Would you eat your face wash? Over the past few years I have been trying to follow the rule: if I wouldn't put it in my mouth, I won't put it on my body. Have you ever tried the trick where you rub garlic on your foot, or tape it to your wrist and you get garlic breath? Our skin absorbs everything that we put on it and can affect our bodies internally as well.
Chris Kresser recently wrote a series on Toxic Skincare Products where he discusses the dangers of many common ingredients we find in skincare products available today. While so many people today are trying to eat organic, non-GMO and eliminating processed foods, they are still using Oil of Olay and Ponds on their face. In his article Chris talks about our skin having a microbiome, similar to our digestive system. When this microbiome is compromised by antibacterial soaps, or hand sanitizer, we loose the natural resistance our skin provides us against bad bacteria.
I had horrible skin all through junior high and high school (I also had a horrible vegetarian diet, that directly contributed to that skin, but that is another story). I remember my mom taking me to get facials, do skin peels, all sorts of fancy masks, different types of cleanser and nothing made a difference until I stopped washing my face. When I was about 20 I stopped using moisturizer or face wash all together, but continued to just use water and do a mask or scrub every week or two. I had the best skin I had had in years (a better diet too, but not by much).
When I heard about the OCM it made a lot of sense to me since I had gone a few years with no face wash. The concept is: like dissolves like. So if your skin has oil on it, using oil on yours skin will help to remove that oil as well as the dirt that is caked in to your pores. By not stripping your face of it's natural oils you are also preventing wrinkles and sun damage! I love how my face feels when it is freshly cleaned with the OCM. The whole process is very spa like. Another bonus is that I find I can actually go a day or two without washing my face, as long as I haven't used any of my home-made face powder on those days. Being a busy mom of two young boys getting to skip a personal care step and still feel clean and fresh is lovely!
How to wash your face with the Oil Cleansing Method:
Ingredients
Oil or oil blend that works well with your skin type (the wellnessmama has a good outline of different blends for different skin types). I use an avocado/almond blend
Soft wash cloth
Hot water (hot enough to steam and soften the oil, but careful not to burn yourself!)
Steps
Place a small amount of oil on your fingertips (about a dime, a little goes a long way).
Rub oil on to your face. The more you rub, the more dirt you break up, spend extra time on problem areas.
Soak your washcloth in your extra hot water. Wring out the excess water
Place the washcloth over your face and let it steam open your pores until it cools down, then wipe off the oil.
Rinse out your wash cloth with very hot water
Repeat step 4 at least once, twice of you still feel oily.
Your skin should feel clean and lovely!
Let me know how it works if you try it!