• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Swathy and Sky

  • Health
    • Mental Health
  • Pet Care
  • Books
  • Beauty
  • Shop
  • About Us
  • Instagram
  • Show Search
Hide Search
You are here: Home / Archives for DIY

DIY

From the Archives : Oil Cleansing Method {DIY}

Swathy · June 25, 2013 · 27 Comments

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. 

From the Archives : Growing Long Eyelashes {DIY}

Swathy · June 24, 2013 · 11 Comments

Please note that this is an old post which I am republishing for the benefit of the new readers. Interestingly, I am starting the new series From the Archives from today. I shall be posting at least one old post every week after editing them, if necessary. Hope you will like it.


Have you ever been jealous of babies or kids, especially boy kids and even guys. They always have better lashes! At least all those I have met specially have amazing eyes and even better eyelashes. I know of only one girl who has amazingly thick and long lashes and she has great hair as well!!

Well, growing long eyelashes seem to be too difficult. Everyone wants beautiful eyes framed with long and lush eyelashes. Such eyelashes are not a natural gift to everyone but you need not despair. Some patience and regularity in your routine can help you achieve that task. To be frank, I do not know whether you can grow that thick eyelashes as you watch on the screens when you look at your favorite actress but definitely, you can make them better than their present condition.  

Oh my gosh! When I read that the first thing which came to my mind was was I really that bad??? Well, let us look at the silver lining. I have improved so much!! So, lets get back to the post. Yeah, getting great eyelashes is not exactly easy but it is do-able.

Apply castor oil every night. Be patient. The results would not be seen over night. The eyelashes growth cycle completes in about two months so by end of those months you can definitely see your eyelashes in a better shape.

Also, coconut works great. Do not try almond, though. It stings the eyes badly! But, coconut or castor, both do not sting the eyes. 

And, before leaving, vaseline does no good for the eyelashes so please do not waste time using that remedy. It just makes your eyelashes wet and sticky and when they are wet, the eyelashes look longer so basically, what you see after applying vaseline is just an illusion and I’m not even sure whether you should actually apply vaseline to the delicate skin around the eyes.

Also, I have read so much about vaseline being great but I have not tried the method. What I have written above is probably not correct either. But, if the remedy works for you, go ahead with it without any qualms. 

PS: All the paragraphs in italics are update and the regular text is the old one!

My Hair Diary – March 2013

Swathy · April 9, 2013 · 11 Comments

getting snaps of my hair is damn difficult on the new cam!

So, another month gone! And, this month I was pretty diligent about my hair 🙂 So, yay to that! But, unfortunately I am not as diligent on the posts so you would be missing the posts on Tuesday and Thursdays and weekends. And, I have yet to reply to comments!

What I did?
Moving on, I have been using Organic Surge. Coming up soon with the review. But, I am loving it for now. Its the only SLS-free shampoo I have used till now which actually cleansed the entire oil from the hair and made the hair pretty soft.
Next come the DIY’s I did this month. Well, I did get inspired by my friend and tried to take more care of the hair. I got musk root and used it with yogurt as much as possible. And, I used parachute advansed hot oil almost every time I washed the hair. But, not every time! 

yeah, that’s my hair just after washing without any serum or conditioner!

And, the next thing I followed this month was using Grapeseed oil with Rosemary EO on scalp and Pomegranate oil on the hair as an after-wash hair serum. But, one thing I had neglected was conditioner. I hardly used conditioner. 
One thing I noticed about my hair was that I was losing more of my hair if I did not wash it within two days and then it was getting itchy and very dirty. Well, this is what even my colleague complained. She told me that if even a little of sweat gets accumulated on her scalp, she starts losing hair and gets really itchy. And, if she is washing her hair daily, its behaving nicely! Yeah, the question is should we wash our hair daily? Let’s see!!
Products Used

  • Shampoo – Organic Surge Moisture Boost
  • Conditioner – Kamini Conditioner + Liz Earle Botanical Shine Treatment
  • Leave-in and Scalp Treatment – Soulflower Grapeseed Oil with Rosemary EO + Soulflower Pomegranate Seed Oil
  • Hair Oil – Parachute Hot Oil Treatment
Related Posts:

My Hair Diary – February 2013
My Hair Diaries – January 2013
My Hair Diaries – November 2012

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 6
  • Page 7
  • Page 8
  • Page 9
  • Page 10
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 40
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Product Reviews

healthy skin with vitamin c

Role of Collagen in Anti-Aging Skin Care

Mother Sparsh Plant Powered Ultra-Rich Face Wash

2 Best Face Wash for Combination Skin Available in India Under Rs 500 – 2024

The Body Shop Hemp Range - Lip protector, Hand Cream and Foot Protector

The Body Shop Hemp Range Review – Hemp Lip Balm, Hemp Hand Cream and Hemp Foot Cream

Skin Care

skin care, dehydrated skin, skin is dehydrated

3 Potent Signs Your Skin is Dehydrated

5 Practical Winter Skin and Hair Care Tips for this Autumn and Winter

antioxidants list

What are Free Radicals?

Hair Care

Mother Sparsh 30 Herbs Oil

Why switching to an Ayurvedic Hair Oil is a good choice for you?

pantene intense rescue shots product review

Pantene Intense Rescue Shots

My Hair Diary – May 2019

Health

dog sniffing flowers, therapy, mental health

What do You Do for Yourself Everyday?

tree

The Evil Eye is Real.

how your house is making you sick, allergens, house allergies, dust mites, cold, cough, flu, house wellness, mold, mildew, humidity

6 Shocking Ways Your House is Making You Sick

Sky’s Says

Life with my Reactive Dog – February 2024

reactive dog, dog reactivity, outdoor exposure, socialization

Life with my Reactive Dog – January 2024

dehydrated treats, bite me treats and more, house of canis, ghar ka maal, dog treats

Favorite Single-Ingredient Dehydrated Treats

Book Reviews

tenth avatar, dr. kanchan joshi, book review

The Book Corner Vol. 10 – Tenth Avatar by Dr. Kanchan Joshi

agniputr by vadhan

The Book Corner Vol. 9 – “Agniputr” by Vadhan

georgette heyer books, these old shades, devil's cub, the nonesuch, sylvester, frederics, grand sophy

The Book Corner Vol. 8 – 5 of my favourite Georgette Heyer Books

Copyright © 2025 - swathyandsky.com