My goodness, I’ve come a long way in the past few years. There was a time when I shuddered at even the thought of applying oil to my skin, for fear that I’d become a walking, talking oil slick—or worse, erupt in breakouts.
Now, I not only endorse oils as moisturizers (Décleor’s neroli oil, Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate and the recent discovery Aïny Nourishing Radiance Serum are all favourites), but I’ve actually CLEANSED my skin with oils. Yes.
If you’ve ever heard of the Oil Cleansing Method then you know what I’m talking about.
The whole idea behind oil cleansing is that like attracts like. Oil dissolves oil—and so it’s supposed to be the very best thing for removing ALL TRACES of makeup, grime and sebum without stripping or irritating your skin. Because if you’ve ever used a toner, you know that most regular cleansers tend to fail on the job.
In the beauty mainstream, probably the most famous example of an oil cleansing product is Shu Uemura’s Cleansing Oil, which was first introduced in 1960 and now comes in all kinds of variations for different skin types.
People go CRAZY for this stuff—I can still recall a press trip to New York where my PR companion was on a mission to buy some, since Holt Renfrew was out of stock here in Canada—but as far as I can tell, it’s really just mineral oil. And while I don’t doubt that it works for removing makeup, mineral oil is not something I want to put on my face, thankyouverymuch. (Pretty much every facialist has told me that it clogs pores… and I’ve even read that it can accelerate aging.)
Fast forward to 2006, 2007. There have been other cleansing oils on the market but it was Dermalogica who created a mini-sensation amongst beauty editors with PreCleanse:
This product is different to the Shu stuff because it contains botanical oils like apricot, sunflower, orange and lavender instead of the nasty mineral oil.
But both products basically work the same way: you massage the oil into dry skin to remove all the grime, etc., and then gradually add some water to emulsify (it will turn white). Then you rinse with water—but Dermalogica actually encourages you to wash again with your regular cleanser. (Not sure if this is a marketing thing designed to make you buy another separate product… or because some people don’t get all the oil off and need to wash again.)
Anyway, I have used the Dermalogica product and like it much, much better than the Shu. It also smells terrific.
BUT! Ever in pursuit of clearer, glow-ier, more poreless and perfect skin… I recently came across a new discovery…
Did you know that there is actually an older, cheaper, all-natural and some say even MORE effective way of cleansing called the Oil Cleansing Method (or OCM)?
It’s a bit of a cult secret but extremely popular on several beauty forums (see: here, here and here—don’t you love the Internetz?). And what it’s supposed to do is not only CLEAN your skin but also dissolve blackheads and clogged pores, improve cystic acne, tighten pores and even improve the appearance of wrinkles.
Sounds amazing, right? Full deets are here, but in a nutshell, here’s what it involves:
1. To dry skin apply a blend of castor oil and either olive, jojoba, grapeseed or sunflower oil.
You need to play around with the ratios to find one that works for your skin, but because castor oil is very deep-cleansing it should only comprise 50 percent or less of your mixture. The castor oil is the stuff that really draws out the blockages in your pores. (Ewww…)
There are other oils you can use too. If you’re concerned about the comedogenicity of them (and if you keep reading, you’ll know that you should be, there’s a handy chart here.
2. Massage the oil into your skin for at least 5-10 minutes.
Here’s where things get grody. As you continue to massage, you start to feel little grainy bits… which I understand are the clogs coming out of your pores!
Gross! Cool! Fascinating, right?
3. Drape a hot, wet towel over your face and let the steam sink into your pores until it cools down.
Then wipe your face, rinse the towel and repeat a few times. There’s no emulsification step—you’re just steaming and then wiping away the oil several times. At this point all of it (along with the dirt) should be gone, so you shouldn’t have to wash your face with a regular cleanser or toner. (But if in doubt, I’d wash again, since it’s very, very important not to leave ANY trace of that now-dirty oil on your skin.)
How often you cleanse this way is up to you… but here’s what happened to me when I tried this for just a week or so:
As I hinted last week, to say it was a total disaster would not be an understatement. At first, I loved the idea that I was deep-cleansing my face—who wouldn’t?
I used a combination of castor oil and plain old extra-virgin olive oil. But within a couple of days, my skin got dry—like, incredibly dry and flaky.
I dropped down my percentage of castor oil to about 25 percent, and continued. But then it was like I had a rash all over my chin. Almost like an allergic reaction—I think I developed what’s known as comedogenic acne. Except THEN the rash turned, in places, into the worst cystic breakout I’ve had in a very long time. Who knows if that was caused by the dryness (since a layer of dead skin can clog pores) or the oils, or a combination of both.
But at that point I had to say sayonara to the Oil Cleansing Method. And now I’m kicking myself for overreaching, because as I mentioned on Friday, what with my cod liver oil and this great stuff for rogue pigmentation issues and these fancy European luxury botanical prodz, everything was going SO WELL. Now, I’m working on trying to heal these little (okay, maybe not so little) suckers it left as a goodbye present on my chin.
Will I try it again? Maybe. I know I definitely removed all traces of the oil, so that wasn’t what made my skin freak out. I’m wondering if I just used the wrong type of oil (olive is supposed to be more comedogenic than jojoba, for example). And overall, I’m a bit frustrated, because the testimonials I’ve read about how the OCM has transformed people’s skin are simply aMAZing. I want some of that skincare goodness!
So tell me…
Have you ever tried the Oil Cleansing Method?
If not—have I intrigued you or scared the living daylights out of you?
Got your own skincare overreaching story? Please share. (And lemme know what stuff you swear by NOW…)
You Might Also Like
 "Pin It")
165 Comments
← Previous Comments
Hi,
I make skincare and blends oils – I think it could be down to your oil blend – I find castor way too drying and in my Absolute Cleansing Oil I dont use it for that reason. Can I suggest you try sesame in your blend – it is widely used in Ayurveda. If you’d like a plant packed serum to help with your rash then email me and I can send you something that’ll hopefully help. Dont give up on it yet.
Hi! Since using the oil cleansing method, I have suffered blackhead outbreaks and some random marks have appeared on my face.
I have been using ponds or coconut oil on my face for a month or so now and I love it my only upset is that I didn’t listen to my mom years ago. I have read castor oil is drying and will cause wrinkles so I encourage you to try it again but leave out the castor oil. When I use the coconut oil I just rub it on, leave it for a few minutes and wipe it off with a damp warm cloth. If this technique leaves behind to much of an oily layer on your skin use a hot rag but lay it on your face for a minute or two before wiping the oil off.
Hi Linda i used the ocm and got the worst cystic and itchy acne breakout in my life. I think it was caused by the castor oil (cold press)as i started using this alone, then i mixed with extra virgin olive oil. Anyway I am now on antibiotic, eczema cream mixed at the dermatologist and epiduo. The healing process is very slow i started the meds since saturday(4/5/2013) . . the only good thing i saw fro using the ocm is that it appeared to have cleared the white heads in my nose and cheeks. now that i have discontinued the ocm the white heads are coming bak.
I am curious about the coconut oil. How is your results so far. I am trying to find a natural remedy to clean my face.
I recently tried the OCM and for the first week, it worked great. After that, i started breaking out. More like a rash of acne. It’s been a little over a week and my face is still broken out. I’m wondering if it will go away on it’s own, or will i have to go to my dermatologist… Oh the frustration.
I had a rash for a month or two before it turned into acne – so it definitely didn’t clear up on its own. I would suggest going to a derm for antibiotics sooner rather than later!
Hi. This comment might be a little outdated, since it has been two years since you wrote this article. But here I go antway:
After battling with adult acne for nearly ten years and tryyimg everything from proactiv to oral antibiotics, and achieving nothing but temporary results. I decided to take an all natural aproach to cleanse my skin.
I use baking soda with a few drops of lime just and one drop or two of tea tree oil. It works wonders to remove make up. I stopped using comercial toner a long time ago bc the cotton ball would just come out clean so i found it to be unnecessary; instead I use apple cider vinegar diluted in filtered water (concebtratoon will vary depending on what your skin tolerares) as a toner inmediately after i wash it. And very important i never ever ever put a towel to my face, I always let it airdry. This is all I use at night. During the day I apply a light moisturizer and sunscreen onlt if going out. Once a week I exfoliate with a mixture of extra virgin cold pressed olive oil coffee and sugar. And about three times a week I apply pure honey to my face and leave it on for about 30 mins.
Following this regime relugiosly mi acne has completeky cleared. I get an occasional zit here and there, but nothing major. For the first time in a very long time I can actually leave my house with no make up and no embarrassment.
just sounds to me like you didn’t give it enough time. your skin probably isn’t used to such deep cleansing and is breaking out due to the purging of toxins and grime.
OMG I had to stop after a month because I was getting awful cystic acne allllll over. After I stopped it has gotten considerably better. Currently it’s three weeks after the fact and my skin is almost back to normal though I have these awful acne scars all over and no matter what essential oils or fading creams I use it’s going to take a while till I don’t have to use large amounts of concealer
. This really sucky for me because before the OCM I had scar free skin, which I haven’t had in years, due to accutane treatments a few months before, but was starting to get minor break outs again and thought to try the OCM. For me Acutain has been the only thing to stop my breakouts, though not as sever as most who get put on the medication. I do get sever hyper-pigmentation due to my darker medium tan skin tone. All that being said I think I would try the OCM again and think it was definitely the olive oil that clogged my pores. I would also say to anyone wanting to try to be very proactive about breakouts. Breakouts are caused by skin irritation and not likely a ‘transition’ stage of your face adjusting to the oil.
I also had a TERRIBLE reaction the the OCM, it tooks MONTHS and usage of benzoyl peroxide to resolve it, and then my skin was ridiculously irritated because of the BP. When I first tried the OCM, I used olive oil.
I’ve recently read a lot about the acid mantle and the skin’s natural barrier, and how we are constantly destroying it by washing with foaming cleansers day and night. Since I was still breaking out, I decided to stop the foaming cleansers and try Jojoba oil to remove the makeup from my face at night. It’s been 2 days and so far so good, I basically pour a generous amount of jojoba oil on a cotton pad and gently wipe off my makeup.
I then rinse with cold/warm water and pat dry. The last step is spraying my face with some rose water to help restore the acid mantle.
My face has been through hell and back in the past year, so there’s a lot of damage and I’m not expecting a miracle, but after 2 days I did not get new breakouts.
On days where I do not wear makeup (i.e. stay at home), I skip the Jojoba oil and simply rinse my face.
So basically, if the Jojoba oil doesn’t break me out, it means that a bad reaction to the OCM might simply be due to using the wrong oil.
I really do think olive oil is terrible for acne prone skin, and that Jojoba oil (which is actually a wax) is much much much safer.
Cheers,
Coco
Be careful using Jojoba on your face! Keep in mind, Jojoba oil is actually a wax that is similar to your skins natural sebum. Sounds good for your skin, right? Well, it actually will penetrate deep into your pores and mimic sebum, and this actually makes acne much worse, especially cystic acne. Acne is caused in part by excess sebum that clogs pores and then becomes infected with p. acne bacteria. While Hojoba can be wonderful to moisturize other parts of your body, I strongly discourage you to use on your face!
Thank you Angela for this very sound advice. I agree about being careful using Jojoba, especially if you have acne prone or seb derm skin. I have both, and just learned this lesson the hard way. I tried it and I had a horrible reaction. Lots of hives all around my neck and severe burns around my lips and chin and under my nose. If you try it, I recommend avoiding the sensitive areas of the mouth and nose. I’m the boy in the bubble type sensitive, having thick facial and scalp Seb derm and Rosacea, so maybe you can get away with it, but I’d advise not risking it. Also it burned my eyes badly, any of the oil around the eyes gets in and really stings.
However, I haven’t given up using oil. I really do believe it’s all about the oil that works best for your skin. I’m really concentrating on high linoleic and linolenic acids. My seb derm is made much worse and maybe caused by too much production of oleic acid. I’m now using Grapeseed oil. Hempseed is also good, but it’s heavier, and the color and smell is strong. Grapeseed is very lightweight and calming, also has about a 6-8 SPf. I’m a red head so that really helps.
I’ve also been burned badly in the past by both hempseed oil and grapeseed in the same mouth areas. But I’ve learned, with these 2 oils, due their high linoleic acid content, they go bad quickly. You must get a high quality fresh oil, keep it in the fridge, and watch out for signs it’s going bad, then discard it.. and get a new one. My skin is great right now, but I’ve learned some hard lessons along the way. I’m using the NOW brand pure 100% grapeseed oil, and I’m happy so far….
Hi Michelle–I know this is an old post but wanted to chime in and ask a question. I stopped using the OCM a month ago and I’m still breaking out–the worst it’s ever been. I just started a 2 week oral antibiotic from my doctor, and also a prescription benzoyl peroxide cleanser and gel in the PM (Clinique Acne Solutions in the AM). Do you have ideas on when I can expect to get my skin back?? I can’t understand why it’s getting worse, 4 weeks after stopping the oils.
Thanks!
Hi Kate, if I recall correctly my derm said it can take up to 6-8 weeks for the antibiotics to kick in. So a 2 week course may not actually long enough if you had a severe infection. Good luck!
Hi Michelle,
I thought I’d chime in, hope you don’t mind. I’ve had acne, often cystic, seb derm, contact dermatitis, and rosacea for 26 years or so. What is working for me now is using oil to leave on my face and scalp, without the rubbing. If you use a high linoleic acid oil like grapeseed or hempseed, then the oil will help dissolve the hard oleic oil trapped in your pores and bring it to the surface without the need to rub. This will also mean, no clogging in the follicle. That’s what normal oil is supposed to do, bring it to the surface, not get trapped because it is heavy and hardens.
Then just wash with your favorite mild cleanser or just rinse with water if that’s all you need, each morning and evening before bed. I need to cleanse due to my seb derm and dead skin buildup.
Then, just put some more of that oil on after the wash, because you do not want to have dry skin, just a light film should do it. If you don’t put some oil on after stripping off the skin mantle oil by cleansing, then your oil glands with produce more thick and heavy – waxy sebum to compensate, and that is what you are tryign to stop or at least slow to a normal pace.
Also, these great oils, with their great essential fatty acids, have antibacterial properties, so they should also help to get rid of any existing acne. When I get a small makings of a pimple, I just put a little extra oil on, and within a day or 2, it stops it’s progress, kills the bacteria, and pulls the hardened wax to the surface, and heals/dries up without the infection or white head.
I feel I’m on the right path towards controlling my condition now.. I’m also supplementing with lots of omega 3′s and 6′s (udo’s/hempseed oil). Avoid omega 9′s (oleic acid), we get too much in our Western diet as is, we want the thinner lightweight omega 3 and 9. Good luck and let us know!
Sorry post was intended for Kate, not Michelle..
I use the oil cleansing method twice a week and it has changed my skin for the better. I use one part castor oil to 2 or 3 parts olive oil, depending on how dry or oily my skin is. When I first started, I did get major breakouts, but I soldiered on and it cleared in about three weeks. I then realized that my skin was purging in the beginning of the experiment. My skin now is less oily (still oily but much less than before) and breakouts are at bay.
I use a great Australian product for my OCM called Moogoo. It’s all natural and they have different formulas for different skins. I use the combination and its great. I have a family history of extremely bad eczema and have sensitive skin and this product is fantastic. I also use their milk was for the mornings. Check out moogoo.com.au – worldwide shipping and it’s amazing!!!
I have skin that is thick and prone to congestion. I’ve tried all sorts of things to get of the acne and blackheads.
OCM didn’t do much for me when I tried it years ago, but I didn’t stick with it. It didn’t make my skin worse, but I do think the type of oil makes a difference.
I’ve been using a commercial twist: the hot cleanser. I’ve been using Eve Lom Morning Time Cleanser. It’s definitely helped in my quest for clear skin.
I have sensitive skin that is acne prone with constantly clogged pores, and I’ve been considering OCM. This article and the comments are definitely turning me off of the idea a little bit, but I thought you guys might be interested in this handy little web page:
http://www.beneficialbotanicals.com/facts-figures/comedogenic-rating.html
It shows the comedogenic ratings of oils, waxes, etc..
I’m sure it’s pretty arbitrary, but overall a useful reference. If I were to try OCM, I might go with sunflower oil. I’m allergic to mineral oil, and I wouldn’t put olive oil on my face if you paid me :p Have any acne-prone people tried it with sunflower oil (for more than a couple of weeks)? If so, how did it go?
Help me out, guys! Last week, I came across about this Oil Cleansing Method/Oil Massage(exactly like Michelle’s step by step description of it but without the steam) which was supposed to get rid of blackheads and tighten the skin. The description was so promising so I decided to try it out. However, after a day or two, I noticed that I’ve developed some pimple-like rashes which are very itchy. They won’t go away. What do I do? Help me please!! =(
Hi, my face did the same thing and got so bad with blackheads and whiteheads. Since April, my face just started getting back to normal. But it didn’t start to go away until my dermatologist prescribed my oral antibiotics (doxycycline) which I took one daily for 30 days. If u go that route, read the insert carefully. With that I continued my normal face routine of twice daily wash with 5% benzoyl wash morning and night, morning clindamycin phosphate topical lotion (topical antibiotic), and nightly retin-a. My advice, if the breakout does seem to be going away, start the oral antibiotic ASAP.
← Previous Comments