Have you tried Oil Cleansing yet?

Oil Cleansing is by far the most effective way to cleanse all skin types and skin conditions (yes, even oily, acne-prone skin types).

I’ll openly admit though that if you’re new to it, it might take a bit of a mental adjustment to get used to it at first, because it’s so different from traditional cleansing methods. Cleansing your skin with oil can feel strange at first, especially when the conventional beauty industry has told us for decades that oils are bad to use on the skin. This can’t be further from the truth though.

And even though Oil Cleansing can be a bit of an adjustment to get used to at first, I can pretty much guarantee you, that once you see the benefits that it has on your skin, you’ll never want to switch back to a regular cleanser, ever again!

What is Oil Cleansing?

When most people think of washing their face, they imagine foamy lather or milk cleansers, but what most people do not realize is that a lot of those cleansers have toxic ingredients and can strip the skin of its own natural oils and protective barrier.

Oil Cleansing is exactly what it sounds like – cleansing the skin with natural, high-quality, unrefined oils.

Benefits of Oil Cleansing

It’s the Best Way to Remove Makeup

Oil easily lifts oil-free, oil-based and even waterproof makeup off of your skin and your eyelashes. I remember using so many different cleansers in the past where I’d think that all of my makeup was removed, only to wake up with racoon eyes the next morning from the mascara residue that was left behind. Oil cleansing removes all of your makeup so much more effectively than other ingredients will.

It Nourishes the Skin, While Cleansing (and Supports Graceful Aging)

Oils are full of essential fatty acids, amino acids, vitamin E, B-complex vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals. These are all naturally occurring (not synthetically added) within the oils, and have huge benefits for the skin, actually nourishing it while you cleanse your skin.

All of these rich, essential ingredients are especially a HUGE benefit for dry, mature-looking skin, making it a wonderful support for graceful aging.

It Cleans the Skin at a Deeper Level

Jojoba oil, in particular, acts as a soap. This is hard to imagine when we immediately visualize foamy suds and bubbly lather when we think of soap. Jojoba oil has been found to effectively remove makeup, dirt and debris from the skin far better than any foaming soap can.

The molecules in oil are also much smaller than the molecules that you’ll find in foaming cleansers, bar soaps and milk cleansers. This means that those molecules can dive deeper down into the skin to cleanse and nourish the skin at a much deeper level.

It Supports the Skin and the Protective Barrier

Many foaming cleansers and milk cleansers on the market strip the skin of its natural oils, protective barrier and very delicate microbiome. This can be detrimental to the skin, leading to irritation, sensitivity, excessive dryness or excessive oiliness.

Oil cleansing is the most gentle, yet most effective way to protect the natural lipid barrier and the microbiome.

It Balances Oil

If you remember back to high school science (sorry if that’s not a good memory for you), you may recall the old saying “like dissolves like”.

What does this mean? Well, if like dissolves like, that means that oil dissolves oil.

Contrary to what the conventional beauty industry says, oil actually helps balance oily skin overtime.

One of the most detrimental beliefs in the conventional beauty industry is that oily skin must be “forced” in unnatural ways. When I was in aesthetics school, I was taught that oily skin should be treated with harsh synthetic, detergent-like ingredients. “Soak up the oils, and the oils will dissolve”. Sounds logical, right? But here’s the problem – your skin produces oil because it’s needed for its natural functioning. If you keep using harsh detergents to completely dissolve the oil, your skin is going to start over-producing oils in order to compensate, creating a really vicious cycle and product-dependency.

What Oils Are Best for Oil Cleansing?

Not all oils are created equally. Some are thick and heavy, others are light and quickly absorbable. Some are refined, others are unrefined.

The top two oils for all skin types and conditions are jojoba oil and hemp seed oil, which are light, fast-absorbable and closely mimic the skin’s natural oils. Both oils can be found in my Sacred Calm Soothing Oil Cleanser + Moisturizer.

If you’re searching for your own oils, make sure they are organic and unrefined.

Non-organic oils can contain pesticides, which are toxic for your body, and can also be detrimental for your skin’s microbiome.

Refined oils are chemically processed with a high level of heat, which removes a lot of the essential nutrients in the oils, and also oxidizes them much quicker. Unrefined oils are cold-pressed (no heat) in their pure, raw state, so you get all of the benefits from the oil.

How to Oil Cleanse

It’s really simple to oil cleanse:

• Apply about a nickel to quarter size amount of oil into your hands and massage it into the skin of your face and neck.
• Massage into your skin and around your eyes (to remove mascara) for about 60 seconds, in order to give the oil time to work its magic.
• Remove the oil with a warm damp cloth.
• If really heavy makeup is worn, I recommend repeating steps 1-3.

Summary

If you’re brand-new to oil cleansing, try this method for at least a month before judging it. Cleansing your skin with oil can seem a bit weird at first, and can be a bit difficult to get used to. But I can pretty much guarantee that once you see the benefits that it has on your skin, you’ll never switch back to a regular cleanser again.