Boo. Maybe I'll add it to my second post.
Anyway, everyone's skin is different. You have to find what works for your skin. Same thing when you use commerical facial cleansers...you have to figure out what works for you. If you're having breakouts that you believe are related to OCM try these Trouble Shooting Tips:
1. Your skin doesn't like EVOO (or whatever oil). Try different oil.
2. Your skin doesn't like Castor Oil. Does it work without castor oil? Some people do a modified version of OCM without castor. Some people have luck with just EVOO or Jojoba (or whatever).
3. Your skin doesn't like the ratio of EVOO (or whatever oil) to Castor. Change your ratios around.
4. You're not spending enough time rubbing the oils in. Give it at least 5 minutes. Take some you time and enjoy.
5. You're not getting enough dirty oils off your skin. Spend more time with the rag on your face and take more care to get the oils off.
6. Your skin does not like your washing off technique. Lay a hot rag across your face. Hold it in place. Let it sit there until it cools a little. Gently wipe your face. Repeat. Don't scrub.
7. Your skin doesn't like the hot rag approach. Try doing OCM in the shower and forgo the hot rag. Instead, rub your oils in for AT LEAST 5 minutes then wash with water only.
8. You're not soaking your wash cloths in dish soap and very hot water for a long time before sending them through the washing machine. Laundry detergent cannot get the dirty oils out of your rags. Dirty oil rags can cause you to break out. Only use a rag once.
9. Your skin is too dry. Try using plain EVOO (or whatever oil) as a moisturizer. Or try bumping down your % of castor oil.
10. Are you over washing your face? Are you using your normal harsh cleanser in the morning then doing OCM at night? Try washing your face with just water in the morning. It's not gross, trust me.
11. Are you under washing your face? Are you washing your face with water only in the morning and doing OCM at night? If you have time, do OCM in the morning and at night. If you don’t have time, try using a light cleanser in the morning. Look for one that's oil based. You could probably find something good at a health food store.
12. Are you doing OCM everyday? Try doing it only once every other day. Maybe everyday is too much for your skin.
13. Are you NOT doing OCM everyday? Maybe you should try it.
14. Maybe your skin needs extra pimple busting power. Try adding a few drops of EO to your mix. I highly recommend tea tree oil. Other all around skin helpers include lavender, rosemary, geranium, and rose. Do some research and see what might help you.
Reason: 4/19/08: Moved from Lounge to Health & Support. 4/29/08: Stickied; 5/5/08 unstickied
This is working better than anything I have ever used. Only thing: when the blackheads come out, they are leaving holes. I guess from the pore being stretched from the crap in it? Just wondering if anyone else noticed this & if they will tighten up eventually.
So here is the test... TTOTM... and ONE little pimple.. that is all! It did not get bad, and it was NOT a big deal!! My face is so soft and pretty, the thing is, even when I was using all EVOO, my face still felt dry after. Now that I have finally found and added about 10% castor oil, it still feels dry. I have moisterizer still (and while not planning on buying more don't want to waste it) so I have been putting that on after. I wake up in the morning and my face just looks so fresh! I still have black heads on my nose though.. But I have been using the castor oil for about 2 days only, so I expect they will clear right up.
At first I thought my skin was just purging a little but it has not gotten better and has only gotten worse. I have tons of little bumps (not rash, they are pimples that have not broken the surface yet) on the sides of my chin. Before using the OCM i never broke out in that spot, ever. That's why I don't think this is part of the purging process. I would expect to breakout in my normal breakout zones but why would I purge so much from an area that never used to breakout?
I've always had pretty clear skin with a few cystic pimples here and there and some build up around my nose that never seemed to go away. The OCM seems to have made my skin worse
I'm having the same problem as lizshuler too. I got all these bumps around my nose area and jawline and now the bumps around my nose are turning into pimples. I've never gotten SOOO many pimples in my life, usually I have 1 or 2 pimples every 4 months or something and I started using OCM cause of the blackheads on my nose. I've used OCM for almost a week and so far all I'm getting out of it is more and more pimples. However, I did remember my sister saying that her pimples never broke out cause her face was really dry (well thats what her facialist said) and my face is a lot drier than hers so this pimple breakout should be okay? Or should i just stop with the OCM?
That happened to me too. I've been doing this for just about 2 weeks and I broke out in odd places a few days in. I wanted to give up on it because I was so mad and irritated, but suffered through it and it's clearing very quickly. I lengthened the amount of time I spend massaging (I park it on the couch for about 10-15 minutes), I've had little things come out of my skin in spots where there was no angry pimple. Must be doing something right. I also spend more time with the washcloth, soaking and gently buffing my face. I get up early to do this twice a day rather than just once.
The break outs I did get were soothed and healed quickly, try some vitamin E oil to speed this process as well. You could also try a gentle sugar scrub. I use regular white sugar on a damp face and go very lightly over my skin. No more than once a week and you have to be careful not to scrub hard or you'll irritate and tear your skin which leads to a chance of infection. Not pretty.
The way I see it, my old cleansers (there were a lot of them) didn't do any good and I used them for a long time. Why give up after a short attempt? My plan is to give it a month, get through the hormonal changes and let my skin adapt and heal. If that doesn't work I'll trash it.
I don't know if it's a purging process or maybe I wasn't getting all of the oil out of my pores, but the changes I made really helped. Hope it helps you too!
Anyway, everyone's skin is different. You have to find what works for your skin. Same thing when you use commerical facial cleansers...you have to figure out what works for you. If you're having breakouts that you believe are related to OCM try these Trouble Shooting Tips:
1. Your skin doesn't like EVOO (or whatever oil). Try different oil.
2. Your skin doesn't like Castor Oil. Does it work without castor oil? Some people do a modified version of OCM without castor. Some people have luck with just EVOO or Jojoba (or whatever).
3. Your skin doesn't like the ratio of EVOO (or whatever oil) to Castor. Change your ratios around.
4. You're not spending enough time rubbing the oils in. Give it at least 5 minutes. Take some you time and enjoy.
5. You're not getting enough dirty oils off your skin. Spend more time with the rag on your face and take more care to get the oils off.
6. Your skin does not like your washing off technique. Lay a hot rag across your face. Hold it in place. Let it sit there until it cools a little. Gently wipe your face. Repeat. Don't scrub.
7. Your skin doesn't like the hot rag approach. Try doing OCM in the shower and forgo the hot rag. Instead, rub your oils in for AT LEAST 5 minutes then wash with water only.
8. You're not soaking your wash cloths in dish soap and very hot water for a long time before sending them through the washing machine. Laundry detergent cannot get the dirty oils out of your rags. Dirty oil rags can cause you to break out. Only use a rag once.
9. Your skin is too dry. Try using plain EVOO (or whatever oil) as a moisturizer. Or try bumping down your % of castor oil.
10. Are you over washing your face? Are you using your normal harsh cleanser in the morning then doing OCM at night? Try washing your face with just water in the morning. It's not gross, trust me.
11. Are you under washing your face? Are you washing your face with water only in the morning and doing OCM at night? If you have time, do OCM in the morning and at night. If you don’t have time, try using a light cleanser in the morning. Look for one that's oil based. You could probably find something good at a health food store.
12. Are you doing OCM everyday? Try doing it only once every other day. Maybe everyday is too much for your skin.
13. Are you NOT doing OCM everyday? Maybe you should try it.
14. Maybe your skin needs extra pimple busting power. Try adding a few drops of EO to your mix. I highly recommend tea tree oil. Other all around skin helpers include lavender, rosemary, geranium, and rose. Do some research and see what might help you.
So I went out with my girls last night and I got the pictures back... You should see my skin! OMG! My skin is so pretty! I'll post one so you can see!
I just posted them!
Sadly, I had to stop using the OCM yesterday. A couple of days after I started using it, my skin began to break out horribly. I haven't had that kind of break out since I was a teenager (more than 10 years ago!). My chin developed little red spots and eventually started really hurting. During the almost week and a half that I used the OCM, I changed the percentages around a little to see if that would help (I stayed within the suggested ranges for normal to oily skin). Once my skin started hurting, I tried using just EVOO on one day then just castor oil on the next day (I followed that up with my normal moisturizer) to see if maybe I was allergic to one or the other. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to make it better. Yesterday, I finally gave in and went back to my normal cleanser (St. Ive's Gentle Apricot Scrub) and moisturized my face repeatedly with Eucerin to keep my skin from hurting (it isn't exactly dried out, which is what I thought was going on at first, I'm not quite sure how to describe what happened to my skin). This morning, my skin is already starting to look better and feel better. It's obviously going to take some time to get back to what my skin was like before using the OCM, but I'm glad that it's not hurting any more.
I was really hopeful that this would work to clear up the last few blemishes on my skin. Unfortunately, it just made my skin much, much worse than it was. For those who have experienced positive results, congratulations. I'm so jealous 
.
I used to have very clear skin and now my chin looks horrible. the worst part is whenver I get cystic pimples on my chin they scar no matter what I do. Eventually the scars fade (after about 4 months) but seeing as I have 8 of them. And apart from the cystic pimples on my chin I still have a bunch of tiny tiny pimple bumps on the side of my chin that whenver I am in the right light are really obvious.
I wish I had never seen this thread
I'm with you ladies, I'm over it. I thought it was just my hormone fluctuations and I'd resolved to give it a whole month just in case. Well, my face feels and looks like hot poo. My husband commented that he never once noticed my breakouts before and in the last 2 1/2 weeks he's noticed more than ever. That seals it for me, I was convinced that it was all in my head or maybe I was paying more attention to it looking for improvement. I was wrong. I've swapped around oils and done just about everything I can think of to modify this. Not for me I guess, I have naturally dry skin and live in Wyoming (land o' cold dry air) so of course I hoped that the added moisture would be my saviour. Guess not. I went back to neutrogena cream cleanser with vitamin E as a moisturizer and an every other day scrub. I'm contemplating using this once a week after I heal up these mad little bumps, we'll see.
I just did a bit of research and our experiences aren't that crazy. In fact, it seems as though they are pretty common.
Contact dermatitis, along with a variety of other side effects, can occur as a result of using castor oil on skin. It seems as though what liz, jessie, and I are experiencing is likely contact dermatitis. Here are the main symptoms:
- A red rash is the usual reaction. It appears immediately in irritant contact dermatitis, but sometimes in allergic contact dermatitis the rash does not appear for 1-2 days after the exposure.
- Your skin may blister, or you may get a raised red rash, called hives, sometimes in a pattern that points to the offending agent.
- Your skin will itch and perhaps burn. Irritant contact dermatitis tends to be more painful than itchy.
- Irritant contact dermatitis often affects the hands, which have been exposed by resting in or dipping into a container (sink, pail, tub) containing the irritant.
- Once a reaction starts, it may take as long as 4 weeks to resolve completely.
(symptoms taken from http://www.emedicinehealth.com/contact_dermat itis/page3_em.htm; this other website also suggest some of the dangers associated with castor oil http://www.baylorhealth.com/healthinformation /drugleaflets/45/5286.htm; this website has information about dermatitis in general http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec18/ch203/ch203c. html)(symptoms taken from http://www.emedicinehealth.com /contact_dermatitis/page3_em.htm; this other website also suggest some of the dangers associated with castor oil http://www.baylorhealth.com/healthinformation /drugleaflets/45/5286.htm; this website has information about dermatitis in general http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec18/ch203/ch203c. html)(symptoms taken from http://www.emedicinehealth.com /contact_dermatitis/page3_em.htm; this other website also suggest some of the dangers associated with castor oil http://www.baylorhealth.com/he althinformation/drugleaflets/45/5286.htm; this website has information about dermatitis in general http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec18/ch203/ch203c. html)
Also, for people who continue to use the castor oil, keep this information in mind: "Your initial exposure does not cause a rash. However, it sensitizes your skin so that you will react to the next exposure. If you seem to react the first time you are exposed to an agent, you probably were exposed before without knowing." (http://www.emedicinehealth.com/contact_derma titis/page2_em.htm).
Essentially, castor oil is very similar to poison ivy and poison oak.
Jewels, I don't blame you at all. I really am happy for people if this works for them. I'm very disappointed in myself for not doing more research before I changed my skin care routine so drastically. I'm now paying for it. Hopefully others can learn from my pain.
*I am not a doctor and I don't know for certain that this is what is happening with the people whose skin has reacted badly to the OCM (including myself). I'm posting this information so that people know that this is one possibility and that they should speak with a doctor before using the OCM and/or if a skin reaction occurs.
I am so surprised that I have not had a reaction then... I have SUPER sensitive skin. I have to special order my body lotion because most gives me hives. I wonder why the castor oil didn't give me hives... I only started the castor oil about a week ago though... hmmmm.. Seems to be fine so far.. I'll keep an extra eye on it.
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