Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Oil-vey

guest post by my mom

Get it? Instead of "oy vey"? That's why you come here, folks. For the cheap laughs, good times, and crazy dog antics.

But I digress.

If you cruise any of the big name frugal blogs on the internet, you've likely stumbled upon the oil cleansing method for face washing. Since I'm gradually trying to replace things in our home that contain way too many chemicals, this was perfect. It meets both of my goals: It decreases the amount of clutter in our home, and it doesn't contain artificial ingredients or chemicals. Please don't misunderstand, I haven't gone all "granola", but just trying to be more mindful of what we have in our home.

Ok, back to the oil cleansing method (OCM). It's just what it sounds like. You use oil to clean your face. Sounds counterintuitive unless you had to sit through chemistry class--in which case you know that "like dissolves like". So, with the right types of oil, you can quickly and easily clean off dirt, oil, and makeup.

I've been using olive oil and castor oil, but you can also use jojoba, grapeseed, or sunflower oil in place of the olive oil. You choose the "recipe" that best meets your skin's needs*.
Normal skin - 1:1 ratio
Oily skin - 3:1 Castor oil to olive oil
Dry skin - 3:1 Olive oil to castor oil

You mix the oils up in a small, clean bottle (I used one of the travel size shampoo bottles I had). Massage about 1/2 teaspoon of the oil onto dry skin for a minute. Wet a wash cloth with very hot (not scalding, though) water. Lay the wash cloth over your face and let the hot water steam your pores for a full minute (this part feels delightful!). When your minute is up, use the wash cloth to wipe off the oil. And you're done! You only need to do this once per day. I do it at night to remove makeup, and then just splash my face with water in the morning.

The best part of this is that it removes makeup (including eye makeup) and I haven't needed a drop of moisturizer since I started using it. Talk about frugal! Prior to using the OCM, I used a combination of the products pictured below on varying days. I also needed prescription creams for my face for eczema in addition to moisturizers.

Since using the OCM, I haven't needed any of those products! Just the oil and a wash cloth. It's been a great frugal, natural option!


If you try it out, let me know. I'd love to hear what you think of it.


*I've tweaked the "recipe" for my skin to more of a 1:1.5 castor oil to olive oil. My skin needed a touch more moisture than what the 1:1 ratio provided.

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