Also breaking: Water is wet.
Some of the ladies I follow on twitter started writing about this oil-cleaning method that they're using to wash their face. And it sounded really appealing to me. Not so much because I'm worried about putting chemicals on my face, because, let's face it, I wear makeup every day, and I'm sure it's loaded with chemicals.
But here's what's always bothered me about skin care: Our skin creates it's own moisturizer. Stripping it away with harsh cleansers and then adding moisturizer from a bottle seems self-defeating. And our bodies have an amazing way of adapting. For instance, skipping meals can actually cause a person to gain weight, because they body puts itself into starvation mode, thus slowing its metabolism. Similarly, stripping the natural oil from your face will only cause your skin to create more oil.
That's the main reason I was intrigued by the oil-cleaning method. The like-dissolves-like argument made a lot of sense, too. As does the reminder that oil does not cause breakouts. Breakouts are caused by the gunk that gets caught up in the pores. And my breakouts are hormone-related anyway, recently making a comeback after going off the pill.
So I decided to try it.
Because I'm older than these girls, my skin tends to be a bit drier. And prone to wrinkles. And they both talked about having some dry patches from perhaps too much castor oil in the mix. So I started with 25 percent castor oil and 75 percent sunflower seed oil. The castor oil has the cleansing properties and the sunflower seed oil is moisturizing. I massage the oil into my face at night for three minutes or so. (Any longer than that and I start to get bored.) Then I place a hot, wet washcloth on my face to steam it. The steam opens up the pores and allows the grime that's in there to be removed. In the mornings, I simply rinse my face with warm water in the shower.
My immediate impression was that my skin felt very soft and smooth when I was finished. Not oily at all. I've been using this method for about a week now, and while I can't tell a big difference in the way my face looks, I really like the way it feels.
And here's something else I can report: My face is definitely generating less oil. Although I'm a little embarrassed to tell you how I learned this.
Sunday is typically my stay-in-pajamas-and-do-laundry-all-day day. But then we had two snow days on Monday and Tuesday — several inches of snow, icy streets, schools closed, bitterly cold weather. And I just never really found it necessary to get out of my pajamas on those days, either. Or to put my contacts in. Or to shower.
Yes, I'm admitting it here for all the internet and I'm doing it as a favor to you: For three days I did not wash my face. Ordinarily my skin would have been pretty darn greasy by then. And it wasn't. At all. It was just as soft and smooth as it is following the oil massage treatment.
So give this a try. You might be surprised by your own results.
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