If you frequent any natural beauty blogs or forums you're likely to have heard of the Oil Cleansing Method. I read about OCM a while ago and promptly forgot about it. I have been fairly happy with my current skin-care routine for a while now which just consists of cleansing my face with warm water and Olive Oil every night and I saw no reason to mess with it. Since I started cleansing with olive oil I have noticed a marked improvement in my complexion and I've been really happy with the results. There's only one thing that's still bothering me, those really irritating, stubborn and fugly blackheads.
The kind of blackheads that have been on my nose for as long as I can remember, the kind that make me feel as though I have a strawberry for a nose, and the kind that even after a long and painful squeezing session, they seem to be back with a vengeance the next day. I've almost resigned myself to never getting rid of them, no matter how hard I've scrubbed, steamed or picked, they're still there.
What is the Oil Cleansing Method?
OCM is where you cleanse your face using a mixture of Castor Oil and an oil of your choice. I am going to use a mix of Castor Oil (20%), and Sweet Almond Oil (80%), but different people prefer different Castor oil amounts and different oils. I am going to use Sweet Almond Oil for now as I already have some but next time I would like to try Jojoba oil which is more like the skins natural sebum. A high percentage of Castor Oil can apparently be drying which is why I'm going to try a small amount, people with really oily skins might prefer a slightly higher Castor Oil level. The Castor Oil is important to the OCM as it acts as a cleanser, soaking up all the excess sebum your skin has produced.
The Experiment - How do I do it?
It's really pretty simple! The instructions I'll be following for my experiment are as follows and were largely taken from www.theoilcleansingmethod.com and the Essential Day Spa forum.
1. Find some sort of container for your oil mix, I found a little soap dispenser from the local supermarket. Measure out your oils and pour into your container. It's preferable to have a dark container to preserve the life of your oils, mine is clear but when it's not in use I will be storing it in a dark cupboard. I measured just a small amount of both oils so I can adjust the ratios of each oil if I need to.
2. Massage a small amount of oil into my face using my hands, paying special attention to the areas that I have blackheads, (mainly the T-zone, in particular, my nose!) I will massage for at least 10-15 minutes as apparently this gives enough time for your skin to release some of it's plugs which you are supposed to be able to feel on your hands like little pieces of grit.
3. I'll remove the oil with a cotton pad soaked in hot water and carefully make sure I've removed all excess oil before splashing my face with cold water to close my pores.
4. As the OCM can apparently be quite drying, I will moisturise afterwards with a tiny amount of Sweet Almond Oil.
I'll be performing OCM on my skin every night for the next 2 weeks and reporting my progress at random intervals here, I'm really hoping to be able to report blackhead free skin here any day now!
There's a lot of awesome advice and experimentation to be found on the Essential Day Spa forum where there is a thread dedicated to OCM and the different oils and measurements used as well as peoples results. This was the thread inspired me to try the OCM after reading the successes many have had in removing their blackheads after only a few days of using this method. For further reading, check out this epicly huge thread on OCM at the Essential Day Spa site or visit www.theoilcleansingmethod.com.
