Thank you Musey! Oil Cleansing is saving my face!

[ericad]

Not sure why I can''t post on your old Oil Cleansing method thread, but I wanted to thank you for it! I saw you mention it on a thread somewhere and I began researching it. I recently turned to Lush skincare and their oily/acne products completely trashed my already acne-ridden face

So I did tons of research and realized my acne was bring caused by years of overdrying, and I switched to Lush''s dry skin cleanser, Ultrabland, which is mainly peanut oil. The sales associates told me I was nuts and tried to talk me out if it but I stuck to my guns, lol. It really improved my skin and this reminded me of your thread on OCM and I did tons of research. For the past few days I have used a mix of castor/grapeseed/jojoba oils and the results are dramatic. My acne breakouts are all but dried up and my remaining skin is spot free! I have read on some forums that people might initially have success, then their skin takes a step back, so while I''m currently using a pretty high castor oil ratio and doing OCM daily, once my skin is healed I will reduce the frequency of doing OCM - probably alternate between OCM and Lush''s Ultrabland, which I like.

In any case, it''s all a lot of experimenting - for example, I''ve discovered my face can tolerate small amounts of cocoa butter, but too much causes mondo breakouts, so I know to avoid it altogether.

So thank you for posting your experience with OCM. After 10+ years of adult acne, I have found something that works!

PS - my mom has also suffered from adult acne all her life. She recently came over and her skin looked great! I asked her what she uses and know what she said? Nothing. She''s been washing with just plain warm water! She only uses cleanser if she wears makeup, which is rare. So obviously acne due to overdrying and depleting the skin of natural oils is a genetic trait!

OCM may not work for everyone, but for acne-prone people like me who have tried everything short of scary prescription drugs, I highly recommend it - it''s worth a try!

 

[reader]

! Wonder if this would help with rosacea?

 

[ericad]

I seem to recall seeing some threads about OCM and rosacea. I would definitely google it and see what you can find out.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I really love Shu Umeura oil cleanser.

cheers--Sharon

 

[february2003bride]

I want to try this! Do you remove makeup with it as well? How about mascara? Thanks!

 

[musey]

Date: 1/3/2010 3:39:14 PM
Author:ericad

OCM may not work for everyone, but for acne-prone people like me who have tried everything short of scary prescription drugs, I highly recommend it - it''s worth a try!

Ericad, I just saw this!! I''m so glad it''s working well for you.

I think the whole skincare industry is confusing itself over what works for whom. I always thought I had dry skin, so I''d use moisturizing products from top to bottom. Turns out it was just a stopgap treatment for the real problem (irritation causing dry patches), instead of a real cure. Stuff only worked for so long, then my skin would freak out in dry patches, so then I''d treat with heavy moisturizers, which would in turn break me out.

OCM mostly cured it, but if I didn''t have time or couldn''t carry it with me (it traveled horribly in my experience), I was assuredly in for a breakout. I think it kept my skin right on the brink of breakout/irritation. I actually have switched to a new regimen that works better for my sensitive, rosacea- and oil-slick-prone skin.

I still LOVE using oil as a makeup remover and to massage away blackheads 1-2x per week, but OCM I think is more suited for people with acne-prone skin -- those are the people who have the best long-term luck with it, I think!

Anyway, I''m glad I played a part in your finding something that works for you!! That''s always wonderful to hear

 

[musey]

Date: 1/5/2010 12:27:55 PM
Author: february2003bride
I want to try this! Do you remove makeup with it as well? How about mascara? Thanks!

It''s the ONLY thing I''ve found that can effortlessly remove my daily three coats of waterproof mascara

Really, really great for that purpose, I think.

 

[ericad]

Glad you saw this, Musey!

I''m still doing OCM and my skin looks good and holding steady. I was still getting random breakouts, so I have changed (well, am in the process of changing) my diet so that I could not only improve what''s going ON my skin but also IN my body.

I''ve almost completely eliminated dairy. After just a week of doing that I have noticed a dramatic reduction in new breakouts. In fact, the stubborn old spots are still trying to heal, but there haven''t been any new ones so it seems to be helping! I also indulged in a snickers bar and the next morning my face looked awful! So I''ve cut out peanuts too, another known acne trigger. So this combo elimination seems to be working.

I''m also slowly trending towards incorporating more raw vegan choices into my diet. I''d like to get to a place of being about 50% raw vegan, if that makes sense. I have been making different recipes from Kimberly Snyder''s blog and really enjoy the food, so I see it as enhancing my diet with very nutritious foods (her recipes for green smoothies are awesome, delicious and packed with raw veggie nutrition!) in combination with other non-raw, non-vegan but healthy choices.

For the first time I feel like I''m really taking ownership of my health both inside and out. It''s a great big fascinating experiment and I''m really getting to know what is healthy for my specific body chemistry and what isn''t.

 

[Haven]

Date: 1/3/2010 3:39:14 PM
Author:ericad
PS - my mom has also suffered from adult acne all her life. She recently came over and her skin looked great! I asked her what she uses and know what she said? Nothing. She''s been washing with just plain warm water! She only uses cleanser if she wears makeup, which is rare. So obviously acne due to overdrying and depleting the skin of natural oils is a genetic trait!

erica--After I read this I started using your mom''s method and my skin looks so much better! It''s really unbelievable. I had little red bumps on my forehead and cheeks before, and now that I''ve stopped using cleanser and switched to only warm water my skin looks as close to perfect as it has ever looked.
Thank you so much for sharing this!

 

[ericad]

That''s fantastic! I am going to try that myself in the mornings. Lush/Oil cleansing in the evenings (for deep and thorough makeup removal) and just warm water in the mornings. I started today - stay tuned!

 

[Haven]

I just wanted to come back to share this:
I spent all day at work in our back-to-school department meeting, so I saw a lot of instructors I haven''t seen for six weeks. Multiple people told me that I look great, and one person I''m close with asked me if I had a chemical peel or something!

Thanks again, Erica.