Most of us have heard of cleansing oils which are sold commercially under various skincare and makeup brands. These cleansing oils are oils combined with emulsifying chemicals to clean the skin of dirt and impurities. I myself am a loyal user of cleansing oils to remove my makeup at the end of the day.
However, I’ve recently been made aware of something called the “Oil Cleansing Method” that has no bearing on the products I’ve been using. Many people who use the “Oil Cleansing Method” say that it helps their skin improve in texture and clarity keeps them blemish free.
I was intrigued – what is this “Oil Cleansing Method”?
Oil Cleansing Method
The “Oil Cleansing Method” uses oil to cleanse the skin. Not those commercial oils you find at the store, but actual oil which you can use to cook with or edible oils e.g. olive oil, sunflower seed oil, coconut oil, castor oil etc. The principle is thus: Oil is only broken down by oil. Sort of like fighting fire with fire. You use oil to breakdown the oils and dirt on the face and remove impurities from the pores.
The basic principle is thus as extracted from here:
- Mix Olive Oil with Castor oil – mix olive oil into castor oil to make it easier to spread and castor oil has anti-inflammatory and healing properties while olive oil is touted to have anti-oxidant properties.
- Pour the oil mix into the palm of your hand and spread on your face, massaging lightly to remove makeup and impurities from the skin. You can’t rush this because these oils take a longer time to work compared with commercial cleansing oils.
- Once you have fully massaged in the oils into the skin, wet a facial washcloth with warm (not boiling hot but steaming) water and place it over your face, allowing the heat and steam to soften the oils. When it cools, gently wipe your face with the wash cloth and repeat twice.
- You will find that the heat from the water will remove the traces of oil from the skin and the skin ends up feeling very soft and smooth.
I tested this method myself recently after reading about it. Initially, I was sceptical. I had a bad experience with using Olive Oil as a home made oil cleanser before and I did not want to have to repeat that experience. However, after reading the many articles online about the Oil Cleansing Method or OCM, I realised that I had been doing it wrongly all along, which possibly explains why it did not work for me.
I’d missed out the crucial hot water cleansing step which is the step that actually helps with the deep cleansing and oil removal from the skin. Be careful when using hot water as water that is too hot can cause broken blood vessels on the skin which can be unsightly.
Using Olive Oil to cleanse skin
I don’t have other oils on hand as I tend to cook with Extra Virgin Olive Oil or an oil blend and I did not relish going out to get a bottle of sunflower seed or almond oil or even jojoba oil which is lighter than Olive Oil just for the purposes of this experiment. So, I took the plunge with Extra Virgin Olive Oil used by itself without castor oil. Here’s my experience:-
- I poured some Olive Oil into the palm of my hand and warmed it up in my palms by rubbing my palms together until the oil felt lighter, then I applied it over my dry face. This method calls for dry face and hands.
- I took my time to massage in the oils into the skin which all in all, takes about 15 minutes. You’ll find the oil sort of absorbs into the skin and you can feel bits of dirt on the skin surface.
- I had boiled up some water so I filled half a small basin with hot water and then mixed in some cold water so it won’t burn the skin. I soaked a facial cloth in the water and laid it on my face and let it cool. Then, I wiped my face and repeated this step twice.
At the end of it, I found that:-
- my skin did not feel oily or tight
- my skin felt smooth and clean
You don’t have to wash your face with a cleanser after that, as the basic concept behind the Oil Cleansing Method is reducing the chemicals you put on your skin. However, you can wash again after Oil Cleansing if you feel you need it. I do, and I wash but that’s me. You also are only supposed to moisturise with a dab of the same oil, massaging it into the skin. But I don’t do that.
Deep Cleansing with the oil cleansing method
There are many people out there who tout the Oil Cleansing Method as the saviour for troubled skin and attribute their glowing skin to it. Personally, I don’t have that glorious a tale to tell, as I’m firstly too busy or too tired to use this cleansing method every day and secondly, I’m too worried that this method which is deep cleansing, may irritate my skin too much. Many people vouch for this method as the reason for their glowing skin but I’m sticking to my cleansing oils for now because its just more convenient for me and because it has been working well thus far. Also, I dislike using hot water directly on my skin and that is the only way to remove the oils from the skin. By contrast I can easily rinse off cleansing oils with warm or even cold water.
So, I use the Oil Cleansing Method once a week or when I have the time (or when I remember because I’m really quite lazy) and when I try the Oil Cleansing Method, I find that my skin is doing fine. Perhaps its not breaking out from the Olive Oil this time because its getting steamed off and cleaned properly. I don’t plan to make the Oil Cleansing Method part of my daily regime due to time factors, but it works great as a weekly or fortnightly deep cleansing regime.
Oil Cleansing Method vs Cleansing Oils
How are they different? The oil cleansing method calls for natural oils without additives whilst commercial cleansing oils e.g. Shu Uemura, Kanebo etc have chemicals added to emulsify the oils. Naturalists would prefer using the oil cleansing method as part of their beauty regime as there are less or no chemicals involved. You can also make your own cleansing oils if you can find the ingredients for the emulsifiers. But that is another story! :)
If you are a regular user of the Oil Cleansing Method I would like to hear your story. Or if this method did not work for you, I’d like to hear your story too! Just don’t bash other people’s skincare regimes and products and I’m fine with that. :) You can also read Viva Woman’s experience here.
Don’t mean to be shamelessly doing promo – but the Nana Mays products use exactly this principle. Their Magic Hands and Face rely on dead sea salt and 100% natural oils to clean and moisturize the face, that’s why proponents eventually have nothing in their skincare regime except the Nana Mays Face.
By the way, another really great natural skin care tip that’s cheap – use 100% natural, preferrably organic, unsweetened and unflavored yoghurt on your face first thing in the morning. Just lather it on, and let dry for 15 minutes while you do other things. Then wash off with room temperature water. I know a woman with baby soft skin (poreless!) in her 70s who uses this method.
You’re good! 15 mins massaging is a long time. I don’t have the patience. 5 mins can just about kill me. :p Plus the washing off with the steaming water…it’s all too time consuming. So I keep it to about twice a week now. However, never tried the oil used for cooking. Hmm…very interesting. I have extra virgin ollive oil in my kitchent too. Let’s see if I dare to try with it.
@tinytapir : I’m going to have to try the Nana Mays and see how it works. Very curious now. Thanks for the tip about yogurt – I don’t have the luxury of using it every morning but maybe weekends might do the trick!
@sesame: And thats why its only once a week or whenever I feel like it for me! Takes too long otherwise.
I’m just starting to experiment with cleansing oils – cos I accidentally bought Clinique’s cleansing oil when I was supposed to buy the normal make-up remover! Still haven’t gotten the hang of it though…
natural way sure beats the commercialized cleansing oil eh? but one thing is, it is too time consuming, and need to have warm water ready too. i guess its too much trouble for me. lol. will stick to the commercialized oil
@rinnah : Its really easy to use and I don’t use anything else. Try using these tips for using cleansing oils and see if it helps make it easier :)
@prettybeautiful: It does, but it takes way too long to do it daily. The ladies who use it daily have reported glowing skin and great success with it though. For myself I do this only when I feel like it and when I have the time. Otherwise, its commercial ones for me, unfortunately.
i think i like the yogurt idea since i get organic yogurt pretty easily,lathering cool cold yogurt on the face will probably get all my lazy bones up in the morning!
Speaking off cleansing oil, I kinda like Origin’s one.
ooh nana may’s hand scrub so heavenly! i’ve tried it when they have the roadshow at klcc (cant remember when though) but never got around to buy it, what with my fastmoving budget hahaha.. planned to check it out when my family had the next urge for mid eastern restaurant we frequent near tiny tapir’s store :)
wanted to try out this OCM but hard to find carrier oil here in Malaysia like jojoba oil or such. So end up using vitamin e oil.. Dont know whether do the same effect as well.
Hey, do you know where to get that kind of oil, any online place. If do, pls tell.
Never heard of Nana May though. Is it good?
For the oil cleansing method, it is very important to remember to only use EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL and not those normal olive oils. You are not supposed to use all the other normal olive oils cos’ it won’t be good for your skin.
On a similar topic, I like using baby oil to remove my make up. It leaves my skin soft, does a really good job, it doesn’t sting my eyes and it is very gentle since it was meant for babies so it doesn’t cause irritation. Baby oil removes waterproof make up completely too. Just clean your make up using a cotton ball/pad with some baby oil on it, then use a good cleanser and warm water to wash your face, and continue with toner and all. It’s cheap and does a great job. My fave is the pink cap Johnsons & Johnsons Baby Oil. =)
Here’s a little tip to test if your facial wash is a good one. A good facial wash is supposed to remove traces of oil (from oil based make up removers) from your skin without drying out or causing irritation to your skin. So, if your skin still feels oily or dry after cleansing, your facial wash is not doing a good job. Just thought i’d share.. =)
Also would like to mention that i tried out the Shu Uemura cleansing oil before and it irritated my skin and i ended up with flaky, patchy red skin on my face. =(
I guess it’s not for everyone.
I use the OCM too! With jojoba and grapeseed oil. I can’t use the extra virgin olive oil coz my mom will kill me. To her it’s expensive and she’d rather use it for cooking.
And guess what? I’m not allergic to all oils after all. Lol…. Have been using them for over 2 weeks. Other than a few occasional acne that appeared because of my period, my face is still radiant and clear. Was kind of skeptical about using them at first. So I did a patch test for two days before using.
@Reese : Ah for the luxury to do that every morning! :) I’ve never tried Origins’
@anis: Ooh I’m happy to read glowing reports about Nana Mays. I’m going to have to try it now. And that restaurant is good?! ;)
@Rikairi: I only cook with extra virgin olive oil so that’s what I have on hand. Baby oil works for some too but others have reported clogged pores so its not suitable for everyone. Shu Uemura’s oils don’t work for me either. I usually use any old cheap brand I can get. Thanks for sharing
@einazani : Its not only hard, its expensive. You can get these carrier oils at natural or organic food stores though. They cost a bomb. Vitamin E oil has slightly different properties so I wouldn’t use it as a cleanser. Its good for leaving on your face though.
@Ms. Blacklace: Good to hear the OCM method is working for you! I guess Jojoba and grapeseed oil are lighter so it takes less to clean it off than olive oil that’s much heavier and stickier.
a little off topic PB but yeah, the restaurant, and also the one across the street at the main road r quite nice if u like moroccan and mid eastern cuisine. we went there only once in a while when my inlaws are in town. the portions are huge i tell u, so if u wanna go juz dont go there alone ;)
@anis : I love my food so thank you for letting me know about this restaurant! I’ll be sure to drop by and try it some day.
Woah, 15 mins of massage? You sure are diligent :p I’m so lazy that even 5 mins is considered a feat.
I use cleansing oils, but not actual olive oil. I’ll give this a go and see if it works for me. There’s a big tin of olive oil sitting in my kitchen anyway ;)
I heard that it is essential to add castor oil as well because it is actually the one which carries out the impurities? Not sure how true is it but you might want to have a search on this topic =)
@Tine : I don’t mind doing it once a week or fortnight but not everyday – too lazy haha…
@Cyndi: Based on what I’ve read, castor oil is not a must but it helps if you have it. Since I was just doing a trial run I wasn’t about to go out and buy castor oil :) But if I plan to do this regularly then I might.
I’d advice not to use baby oil to remove makeup!! The contents in baby oil are mostly mineral oil aka liquid petroleum, and perfume. I’ve personally tried it before (because I wanted to save on my running-low chanel remover ><), and two weeks of it was enough to leave my eyes with a few lines of wrinkles! It makes the skin area of the eyes weaker I must say. Mineral oil is a no-go, cosmetic companies include it in products because its a cheaper ingredient :)
@pandabee : I agree with you about baby oil. Many commercial products do contain mineral oil and some people are more sensitive to it than others. Still, mineral oil does clog pores so its not good for the long term.