Undercover Hippie Files: OCM

I told you I had stopped washing my face. Yes, it’s true - kinda.

My beauty routine started out so well. I, unlike everyone else in the world, managed to escape the horrors of high school skin. Mine was fine, I never had any real problem with it. I’d get maybe one bad zit a month, and being a teenager, I thought my world was over, but looking back I had to sooo easy. Then I turned 21 and I don’t know what happened. I had been using the same oil of olay foaming face wash for 5 years and it had never failed me before but my skin was not having it anymore. I turned into a wanderer, roaming from one face soap to another until last spring when I got fed up. I knew there had to be another way. Since then, I haven’t put a single commercial soap or cleansing product on my face. I just rub a little oil on my face every night. Of course, there is a method to my madness. If you just rub random oil on your face you will probably end up looking like a pizza and have to wash your sheets all the time and that probably isn’t healthy or effective, although it might be cheap.

Technically, my routine is called the oil cleanse method (OCM) and if you Google it, I’m sure you will find lots of information but here is what I do:

The Recipe:

Castor Oil

• Where I found it –with the Epsom salt and mineral oil in the medicine section of Walmart (did you know Walmart took the “–“ out of their name? Well, they did but apparently nobody has told spellchecker yet). You could ask a pharmacist but then he might loudly tell you it is located with all the other laxatives and then you might get all flushed and embarrassed. Not that that will happen, but it could.

• Its purpose – Castor oil is the drying and cleansing oil. And for all you ladies out, it removes makeup too, so you don’t have to use a separate makeup remover.

A Nourishing Oil

• Where I found it – You have options but they can all be found at the grocery store. I use olive oil although I’ve heard other people say they really like sunflower seed oil. I don’t because I don’t use sunflower seed oil in my kitchen and I like the way olive oil has worked for me. And, if you are like me and don’t like the real strong smell of some “olive oil products,” don’t worry, this mixture doesn’t have that same olive smell. It makes me wonder what they are putting in those products?

• Its purpose – It thins the mixture, reduces the effect of the castor oil which by itself is quite strong and moisturizes.

Small Container –

• Where I found it - I have been using one of those $0.50 travel size bottle from Walmart that you can put your own shampoo it. It works fine for everyday use but ironically, it isn’t good for traveling. The lid snaps shut and I think it would hold shampoo well but the oil leaks out. As soon as my castor oil bottle is empty, I will clean that out and use it since it is made to hold oil. And it is less ugly.If you come up with a better option, let me know.
  

• Its purpose – To hold the mixture, duh.

The ratio: Basically, you just mix the castor oil and the olive oil (or other “nourishing oil”) together in your container. It’s the ratio of the two that allows you to adjust it to your specific skin type. I don’t ever measure it, just eyeball it.

I have pretty dry skin and I use about 20-25% castor oil, the rest is olive oil. The more oily your skin is, the more Castor Oil you should use. I’ve heard a 1:3 (castor to olive) ratio is good for oily skin. On my second batch, I ran out of olive oil and ended up with a ratio of 1:1 and after 2 or 3 days, I was really dry. But I just added some olive oil after my next grocery trip and I was okay. Just play around till you find what works well for your skin.

The routine:

It works best if you do it at night, and it takes a few more minutes than a regular face washing but that’s okay since you aren’t in a hurry! Pour a tablespoon or two of your mixture into your hands and rub it on your face, really working it into your skin all over. Think of it as a massage. Supposedly, this method works because the oil you made dissolves the oil in your pores (which technically I guess you made too :-). Then grab a washcloth and put it under hot running water. Hold it in front of your face. The steam will open up your pores. I do this a couple times. Then when the washcloth has cooled off for the final time, wipe off the oil. You don’t need to scrub it off but I do wipe forcefully (think toddler with non-dried on food on their face).

You might feel like you are still oily, at first I did. It took me a while to realize I was just moist and not dry and painfully tight like I was used to. When I used a regular face wash, I always had to use a moisturizer but not with this method. You can put a drop of olive oil on your hands, rub it around and pat it on your face if you are feeling dry though. In the morning, I just splash cold water on my face and sometimes by then I need a drop of oil. And after I go swimming, I typically rinse off my face and put on a drop then.

And that is all there is too it. It meets all three of my criteria. It’s cheap. It’s effective. And it is healthy (even if you haven’t had any problems with the chemicals in face soaps, it can’t hurt not to use them, can it?) Here are some other resources if you are unconvinced or what more info:

This is from the Natural Acne Magazine, which I do believe means that even young teenage boys who think this won’t work for them might be mistaken. Not that any young teenage boys will probably be reading this, but their mothers might, couch, cough.

This one has pictures, I love pictures.

This one I found on WFMW just a month or so after I started. It helped me fine tune my routine.