Yes…that is correct. The best way to treat your oily skin is to use…oil!

What?! Are you crazy? I am trying to get RID of the oil. NOT add more oil to my already oily skin! I won’t do it!

Ahhh…but  you should. And here is why!

Your skin produces oil to protect and moisturize as well as clean itself. With out the sebum that is produced by the sebaceous glands, our largest organ would not function properly. What we have traditionally done throughout the years, especially those of us with oily skin, is use harsh cleansers and astringents to strip away the oils. So when we go and use these harsh detergents and soaps and strip away our naturally occuring sebum, the skin goes into overdrive and produces even MORE oil to replace and compensate the oil that has been removed.

But my skin feels so icky and tacky and I have dirt all on my skin. How is putting more oil on top of the oil that is there make it any better? Basic chemistry lesson…like dissolves like. Meaning, oil will dissolve oil. It will also clean and replace. So instead of taking that harsh astringent or detergent to remove dirt from your face, take a cotton ball, dipped in oil, and clean your skin. The fresh, clean oil will dissolve the dirty, old oil and replace it with clean oil. Castor oil, which is very antibacterial, is the best oil to use for cleaning your skin. But Castor oil can be overly cleansing and may actually cause your skin to dry out, so you want to dilute it with another oil. An oil that is lighter in weight and not as strong in cleansing as Castor oil. Here comes Jojoba oil (my personal choice). This oil is the BEST oil to use. Jojoba is actually a liquid wax. Much like the sebum that our own skin produces. When it comes to cleaning and replacing the oil on your skin, Jojoba is the best oil to use as it is the only vegetable oil that closely matches human sebum. The following is a list of oils that can be used with Castor oil to help with the cleaning and moisturizing regimen for your skin. You will also see which oils are good for the type of skin your have.

  • Jojoba (all skin types, but very desirable for acne-prone skin)
  • Sweet almond (all skin types, especially oily)
  • Grapeseed (all skin types, especially oily)
  • Avocado (dry and aging skin)
  • Sunflower Seed (all skin types)
  • Olive (all skin types)
  • Apricot Kernel (dry, aging, and normal skin)
  • Argan (all skin types, especially aging skin … very pricey)
  • Tamanu (all skin types … very pricey)

Depending on your skin type, you are going to want to blend one or two of these oils with Castor oil to do your oil cleansing routine. Use the following ratios as guidelines, but keep mixing until you get the right combination for you. So I would recommend that you start with very small amounts at first until you get that perfect ratio!

For Oily Skin, you want to use MORE Castor oil than the other oil. So your ratio may be something like 3:1. Meaning 3 parts Castor Oil to 1 part carrier oil (any of the above oil)

For Normal Skin equal parts Castor oil to any of the carrier oil.

For Dry Skin you will do the reverse of Oily Skin and do 1 part Castor oil to 3 parts carrier oil.

Now keep mixing until you get a comfortable ration. This is on the diluted end but you will know your own skin best and you can mix it up how you like. Just remember, the oilier the skin, the more Castor Oil you want in your formulation. The drier the skin, the less Castor Oil you want in your formulation. A quick note about using this method to cleanse the face. With the first several applications, you will see your face actually look a bit…worse. Meaning more breakouts and the sort. Do Not Worry! This is normal. I remember when I did this years ago…I used only Jojoba Oil. My face broke out and I was freaking out! But after a couple of days it cleared up. Why did this happen? Remember the cleansing action of the oils? What the oils do, especially Castor Oil, is break up the dirt and draw out the impurities in the skin. So while you are starting this method of treatment, you will notice a change in how your skin looks and how it feels as the oils pull out the dirt and impurities. But be strong! The clear, even balanced skin will shine through.

How to use this method to clean the face!

OF course you have now found your favorite blend and ration. CONGRATULATIONS! Now you will begin putting it to you on your skin. The best time of course to do this is at bedtime.

1. You have your dirty face!

2. Rinse lightly with warm water.

3. Take your oil blend and pouring some in the palm of your hand and gently massage into your face and skin in an upwards movement. Do this massage for about two minutes. You can let the oil sit on the skin for an extra 30 seconds to let the oil combination to penetrate your skin and remove the dirt and impurities.

4. Rinse with very warm water. Take your clean wash cloth and soak it in the warm to hot water. Make sure the water is not so hot that it burns the skin.

5. Wipe clean with the washcloth.

You are finished! Remember, when you are first using this method of cleansing, your skin will react funny. It will take some time to get accustomed to and you may find that this is not the method for you. But if you do choose to use this method to clean your skin, you will notice a difference within a couple of weeks. Your skin will begin to balance out and you will see your problems slowly disappear.

Now you can fight or clean your oily skin with…OIL!

This post was put together with information gathered through research, personal use and online research via medical blogs and health and beauty blogs (Crunchy Betty and WebMD)