Oil Cleansing Again

I have been off and on “Oil Cleansing” for over a year.  Every time I commit myself to my oil cleansing regimen, I allow life and my everyday struggles to make me too tired to continue on a consistent basis.  That being said, for the last few weeks, I have been fully committed to oil cleansing for my face.  The results have been remarkable.  Consistency truly pays off.  My skin is clearer than it has been in months, and it is soft and supple, not dry and flaky. 

 

Many people praise castor oil as the end all and be all to oil cleansing for the face.  For me my go to oil has been cold pressed organic extra virgin coconut oil.  And while I have previously stressed cleansing at night before going to bed, as suggested by many oil cleansers, I have taken to doing my facial cleanse in the morning.  I believe it has truly rejuvenated my skin. 

So what is my practice, you might be asking???  Well I do not wash my face first, as suggested by many others.  Instead, I start with a clean cotton cloth… this can be cotton facial pads, cotton balls, paper towels, or a clean cotton cloth. My choice is the cloth because I can use the entire cloth without having to continue reaching for replacements during the process.

Next, I thoroughly wash and dry my hands, so that I do not overly contaminate my oil.  Using the very tips of my fingers, I massage the coconut oil into my face in a circular motion.  This helps the oil to penetrate the skin.  Once the oil is spread evenly on my face, I get my cotton towel as hot as I can get it, squeeze out the excess, then place it over my entire face.  Just before the towel completely cools, I reheat and wring out.  Then I use the various parts of the towel to slough off the dead skin and now dirty oil from my face.  I do this in quick movements so that the towel does not cool.  Once I have completely removed the oil and dirt from my entire face, I now cool the towel as cold as my hands can take it, and place the cold cloth over my entire face.  This step helps my pores to close and it also helps seal in the moisture.  I then take a little drop of jojoba oil, and spread it over my face, thus thoroughly trapping in the moisture, but sealing with the oil is the closest to the oil our bodies naturally secrete.

This entire process takes less than five minutes.  And I’m done. 

I do wash my face with water and a towel at night before going to bed.  But I have not been oil cleansing at night.  And I will tell you why.  Unlike the way I wrap my hair at night before going to bed, I cannot wrap my face.  As I thought about the process of applying oil to my face before going to bed, and then rubbing that oil all over my pillow case, I came to the conclusion that the oil and any dirt on the pillow case would mix, and lay on my face during the night.  Paranoid as that might sound, we need to remember that throughout the night, dead skin and other organic materials escape out bodies and is left behind on every surface we lay upon.  All the extra cleaning we’ve done to our faces is for naught.  We end up actually needing to repeat the process again in the morning.  This is the reason why I do a gentle water washing at night before going to bed, and then applying the oil that actually protects my skin from the harsh environment the following morning.

Anyway, don’t just take my word for it, try it yourself. 

This is the jojoba oil that I use:  https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/products/jojoba-oil/profile

I love Nutiva’s Extra Virgin Coconut Oil.  In addition to using it for my face (I separate a large amount to use specifically for my face and nothing else), it is also great for cooking.

 For oil cleaning for the body, I use We Are Hadasah’s Oil of Shaman: https://www.etsy.com/your/shops/Tahur/tools/listings/188803104