If you haven't tried cleansing your face with oil yet, you may be very skeptical. It's probably something you simply cannot imagine would give you clear and glowing skin.

I completely understand that.

I discarded the oil cleansing method myself for a long time simply because I didn’t understand how slathering more oil on my face would:

1. Cleanse my skin

2. Heal my oily and acne-prone skin

3. Help me achieve clear (comedone-free, deep inflamed acne-free!) skin in the long run

But after years (well, over a decade) of the unsuccessful attempts of having clear skin with countless commercial treatments (both over-the-counter and dermatologist recommended), and frustrations with my skin, I finally read more about it.

Luckily for me, I did!

So if you too have been unhappy with how your skin looks for a long time and seem to always struggle to have completely clear skin, your skin might be telling you something.

It might be a time to take an entirely different approach. 

In this post, I want to show you how to do the oil cleansing in a simple, yet effective way, which is suitable for sensitive acne-prone skin.

WHY DO I CALL IT SIMPLE OIL CLEANSING?

The oil cleansing method (OCM) has been originally described here. Although great as it is, it recommends using a mixture of one moisturizing oil and castor oil (which has purging properties).

I don't recommend this, especially not to start with.

Castor oil is a humectant – it attracts water to itself, so it will draw the water out of your skin when used with the oil cleansing method. This means that it can sometimes be very drying to the skin (especially to the dry or sensitive skin).

Just one oil of your choice will do an amazing job at cleansing your skin and leaving it soft and moisturized. This is simplest, to begin with, and more skin-friendly, giving it time to adjust.

Never used oils on your face before? Make sure to start slow, because your skin might not be ready for oils. Some skin types simply cannot tolerate oils. If you find that your skin is breaking out more after introducing oils, stop the usage.

So, let's dive into the actual process…

SIMPLE OIL CLEANSING METHOD INGREDIENTS

Step 1. CHOOSE AN OIL SUITABLE FOR YOUR SKIN TYPE

It really pains me when I read about the negative experiences from people who have used either olive oil or coconut oil for the OCM, then found that the whole thing only worsened their skin, and discarded the oil cleansing forever.

Related: How To Choose The Right Face Oil (For Acne-Prone Skin)

In short, ditch the coconut, olive oil and other oils that are either comedogenic or high in oleic acid!

Good choices for each skin type:

Oily/acne-prone skin – oils high in linoleic acid (such as hemp seed oil) will help to dissolve the hardened sebum in your pores and get it free-flowing, which is exactly what results in clear pores. Clear pores = clear skin!

Other skin types (that are more on the dryish side) – MCT oil, Jojoba oil

Step 2. MASSAGE THE OIL ONTO DRY SKIN

Pour a small teaspoon of oil into the palm of your (clean!) hands and gently massage in circular motions all over your face for about 30 – 60 seconds.

Note that you do this on a dry face, with enough oil to easily massage your face. Also, you really need to give this at least 30 seconds (1 minute is optimal), because this enables the oils to properly dissolve the excess oils, dead skin cells and everything else that should come off your skin.

Step 3. COVER THE FACE WITH A WARM/LUKEWARM WASHCLOTH

Take the washcloth and soak it in warm water. Squeeze out excess. Put the warm wet washcloth over your face (only warm or lukewarm, not burning hot!) and let it sit for 10-15 seconds or until it cools down.

The warmth of the cloth will help dissolve the oils within your pores. As you lightly press the cloth onto the face, the oil will get transferred onto it.

If you have extra sensitive skin, you don't have to use warm water at all, only lukewarm. It will still work great.

If you are wearing makeup (works for eye makeup also), follow these steps:

ALTERNATIVE 1 – wipe off most of your makeup with a bit of oil on a cotton ball first, then proceed again from step 2 above.

ALTERNATIVE 2 – massage the oil onto your face for about 15-20 seconds, until the makeup dissolves, and then wipe it away with one side of your wet washcloth, keeping the other side clean. Then you can take more oil and proceed again from step 2 above, using the clean side of the cloth.

Want all these steps in a pdf format, plus what to do before starting with the oil cleansing method? Sign up below and you will receive it instantly to your email!

Step 4. WIPE OFF GENTLY

If you want to get rid of more oil from your face, wipe it off gently with the cloth. No rubbing! There will still be a very thin layer of oil, and this is very beneficial for your skin.

Also, it is very important that you use a VERY soft washcloth. My favorites are soft cotton cloths you can usually find in Zero waste shops or Etsy.

If you don't like how that feels, it is OK to splash some water on your face (water is drying to the skin, so avoid this if possible). Even better, spray on some rose water and let it absorb. If you do so, make sure you do step 5 afterward to lock in that moisture.

WHAT TO KEEP IN MIND

  • If you have had a sensitivity or a reaction to oils in the past, I would suggest rather going for a gentle cleanser
  • If you are new to oil cleansing, you can start off by double cleanse: Using oil cleansing for the first cleanse or taking off makeup and then follow up with a super gentle cleanser to wash it all off. In this way, no oil remains on your skin but the double cleanse method still provides a thorough cleanse
  • Also, using a high linoleic acid oil (such as hemp seed oil) as a moisturizer on small patches of your skin to test out how you react can be a good idea to do before you actually start to oil cleanse
  • High linoleic oils like hemp, rosehip, pumpkin, etc, can be very helpful in healing acne-prone skin, but can also dry out the skin in the long run. If this happens, you need to stop their use and turn to more moisturizing oils like MCT oil (good for oil cleansing) OR squalane oil (good for moisturizing).

Much love,

Sara

Questions! Have you used or are currently using oil cleansing? How has it been working for you?

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