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From the Archives : Oil Cleansing Method {DIY}

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So continuing in the same series, let me bring this long lost post. This is one of the very much recommended beauty practices for both oily and dry skin beauties. It helps with tan removal to acne healing. And, its amazing as it removes makeup and cleanses the skin and detoxifies it. Since it is a little intense treatment for the skin, it should be done only once or AT MAX twice a week. 

Yes, by the name, you can make out it uses oil. So, please do not be afraid or prejudiced. I have always maintained that oil is amazing for skin when you know how to use them and which ones to use. So, here is a tip – Always use cold-pressed and extra-virgin or virgin oils whether it is olive or coconut or almond or sesame. Also, sesame oil is the one which is recommended heavily in ayurveda as apparently it is the only oil which can pass into the blood stream. Anyways, let us start with the post and please let me know of the doubts and clarifications.

A few days ago I had talked about OIL CLEANSING. Well, let me introduce to you something which I stumbled across a few days ago. I tried it and trust me, its amazing. I do not know how well it removes make up but it makes your skin squeaky clean without drying it. Rather, it leaves your skin smooth and supple. And, your skin glows the next day. You would love yourself.

It removes makeup fantastically as any oil would. 

Before proceeding, let me give a little background into OCM method. Oil is said to dissolve all the grime and dirt and dead skin cells and blackheads and what not. So, in this method, we especially use castor oil because castor has the most cleansing properties of all oils. Since castor is a drying oil and is extremely thick and concentrated it is not advisable to use it naked on the skin. It should be diluted with some other oil. Many people in the west prefer olive but I would suggest almond or coconut or sesame. No personal grudges with olive but it is something I do not really find amazing. If it works for you, go ahead!

Procedure:
  • Start by keeping everything close to you. You would need a dry smooth cotton wash cloth (not too harsh for your skin), a bottle containing castor oil and olive oil mixed in a proportion suitable to your skin* oils and running hot water.
  • Apply oil generously to your face and neck skin and massage it well the oil into your skin well using firm hands for around 5-10 minutes. It feels relaxing and is soothing for your face muscles. Exercise your cheek bone, jaw bone, nose, chin, forehead and eyes (use ring finger for eyes). The finger movements should be outwards and upwards towards the ear from the chin, cheeks, nose and upper lip area.
  • After massaging to your heart’s content, soak the wash cloth in hot running water and cover the face apply it on to your face. Keep the warmth of wash cloth to the point you can bear. Make sure the cloth is not too hot and let the warmth seep into your skin. Keep it on the face until it cools down. Then, wipe your face to remove the oil. You will find a lot of oil gone from the face. Wash the wash cloth in running hot water and repeat this step until all the oil is wiped off from the face and neck. Use the same wash cloth.
  • Wash and soak the same wash cloth under hot running water for sometime to clean it and saturate it. Again apply it your face, keep till it cools and then, wipe away your face. Repeat this cycle till you feel your skin is clean. 3-4 times should be enough. 
  • After you are done, DO NOT use any facewash. You can apply moisturizer according to the need of your skin. In place of moisturizer, you can apply a drop of the same oil used to cleanse your face. If it does not feel dry and tight, do not apply anything on to your face. Your face needs to breathe. Go and have a nice sleep.
Next morning, you need not cleanse your face. A wipe with a wash cloth or a splash of cold water is enough to clean it. Your skin would be glowing. Oil cleansing not only removes grime, dirt and make up from your face, but also, the blackheads and blemishes. This procedure should not be done too frequently. I think 2-3 times is fine in a week. Care should be taken not to scratch the skin.
Go and check it out for yourself. Have a happy cleansing.
* Remember, castor oil is quite thick and can be drying for the skin if used in large quantities. It has cleansing properties but is too strong on skin if used alone. That is why you need another light oil to dilute it. You can also use jojoba oil. For the mixture of oil, you can use 75-25 castor-olive oil combination for normal skin. You can experiment with different proportions till you find the one suiting your face.  The proportion of mixture should be such that for dry skin people, castor oil should be less in proportion like 50-50 or 60-50 and people with oily skin can have 80-20 as the proportion. But, since every skin is different in its needs, you should find out the right one for yourself. It would take trial and error but remember one rule, do not use too much of castor oil. It will dry your skin irrespective of its type.

PS: Italicized and striked paragraphs/sentences are new additions. Rest of the post is as it was published earlier. 

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Comments

  1. This sounds great! I’ll have to try it out one of these days. I suppose this can be used in replacement of steaming? Steaming also removes grime, blackheads and stuff but it can be too drying.

    Reply

  2. yeah…and too much heat can be damaging to the skin so you can definitely stick to this routine….

    Don’t forget to post your experience after trying it out. I shall be glad to hear it.

    Reply

  4. @anonymous

    Thanks for visiting and please post your experience with it.
    And, also you can share any home remedy tips which you think have worked great with you.

    Reply

  6. @anonymous
    No, you should not do oil cleansing daily. It can be very heavy for your skin. 2-3 times a week is fine.
    Regarding vitamin E oil, if you are thinking of buying the vitamin E oil bottles, I would suggest you to buy the supplements instead because the tablets have more purer oil than the bottles (has lot of preservatives along with the oil). I would suggest going with castor because it is the best oil known for cleaning the skin. Or, instead of only vitamin E oil, you can use pure coconut or olive oil mixed with vitamin E oil. That would give much better results.

    Reply

  7. Hi,
    Wouldn’t using oil such as, Castor oil on face promote facial growth? I have read somewhere that castor oil is used to grow eyelashes.
    -S

    Reply

  8. Hi S…nope castor oil does promote eyelash growth but it does not promote facial hair growth…your doubt is quite right but I have been using oils on my face since quite a long time and it does not really promote facial hair growth so you can use this without a doubt…the oil cleansing method is in fact a really good way to cleanse your face and makeup occasionally…

    Reply

  9. Hi Swathy,
    I have an oily skin. Do you recommend Oil cleansing for oily skin too? wouldn’t it promote pigmentation?
    Thank you.

    Reply

  10. hey…yes, I do recommend oil cleansing for oily skins too. the reason is that oil dissolves oils so gets rid of all the dirt. And, no, it doesn’t cause any pigmentation. On the contrary, it helps clear off the uneven and patchy skin and dark spots and blemishes. Try it once. You can follow this with a multani mitti face mask if you wish to get rid of all the oil in case you are thinking about breakouts. hope this helps 🙂

    Reply

  12. Hi, I read your articles .. Can you suggest which brand to use for castor oil, almond oil and olive oil

    Reply

    • for almond oil, i use rogan badam which is available in pharmacies. for castor oil, i use erandel oil which is apparently a local brand! i don’t use olive oil so can’t recommend any but you can use extra virgin olive oil which is cold-pressed. they would be mentioned on the packaging and if organic, that would be best!

      Reply

  14. I have just started using the OCM a couple weeks ago and I am so amazed at the results! I have oily skin and was very skeptical at first, but I am so glad that I tried this method. I use a grape seed oil, jojoba oil and castor oil mixture with some drops of lavender oil and frankincense oil. I have also been moisturizing at night with just a few drops of grape seed oil. My skin looks amazing! It is glowing (and not in an oily kind of way).

    Reply

  15. i hav oily skin n i usd 2 follow these method 1ce or 2ce a week. it mkes ur skin feel clean n soft. thnx 4 dis post Swati,, i shal follow these routine again!!!
    🙂

    Reply

    • hey Suhani…for coconut oil, you can try out kama ayurveda. its organic. also, there are a few fair trade brands in Hyderabad available locally but don’t know if they deliver to Delhi or NCR!

      Reply

  17. i have tried OCM before..it broke me out so badly..before ocm my skin was almost clear..during first few weeks of OCM skin appeared to be clear and glowing..then it started breaking out.even now am battling with the sideeffects of ocm(acne,scars)
    wish i never tried it

    Reply

  18. hi swati..its been long time i wanted to try ocm but i could not find good quality oil ..i hope i find them soon

    Reply

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