What Is Oil Cleansing?
What is Oil Cleansing?
Oil cleansing is basically a method of cleansing your skin with oil. As crazy as it sounds - oil cleansing actually works! It only sounds unbelievable because we're so used to having commercial products cleanse our skin by removing oil, not adding oil.
When commercial products clean our skin, they strip oil off, and our skin becomes dry and is forced to repair itself. Our skin then overcompensates and creates more oil, which we remove again with more cleanser. Thus starts the never-ending cycle of having oily skin, dry skin, and then oily skin again.
Our skin actually naturally lubricates itself with oil, and we’re not doing it any good by scrubbing it away. You see, our skin needs oil to stay healthy and function properly. The skin's natural oils help to lubricate, heal, protect and moisturize skin, creating healthy skin that is beautiful, clear, and glowing.
That's the idea behind oil cleansing - natural oils in specific combinations help to cleanse the skin and naturally balance the skin's oils. The basis behind oil cleansing is that "oil dissolves oil" and that natural oils can penetrate the skin's pores and remove impurities while nourishing and moisturizing the skin.
Contrary to popular belief, oil will not cause greasy skin or create blemishes, pimples, blackheads or whiteheads. These are a result of various factors including hormones, bacteria, dead skin cells, and the buildup of them. In fact, oil cleansing can help prevent these and other common skin issues.
So how do you get started with oil cleansing? Here's what you need to prepare.
What to prepare for oil cleansing
All you need for oil cleansing is:
a clean washcloth
hot water
Easy, right? Now, let's get started.
How to oil cleanse
Pour about a quarter-sized amount of facial oil cleanser into your palm and rub your hands together to warm the oil.
Massage the oil into your face for about a minute or so to allow the oil to penetrate your skin and dissolve the impurities inside your pores.
Soak the washcloth in hot water and place it over your face for a few minutes until it cools. This opens up your pores so that the impurities can be easily removed later.
Wipe your face gently to remove the oil.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 for another two to three times.
The end result is a clean and refreshed face. If your skin feels tight or dry when you are done, gently massage one drop of the facial oil cleanser into your face until no oil residue is left.
If it’s your first-time oil cleansing, you may have really oily skin for the first few days. This is completely normal and is a good sign that your skin’s pores are trying to balance itself out again. Let it readjust and adapt on its own for a few days - once it clears up you’ll have beautifully balanced skin in no time.
Do oil cleansing regularly and after a few sessions, your skin's natural oils will balance itself out, giving you beautiful, clear and healthy skin. Now you can understand why so many people love oil cleansing!
