Update to OCM, 2 weeks in

[cahabalily]

I'll give you an idea of my skin prior to OCM: oily t-zone, very dry (as in, flaky spots) cheeks. I didn't really have breakouts except when I was stressed, but my skin was dull and I've ALWAYS had blackheads on my nose and chin. I'd tried everything for the blackheads, and couldn't shake them.

Two weeks in, I am very pleased. I'm using a mixture of 80% apricot kernel oil and 20% castor (I was afraid to go higher on the castor due to the dry spots). When I have the time, I steam my face prior to applying the oil as well as after but that's been just once a week so far.

I have noticeably fewer blackheads - they used to be visible to people who were standing (say, at my shoulder) near me (gross, I know!) and now I have to practically kiss the mirror to find any. The oily t-zone and dry patches have both gone away, my skin is pretty much the same regarding moisture all over, and my pores are visibly smaller.

I do have 3 pimples right now, but I attribute that to graduate school/oral exam stress and they aren't painful. Usually my pimples hurt like hell and take weeks to go away - one has already pretty much gone away, the other two are on their way out. All of that to say, I don't think I'm going through a 'purging' process. I read somewhere online that if your skin 'purges', then you're using the wrong kind of oil. Maybe so. Either way, I've skipped that step or something.

The only other thing I'm using is once a week after oil cleansing I'll apply a clay mask (the brand I believe is Nature's Botanicals? It's from Target, and has no chemical ingredients. It's basically clay and glycerin). And I apply Tarte Pure Maracuja oil after cleansing to moisturize.

Whew, that was lengthy! I know someone (papie, maybe?) recently started OCM with poor results, but I wanted to update so if anyone is at her rope's end with skin care, it might be worth a try.

[cahabalily]

I didn't want olive or coconut because they are comedogenic. I just googled "non-comedogenic oils" and found a site that had tons of oils listed under "non- , slightly, or comedogenic". My options were basically apricot kernel, grapeseed, or almond oils (these were noted to be non-drying, for dry skin).k

I went to my grocery store and they had almond and apricot kernel. I picked apricot kernel because I like apricots, lol. It does smell nice.

[cahabalily]

soapnuts.com/noncomo.html

This is the chart I'm referring to. I must have found the list of oils better for dry skin somewhere else...

[ElizabethBennet]

I'll do a check in too. I've been doing the OCM for about two weeks. I do it every evening and I love it. I have dry skin and I've been doing 10% castor oil and 90% olive oil. My skin is so so much better. I have some left over breakout on my chin but it is finally going away. I don't have any more dry patches and the texture of my skin is much better.

I've had what I thought was basically a flesh colored mole on my chin for probably 10+ years. My aunt has something similar so I just thought that was what it was and didn't really think much of it. About a week ago it got a head on it and it is gradually going down. I was shocked that I've basically had a blocked pore that wasn't going anywhere for that long. I was telling my mom about it and she said "But you have a flipper chin and that was basically like a tassel for it. I'll miss your chin tassel." Thanks mom.

This is why I struggle with self esteem lol.

[Kit]

lol @ "chin tassel!"

[sprky79]

I use half castor, half almond.

I don't have the time to do it every day. I would like to get back into the habit of doing it twice a week, and finding a more natural cleanser the rest of the time. I'll get there.

[SKP82]

AEG - if your normal grocery store doesn't have the oils, go to a Whole Foods. I found the ones I use in the section with face wash and lotion. You can find grapeseed oil in most grocery stores, and I know some people use that for OCM.

I, personally, use castor, avocado, and jojoba mixed with couple drops of lavender and tea tree if I'm breaking out. I haven't done the OCM in awhile, though, because I wasn't getting a lot out of my pores and it was kind of a hassle (I didn't feel our water got hot enough to get all the oil off, so I would microwave a wet towel and take it upstairs to do the rest).

[gretchenindisguise]

Ok. Talk to me about OCM like I'm five.

So you buy these oils and mix them in a bottle. Then rub them on your face and rinse with water. Is that the gist of it? Am I missing something?

I've been using an olay spin brush (cheap knock off version of clarisonic). How does that fit in?

[SKP82]

Gretchen - I mix my oils together on a small ceramic dish. I suppose you could mix them all in one bottle so you don't have to do it every time. You massage the oils into your skin for several minutes. Sometimes you will get some things out of your pores (it feels like particles of sand). Then you need to remove the oils from your skin with a very warm towel. A lot of people will "steam" their face with the towel beforehand. To do this, you have a very hot towel that you hold away from your face while standing over the sink. You do not want the towel to touch your face, but the steam coming off the towel will open your pores.

You can do the steam thing after the OCM as well. Then, you take the towel and firmly stroke your face in a downward motion to remove the oils. You want to make sure there is no oil left on your skin. You do not need to moisturize afterwards.

I would not use a spin brush with the oils. But you could use that in your morning routine if you're doing OCM at night.

ETA: You also want to use specific oils based on your skin type. I think someone posted a chart up there.

[ElizabethBennet]

www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/

This is the method I follow, though I do it every evening. I keep my oils in a bottle but I know some mix them in their hand prior to use. The longer I massage the more junk I get out of my skin.

I don't know how it would work with a brush though.

[gretchenindisguise]

That sounds like a long process.

I may be too lazy for OCM.

[SKP82]

Sept 17, 2012 11:59:53 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

That sounds like a long process.

I may be too lazy for OCM.

If you have bad skin (breakouts, blackheads), it would be worth it.

Like I said above, I don't think it was getting as much junk out of my pores as I was hoping, so it wasn't worth it to me to keep doing it so frequently. I do it about once a month now.

[gretchenindisguise]

Hmm, I do have not great skin, but it's gotten better with the brush.

Maybe I'll try it in the future.

[cahabalily]

I steam by standing over a pot of boiling water. And I have the neutrogena version of the clarisonic. I just use cotton pads instead of the neutrogena things to clean, after I use my fingers.