Disclaimer: I have always had terrible skin. Oily, shiny, bumpy, and spotty, my teenage years were full of visits to the doctor to find a way to wipe my filmy face clean. Apparently this means I will have less wrinkly skin when I get older, but for the time being it is inconvenient. I have been encouraged to try oil for skin care in the past and flat out rejected it because, DUH, a shortage of oil is not my problem!
Then my dear friend with porcelain skin told me she was trying the Oil Method of skin care and loving the results. I was skeptical, but she explained to me how it worked (something past proponents of oil could never do):
- It's a mixture of castor oil and a second "carrier oil" (she uses almond, I use extra virgin olive)
- The castor oil is the key - it is the ingredient that binds to oil and draws it out of your skin
- Unlike the hoo-has who told me to use oil in the past, this does not involve slathering oil on your skin and leaving it there, but massaging oil into your skin and then steaming it off which has the benefit of actually pulling oil and ickiness out of your skin
- It follows the principle that "like attracts like" - oil based products will better adhere to oil and remove it, something I remember as true from grade 11 chemistry (Hey Mr. Ianone! You were right! Chemistry is helping me in my adulthood!)
I was convinced! I tried it! IT WORKS!
Admission: I do not yet have porcelain skin. I still have some little breakouts, but I know that those are at least in part due to the fact that I keep sitting at my desk with my face in my hands and hands are gross and should never touch your face. What has changed is that the quality of my feels much nicer, the colouring seems to be evening out, AND the little breakouts I do have stay small, manageable, and much less noticeable, as opposed to stubborn red eruptions all over my face. I am confident that it will slowly turn my in to the porcelain skinned goddess I have always dreamed of being and that my life will become perfect.
HOW DO YOU DO IT YOU ASK? (Yes, you are yelling, because you are excited like me.)
- Go buy some castor oil. You can find it at a drug store.
- Choose your carrier oil. Like I said, I like extra virgin olive oil mostly because it's easy to find and cheap. Other options include almond oil and sunflower seed oil. Canola and other cooking oils are nicht good (that means bad).
- Work out your formulation. Castor oil is the active ingredient, and the proportions of castor to carrier oil depend on your skin quality. I have about 30% castor oil for my oily skin. Dry skinned types are recommended to go down to about 10%. You may have to play around to find your variation.
- Consider adding Tea Tree Oil if you have acne issues (like moi [sorry, just watched the Muppets movie and Miss Piggy is influencing my writing])
- USE IT!
- Rub a generous amount all over your face. Really massage it in. This website recommends meditating on how beautiful your skin will be while you rub that oil in. I don't do that because it takes too long and is silly.
- Let it sit and soak in. I usually massage in the oil, then rub the excess oil into my hands and cuticles (because, you know, "waste not") and then brush and floss my teeth to give it time to soak nice and deep.
- Steam it off! To do this, get a face cloth, soak it in hot water, and place the cloth over your face. Let it sit until it cools. Repeat. Maybe massage the cloth gently into your face a little (but don't scrub!). Do this a few times.
- Sometimes I then splash my face with water to flush everything out.
- If you're feeling a little tight and dry after this, rub a tiny amount of oil onto your face and leave it there.
- VOILA! YOU HAVE BEAUTIFUL SKIN!
PS: I just read the end part of the article on that website I linked to, and it says you shouldn't do this every day. So far I have been with no problems, so... liars?
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