OCM adventures

If you read my previous post, you won't be surprised by this entry and that I'm onto a whole new "let your body do its natural thing" adventure. It's called the OCM - the oil cleansing method. Yep! I'm rubbing oil all over my face to clean it. I know, it sounds completely backwards, but in all honesty, I'm three days in and I think I'm hooked. I change my mind like the stinkin' tides, but this one just might stick.

You should know that for how little I clean my hair, I'm a bonafide fash-washing freakshow. Some can't go to bed without brushing my teeth and I always, always, always wash my face. And I've tried everything on it. The picture above shows only a few of the soaps, toners and lotions I've wasted paychecks on in the just past few months. Told you: Freak. Show. That's why I'm hoping the OCM continues to produce positive results. It's cheap, it's easy and, seriously, my skin feels great.

Why OCM works: Just like stripping your hair with shampoo, we strip our faces when we wash them with soap. This leaves our skin dry forcing our skin to attempt to replenish what we've taken away by creating a bunch of oil. Basically, not cute. Cleaning with oil not only avoids stripping our skin, but oil dissolves oil, so the OCM allows the face to clean itself while also maintaining it's natural balance.

To make: Go to your grocery store and pick up a bottle of castor oil as well as another carrier oil like EVOO, sunflower seed oil, almond oil or jojoba oil (which I'm using). Then get an ice cream sandwich and a bag of Doritos, 'cause it's about to get CUHRAZAY. At home, mix the two together, depending on your skin type:

Oily skin: 3 parts castor oil, 1 part carrier oil
Normal skin: equal parts both
Dry skin: 1 part castor oil, 3 parts carrier oil

I started with the normal skin mix and added one drop of tea trea oil for good measure (hey, adult acne, welcome to the party!). You can experiment to see what works for you. Add more carrier oil if you're dry and more castor oil if you're oily.

To use: Pour about 1/2 a tablespoon into your hand and rub the oil on your face, massaging for a minute or so, using pressure to really work the oil into the face so it can do its job. There's no need to take off your makeup before hand, because the oil does this too (plus, castor oil is good for lashes). Then you take a washcloth, soak in hot water, wring it out and lay the cloth over your face. The steam will open your pores, allowing the oil to be easily removed. After a minute, gently wipe your face. Rinse your washcloth in the hot water. Repeat the steam/wipe combo two more times. When finished, just splash some cool water on your face and pat dry.

Most articles suggest doing the OCM just once, at night, then in the morning rinsing your face with water. If you're using the right combination of oils, you shouldn't need lotion. But if your face is like mine and feels just a little dry at night, dip your finger into the oil mixture, rub it between your hands and then put on your face like you would lotion. This works great for me. Then in the morning, after my water-only wash, I just  pat on a teeny bit of spf and I'm out the door.

Wait, no. I put on pants. And makeup. THEN I'm out the door. Who needs shirts anyway?