Oil cleansing method - anyone still doing it?

[CakeandRoses]

Is anyone still doing ocm after the original mumsnet craze a couple of years ago?

If so, how's it working for you now? What method/oils/frequency do you use now?

If you gave up was it due to the issues mentioned on the threads then? Eg:

• Open pores
• Dry or flaky skin
• Boils/spots under the skin
• Excess hair (eeek!!) Believed to be caused by the castor oil.
• Rashes

I've just started doing ocm and my skin is looking amazing. I'm not using castor oil yet (ordered from amazon), just sweet almond oil and argan oil for any extra moisturising needed afterwards. I'm planning to massage almond oil on daily and wipe off with a muslin, a la eve lom/liz earle (I believe) and do the castor oil + steaming 1-2 times a week.

Thank you!

Whats this about about bicarb?

No shampoo - just rinse your hair in 1 tbsp bicarb/250mls water (that lasts me about 3 days), then a everyother time or so an acid rinse (1tbsp cider vinegar/lemon juice).

I didn't believe it, but my previously wash every day, greasy by evening hair is lovely. It's soft, haven't missed conditioner, and I'm only needing to do the bicarb rinse every other day.

Apparently if I keep it up the oil production will slow down and I won't even have to wash it every other day.

www.natural-forces.com/essays/poofree.htm

here's a link. I'm sure I've seen threads on here about conditioner only plans too, but the bicarb is working wonders for me (fine, long, greasy hair)

Thanks for the link, sound interesting but dont think it would work very well on my hair(suffering hair thinning and loss)

yeah - they claim it's good for all sorts of things, but no-one's mentioned thinning in the articles I've read (although I have a friend that swears MSG makes him lose his hair.. unless you're eating a load of chinese food that's unlikely to be an issue though)

Thanks for that chunk will try that too. I tried the conditioner only method but my head started getting itchy and a bit dandruffy after a couple of months. Shame as initially I loved it as my hair looked great. My hair's oily so it might suit the bicarb method more.

Had to update this as I've gone thru the breakout phase and now have reached a proper Wow! moment: almost no blackheads on my nose for the first time ever!

I read some skin forums about ocm and the women on them were using 30/70 castor/other oil and were massaging for 7 minutes (i was just doing 1-2 mins). I've done this a few times now and have felt the sebum plugs (urgh!) actually coming out - by the end of the massage the oil was more like a scrub

i'm alternating this method with my previous one of jojoba or sweet almond oil (no castor), no steaming and just massaging for a couple of mins.

and chunk are you still no-poo? how's it going? it sounds as tho we have similar hair so i'm planning to try this method

Yes I still do this but only when I have to remove some makeup after a long event. It refreshes my skin before I even do the actual washing. :)

Chipstick, if you have thinning and loss try nioxin, i have been on it 8 mths now and the difference is amazing. I am practically a poster girl for it with my stylist, it isn't cheap but you use a pea sized amount so lasts ages, i started just with the cleanser and scalp therapy (conditioner) but have added in mousse and hairspray too once i started seeing benefits. She said it takes 3-6 mths to see benefits and to persevere, i saw a change within that tme though and it is just getting better and better. Have DH on it now for his seborrheic (sp) dermatitis and it see,s to be helping that too, waiting for thr US only product specifically for that to come over from States (thankyou ebay) so at the moment he is just using mine. I am still on my first bottles, i think my salon think i don't wash my hair. I don't everyday but i have only used this in that time and that is the key i think. I am finally proud of my hair again, i could cry. I honestly don't work for them even though i keep posting about it, i just know how awful it is to have this problem and to have finally found an answer.