I am a florist who is a florist. I am a florist who is a florist in Portland Oregon, who designs wedding floral and flowers for brides and grooms in Oregon and along the West Coast. A wedding florist who designs wedding flowers in Portland, Oregon. Okay, sorry, that was for the search engines. Continue below....

I am a human who is very aware that using completely natural, plant derived methods for EVERYTHING gives me so many levels of satisfaction. It's an instinctual satisfaction that comes from knowing I can survive off of what the earth is providing. Also giving me the satisfaction of knowing exactly what I am intaking with no questionable ingredients, both for my beauty routine and my diet. 

OIL CLEANSING! Have you heard of it? Have you done it? I decided to write a little blog entry about it, because when I have reached out to the internet to build upon my knowledge, I found a lot of NOTHIN. I found some blog entries written by people who don't seem to know why it didn't work for them and other entries suggesting ridiculous oils that are bound to NOT WORK. 

So, first of all, if you aren't familiar with this cleansing method, it is the use of oils to WASH and CLEANSE your face. With this method you do NOT need to use soap ever again on that delicate face of yours. Have you read what is in your face wash?? 

HOW IT WORKS:

If this sounds totally counter-intuitive, stick with me. The dirt and grime on your face IS oil based. This is why you can't simply wash your face with water...it doesn't remove those oils that have been picking up dirt and free radicals all day. However, OIL breaks down OIL. This makes sense to me as an oil painter, as you can wash your oil paints off your brush with oil. You can also wash the oil paints off your brush with turpentine/terpenoid, but this will break down your brush over time and destroy the bristles. The same goes for your face! You can wash your face with soap, but you will constantly have to replenish it of all the good oils you just stripped away. Your face relies on certain oils and enzymes it produces to keep up the elasticity and collagen production and without them you are going to be more prone to fine lines and other issues. 

THE METHOD:

The process of oil cleansing is simply finding an oil or oil combination that works well for you (see below) and massaging your face with it for at least one minute or more and then using a hot/warm wash cloth or facial sponge to wipe your face with. VOILA! It is up to you at this point to leave your face as is, because it will be somewhat moisturized, or you can add another dab of oil to further moisturize.

ADDING PRODUCTS WITH OIL CLEANSING METHOD:

You can also find OIL-BASED products from brands like "The Ordinary" to add to your facial routine, such as their Vitamin C serum, which is amazing for sun spots and fine lines. DO NOT use water-based products after oil cleansing because it will not absorb. So, if oil cleansing, ONLY use OIL BASED PRODUCTS afterwards. Since oil cleansing does not involve exfoliation, I advise using a natural mask several times a week, such as this one from "Alitura."  I realize this may look pricey to you, but this amount generally lasts me about 6 months, so I find it to be worth it. After using the mask, it is a great time to use any water-based products you have (such as a peptide formula), as your skin will be super absorbent. Once that has absorbed, be sure to moisturize with your oil. Another way to exfoliate is by using an acid such as Glycolic Acid. But that's a different story. 

 

FIND THE PERFECT OILS FOR YOU:

I hope you are still with me, because I want you to know how wonderful some oils are. All facial oils are rated by a scale which tells you how likely they are to clog your pores. This scale is called "Comedogenic Rating."  If it is rated a ZERO, this means it WILL NOT clog your pores in ANY FASHION. The highest rating is a FIVE, which means, DO NOT USE THAT ON YOUR FACE. I know plenty of people who decided they don't like this method, but none of them were using proper oils. 

There are SO MANY great oils that are rated a 0 or a 1, so there is absolutely no point in using anything that is rated a 2, 3, 4, or 5. So many blogs or websites say you COULD try them, but why would you? If you are putting it on your face every morning and night and RELYING on it to cleanse your face, don't use something that could clog your pores. 

This eliminates COCONUT OIL. DO NOT USE COCONUT OIL ON YOUR FACE EVERYDAY. Or ever, in my opinion. It is rated a 4 for goodness sakes. It is great for precisely one million other things, but not for cleansing your face. Ignore the rest of the internet on this subject. 

To read about some great oils you SHOULD use...please check out this wonderful list of Comedogenically Rated Oils.  I don't know if "Comedogenically" is a proper derivative, but it makes sense to me for the structure of that sentence. 

Take a look at what oils are rated a ZERO or a ONE. If you are acne prone, just stick with oils that are a ZERO. Some suggestions based on my personal experience....

CASTOR OIL- I do NOT use this. I have pretty average skin...kind of dry cheeks, kind of oily T-Zone, and few breakouts. I created a mixture of Rosehip Oil, Hemp Oil, and Castor oil on my first trial run. I probably used about 1/10 Castor Oil in this mixture and it made my skin SO DRY. It actually made my skin peel. I had read that it "could" be drying, but I am going to go out on a limb and say IT IS drying. Perhaps if you are extremely oil prone you could add a few drops, but go easy or just avoid it. 

HEMP OIL- After my Castor Oil fail, I removed it from my mixture and used only Rosehip Oil and Hemp Oil together (this worked perfectly for me). I ran out of the mixture and only had Hemp Oil left, so I tried this for a while by itself. It wasn't immediate, but after a few weeks I started peeling again. Conclusion, Hemp Oil, by itself, can be a bit drying. If you are acne prone, you may love this oil by itself! My partner uses it by itself to cleanse and he has amazing skin. 

 

BUYING THE OIL:

You can buy your oils off of Amazon or Mountain Rose Herbs. (ALSO JUST CHECK OUT THIS SITE FOR SO MANY AMAZING THINGS!)

Make sure the oil you are buying is ORGANIC. You do not want to be rubbing any weird toxins or pesticides into your skin everyday. Unless you do want to do that. 

The oil you use should be COLD PRESSED. This may not seem very important, but truly, it is. Cold pressing is a way of extracting oil (screw pressing) from organically grown seeds, fruits and nuts pressed safely at a cool temperature to protect the oil from rancidity, trans fats, and other toxic processing chemicals. They are processed without chemical extraction, and without solvents like hexane, which you do not want to apply to your face. Unless you do. 

Expeller pressed is OKAY, but not the best. There is some heat used in this process, which can make some oils go rancid due to low smoke points. 

THE PERFECT MIXTURE:

If you choose to make your own mixtures, I have a few tips. 

First try each of the oils by itself for a week or so. Make sure you do not have any reactions, or rather, observe the reactions. If something is drying your skin out in a day, you won't want to use very much of it, if any, in the mixture. If it doesn't have any major effect on your skin, other than the positive qualities of oil cleansing, you can certainly use that as a base of the mixture. 

If you mix the oils right away and it doesn't feel right, you will have to work backwards to figure out what oil is the cause. 

Some factors to consider when choosing, buying and mixing the oils- 

1. Include at least one carrier oil/conditioner - oils such as Sunflower oil or Rosehip Oil (I use both)

2. Include an astringent, especially if you are acne/oil prone, such as tea tree or Frankincense

3. Read about essential oils you can add that are beneficial to your skin. This can be a great way to add a wonderful scent and gain more benefits of oil cleansing. 

4. WHEN BUYING CONTAINERS - always buy dark glass bottles, such as amber or the cobalt blue glass. I use these dropper bottles, which are great for creating your own mixtures. Light can accelerate the expiration of your oils, so keep them room temp/cool and in a dark place. 

 

My last tip for you: WASHING IT OFF

To wash the oil off your face I HIGHLY suggest this FACIAL SPONGE . Wash cloths will slowly but surely get destroyed and you will be throwing them away. Instead, try this small but effective, easy to clean facial sponge. Yes, they are disposable, but last quite awhile and are made of natural fibers. They are also very gentle, but DO provide some exfoliation. 

 

THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT. Let me know if you discover anything if you choose to use this method!!