Oil Cleansing, why it works for all skin types
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It seems incredibly counterintuitive that using oil to clean your skin would actually work.
Let's talk about why soap and warm water doesn't work first...
- Soap is a surfactant meant to reduce water tension and break down oils. This allows the water and soap to strip your skin of the surface layer of sebum, which leaves your face dry. Ever had that tight feeling after washing your face?
- In the short term, it means your protective layer of sebum has been washed away, leaving your skin dry, open to bacteria, and environmental pollutants.
- In the long-term, your skin tries to produce more oil to replenish what was lost, and it can lead to premature aging.
- The kicker is that it only removes what is right on top of your skin. It doesn't penetrate deep in your pores to remove bad bacteria and debris.
Oil Cleansing works because...
- Like dissolves like. The oil you use penetrates your skin far deeper, and lifts bad bacteria and other debris away.
- It does this without removing all of your sebum, it somehow knows how to leave some behind.
- This will lubricate your pores so they can more naturally purge impurities, causing less breakouts, and clearing up white and blackheads.
How do I do this_
- Dampen your skin with warm water.
- Dispense your cleansing oil into you hand.
- Massage the oil into your face.
- Dampen a soft warm wash cloth into some warm water and gently press on to your face. (don't wipe - it can remove too much oil)
- Press around your face until you've collected the excess oil
- Let your skin air dry.
Below is my favorite cleansing oil recipe. If your are not into essential oils, it is still effective without them.
My Favorite Facial Cleansing Oil
This is my go to recipe for my cleansing oil. I change up the essential oils each time, because I like to have a different main scent, I do however continue to use certain essential oils every time.
- 1 3oz bottle
- small funnel or steady hand
- dropper
- 1.5 oz Castor oil (cold pressed organic is best)
- 1.4 oz Avacodo oil (cold pressed organic is best)
- 10 drops of one of these essential oils_ rose, jasmine, or neroli (These are what I use for the major scent, and they are my favorites.)
- 5 drops lavender essential oil
- 5 drops copaiba essential oil (organic if possible)
- 5 drops elemi or frankincense essential oil (organic if possible)
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Put the funnel in the bottle or with a steady hand, pour your castor oil into your bottle, followed by your avacado oil
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Add your essential oils - using the dropper if you don't have a flow reducer on your essential oil bottles.
Make sure your bottle is nice and clean before you get started. I tend to run mine through the dishwasher and let it sanitize it for me!
With my essential oils, I tend to remove the flow reducers, as some oils some our super slow, and other almost fall out (waaaaay too fast). I tend to use a dropper, because I do remove that flow reducer.
Thanks so much for visiting!
Want to read more about oil cleansing?
Try here_
- https://www.healthline.com/health/oil-cleansing-method#6
- https://www.honestyforyourskin.co.uk/oil-cleansing-method/
Resources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27815985
https://www.healthline.com/health/oil-cleansing-method#6