How to Rejuvenate Your Skin Using Oil Cleansing (Backed By Science)
The beauty industry is a multi-billion dollar business. It produces all sorts of creams and ointments that rob your skin of its natural cleaning and healing properties, making you buy more and more of their artificial stuff. Oil cleansing is a great method that can put you back in control of your skin’s health and make your face shine in its natural beauty.
Some people feel skeptical about using oil to cleanse their skin and they fear that the skin will become overly oily. The opposite is true. Natural oils balance your skin and get rid of the excess bad oils. The method is applicable to all skin types; you just need to play with the oil proportions to get it right for you.
Find out about the ins and outs of oil cleansing, what oils to use and how to mix them.
What is Oil Cleansing?
Oil cleansing uses specific combinations of natural plant oils to clean and balance your skin.
It is usually used for your face and can be combined with gentle steaming.
What Science Says About Topical Application of Plant Oils
According to a review of medical studies published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, topical application of plant oils has numerous benefits. The medical review found that applying plant oils to your skin can promote wound healing, has anticancer properties and can protect from oxidative damage.
Another medical study concluded that commercial facial cleansers “remove skin components, penetrate into skin, alter skin structure, and therefore degrade skin barrier functions and lead to clinical and subclinical skin conditions.” The study highlighted the importance of maintaining the skin barrier during cleansing.
One scientific study found that a topical application of natural plant oils can repair the skin barrier. The study looked at various plant oils such as olive oil, olive pomace oil, sunflower seed oil, coconut oil, safflower seed oil, and argan oil.
Why is it important to cleanse your face? A medical study concluded that facial cleansing is effective at deep-pore cleansing, which may help to manage some acne-associated symptoms.
How Does Oil Cleansing Work?
Unlike commercial soaps and facial cleaners, natural oils don’t destroy the skin’s innate protection mechanisms, but promote self-healing and cleaning. When you apply mainstream skin care products, they aggressively strip the oil (sebum) out of your skin.
Your skin – the body’s largest organ – tries to over-compensate for the loss and produces even more oil, making your skin look greasy.
As a result, you use even more of the drying products, creating a vicious cycle. On top of that, cosmetic products come laden with all sorts of fragrances that often act as irritants and deepen the problem.
As strange as it might sound, when you apply a natural oil to your skin, the skin actually becomes less oily. Oil dissolves oil. This follows one of chemistry’s basic principles: like dissolves like. If you use the right oils, you will help remove the dirty oils and cleanse your pores of dirt and bacteria.
The eliminated oils will be replaced by healthy oils, which will help nourish the skin. Natural oils also balance the skin’s pH, which makes this method so successful in the long run.
There might be an initial adjustment period when skin looks worse after using the oils. But this is just a part of the detox process and doesn’t mean that the oil treatment isn’t working. On the contrary.
Best Oils for Oil Cleansing
Different vegetable oils can be used, and some of them you probably stock in your kitchen or medicine cabinet.
The first oil for skin cleansing is castor oil
Castor oil is excellent at pulling impurities from the skin and for improving your hair as well. It needs to be diluted with some other oil or it will dry the skin. If your skin is already dry, you can still use castor oil, but you just use less of it.
Some are concerned about the castor oil plants unsustainable growing practices that expose workers to toxins. If that is the case, you can also use hazelnut oil as a replacement. You can also use hazelnut oil to naturally cure scars.
The secondary oil for cleansing your skin
The secondary oil (in which you dilute castor oil) can be your choice of a cold pressed vegetable oil. The best options include:
- Olive oil
- Sunflower seed oil
- Safflower oil
- Coconut oil
Oils are mixed in different ratios depending on your skin type. See below for details.
Different Skin Types
It will take a bit of experimenting to get the mixture right for you. Every person’s body is different. You can make smaller batches at first, and make necessary adjustments until you get your perfect formula.
These ratios have been suggested for different skin types:
Oily skin: 2/3 castor oil/hazelnut oil and 1/3 olive or other oil
Normal skin: 1/2 castor oil/hazelnut oil and 1/2 olive or other oil
Dry skin: 1/3 castor oil/hazelnut oil and 2/3 olive or other oil
You can also buy your oil. The ones sold in the shops are usually a combination of botanical oils (olive, sesame, sunflower, grape seed, almond, safflower), an extract (jasmine, green tea), and/or vitamins A and E. But that will of course make it a lot less personal, possibly less natural and more expensive.
How to Do a Facial Oil Cleansing
It’s most practical if you do this in the shower or at the bathroom sink. Also watch the video at the end of the article.
- Pour a generous amount of the oil blend in your hand and massage into the skin. You don’t need to wet or clean the face first. The oil will remove all dirt (including makeup). Massage until you feel the skin is saturated with oil; you can even leave it on for 10 minutes as a mask.
- Place clean washcloth under very hot water, soak it and wring it out.
- Put the washcloth over your face and leave it there for a few minutes (until it cools). This will create a steaming effect and clean the pores. Wipe the oil gently away and repeat two to three times.
- Don’t scrub, just let the steamy washcloth remove the oil. It’s OK for a thin layer of clean oil to remain on the skin.
- If your skin feels slightly dry at the end, you can use a drop of your oil mixture as a soft moisturizer. Typically, no moisturizer is needed.
- Your skin should glow now!
When and How Often Should You Do the Oil Cleanse
It is best to do your cleanse in the evening, before going to bed. Some suggest doing it daily, while others prefer to do it less frequently to give the skin a chance to react and balance itself.
Things to consider
- It is very important for the health of your skin to drink enough pure water. Sometimes skin impurities will reduce if you just stay hydrated and flush the toxins out.
- You won’t achieve perfect skin overnight and a few treatments will probably be needed before you see positive results.
- Allow some time to create your personal oil blend.
- Combine your oil cleansing with some gentle facial massage and relaxation time.
Maintaining healthy skin is also one of the 70 habits featured in my e-book 70 Powerful Habits For A Great Health which will guide you how to take positive steps to improve your wellness and overall health.
Related article: The Best Oils To Combat Wrinkles Naturally + Recipes (Research Based)