The Oil Cleansing Method for Oily Skin
With the increasing popularity of the OCM (oil cleansing method) especially amongst bloggers I wanted to try it for myself and see if it would really have an effect in terms of oil control, gentle cleansing, hydration and purifying as many claim.
The Oil Cleansing Method involves cleansing your face with an oil however, I didn’t use a combination of natural oils (like Simple Mom explains) but an over-the-counter cleansing oil product. Let me tell you why I started in the first place:
All the buzz around the OCM got my attention.
From my very basic research I can say that the people who talk about the OCM on the web can be split into 2 categories:
1) The non-experts who have either tried the OCM and they praise all the facts about it. (You can find a very enthuziastic post at Crunchy Betty) or have ended in disappointment (a less optimistic post from Michelle, My brief, traumatic foray into the oil cleansing method)
2) The experts (dermatologists) who respond to this trend by advising people to keep a critical eye on this issue.
One of them is expert Emily Moosbrugger, MD, a UC health dermatologist explains for HealthNews:
“Oil is not something dangerous to use on your face, but if you are prone to breakouts it’s something I would avoid.” She adds that oil can clog your pores instead of cleaning them and it may aggravate skin conditions like acne.
The opinion that the oil cleansing method can work but not for oily, acne-prone skin is also presented in the video from Derm TV, Oil Cleansing Method: Good or Bad.
Although people tend to give more reason to the expert opinion, my experience as a skincare user has taught me that you can’t effectively remove oil based dirt from your face with a water based cleanser (like most of the gel or foaming cleansers). I always had a difficulty in finding a good cleanser and this made me turn towards a cleansing oil. And there is a rational explanation for this:
The anatomy of dirt
There are 2 types of dirt that accumulate on your skin: oil-based dirt (such as oxidized sebum and make-up) and water-based dirt (like dust and sweat). This is a basic chemistry lesson, what happens when you try to mix water with oil? Nothing, they don’t mix! That’s why many, including myself, believe that a regular water cleanser can’t effectively remove the oils from your skin. However, oil has the ability to dissolve other oils (including the sebum secreted by your skin).
With that being said, here are my results:
I changed my regular cleanser (Zero Oil Origins) to DHC Cleansing Oil, unlike other cleansing oils that are formulated with Mineral Oil this one contains Olive Oil. I started using it regularly and I must say I am very pleased with it.
Although experts say that it might clog pores or congest your skin I didn’t notice that at all. I have a very oily skin with mild acne, occasional breakouts, whiteheads and very tinny blackheads and using this cleanser for 4 months didn’t make my skin worse. With this product the cleansing process feels gently yet efficient and it does live you with the feeling that you have already put moisturizer on. I think it helped a lot my dehydrated skin.
My Conclusion
I really see a difference in my skin since I started to use a cleansing oil and I plan to stick to it. How about you, have you ever used a cleansing oil before?
Seems like this oil cleansing method should work for my normal-to-dry skin beautifully too. I need to give it a try.
Why not, I’d be curious to see how it works for you.
It seems that people with very oily skin often strip their skin of oil, causing the oil gland to work even harder thus, producing more oil. In this case it seems that adding back a bit of oil can actually help things calm down and oil production stabilizes.
http://www.dermlasercenter.net
I have been using the oil cleansing method for years and I have extremely oily skin which has also become dry over the past few years. I love the OCM and have a post on it on my blogsite “Opalima Lovely”. Here’s the link if you want to check it out: http://wp.me/p2pjUQ-1U
Water based cleansers don’t clean with water, they clean with soap.. Soap cleans oil. For example.. Dish soap, and body wash other detergents clean up oils. Unfortunately they do mess up the ph balance of your skin, especially your face which in turn can cau irritation and make acne and oil worse.
Thanks for the tip, Heather.
DHC sends samples with their catalog. Agree with that skin looks better after using.
Yes, they offer free samples with every purchase that’s a strong point for buying skincare online.
i start OCM 2 weeks ago this is my 3rd week .. in the first 2 days i used 2:1 castro to oilve oil twice daily but my skin get irrited and exofoilate too much so i reduce the ratio to 1:1 once daiy i started to feel that my skin geting better but latelly i have alot of breakout and iam really worried should i stop or keep going >>
cuz i have tried everything and my skin very very sensitive i cant tolarte anything i really want this to work for me
Hi Sarah,
I think the OCM is a matter of preference and if you don’t see any results why keep terrorising your skin? There are still a lot of experts that say OCM doesn’t really have any say in clearing breakouts however, for some people (including myself) it seems to work. If you don’t see any improvement I suggest you drop it, there are still good products on the market and a lot of variety, for sure you’ll be able to find suitable ones for yourself. Thank you for commenting, I really appreciate it.
I started using the OCM 3 weeks ago. I have oily skin that is acne prone. I used 1:1 castor oil and olive oil and saw amazing results for the first two weeks. Now my skin is going nuts! I’m breaking out like crazy and my skin is producing more oil than it ever did
I even tried adjusting the ratio to 2:1 castor to olive and it got worse. Back to Clinique products for me unfortunately!
Hi Sonia,
Thank you for sharing your OCM experience, and as difficult it is for me to admit it I did hear this kind of stories before. I’m not sure why this happens but if it doesn’t do good than better try something else. I don’t particularly use Clinique because some of their products (that I wanted to try) contain Alcohol Denat (over-drying)and Sodium Laureat Sulfate (comedigenic)and I have a straight policy regarding ingredients. What products are you using from them?
I have oily combination skin, and have been making my own natural oil based cleansers for a few years now and I have never looked back! I struggled with nasty cystic pimples, and hormonal breakouts, but natural oil based cleansers have made that all go away! My opinion is those of you with nasty breakouts are using WAY too much castor oil. it is very drying, and you are simply stripping your skin of natural oils all over again. Try a ratio of 2 parts castor oil to 8 parts grape seed, apricot kernel or some other oil, don’t skip all the steaming and massaging either, they’re a VERY important part of the process. And personally, I would never use olive oil on my face, it’s too heavy, has a large molecule and can clog pores. For oily skin, I would highly recommend grape seed oil, I use it all the time with great results
Hi Randi,
Thank you very much for contributing to our discussions, I think you’ve offered great tips to our readers who are eager to try the OCM but don’t have so much experience with mixing the proper quantity of oils. Step by again!