Oil cleansing method - oily skin - how long should I give it?

[strawberry17]

I am 43 and always had oily skin, tried loads of things, always been reluctant to try the OCM, but thought I'd give it a go and see what all the fuss was about. Surprised that it does actually clean the skin, but after a couple of weeks my skin is still really oily, is it a long game? will it take a long time to make any difference?

so do you do jojoba and castor?

Yes I do about 80/20 with jojoba and castor oil. I also add a drop of avocado, evoo, vitamin e oil and some lavender and patchouli oil. My mix varies every time I make it :)

I use 80:20 jojoba and castor oil. Works a treat on my combo skin though it did make my dry cheeks too dry for a bit.

Missfoodie I'm using it on my eye area as I use it to remove make up.

I had the same issues when I first tried OCM. I liked the way my skin looked but it felt gross! I could still feel the oil and it was really unpleasant. FWIW I don't have oily skin its normal verging on dry in certain conditions.

I tried a few different combinations of oil and finally I've settled on Sweet Almond, Rosehip, castor (5%) and I add an emulsifier which means I can do all the massage, steaming, etc and then wash/rinse it all off at the end.

Adding an emulsifier is supposed to be a good method for those who find that steaming is too drying for their skin.

ComradeJing try using less castor oil if you're dry, too much dries skin out.

I added a drop of Avocado oil to my mix last night, and oh my gosh it's awesome! My skin looks wonderful this morning and at first I couldn't think why, but I think it's that :)

Use a drop of avocado oil on your chest/decolletáge at night = awesome!

I just did castor and sweet almond (25/75%) - all good, but no different to my cleansing balms...plus massaged in for almost 10 mins expecting the blackheads/plugs to come out (as per others descriptions) and nothing did.....it had better happen soon.....

OK, stressy mcstressed here. I tried 4 (yes FOUR) chemists today and was told in each one Castor Oil isn't available for general release as people abused it for laxative effects.

What?

Where can I buy it?

i got mine on amazon - organic too!

I got castor oil from boots. Only used that for first 6wks though to do the initial thorough cleansing. I now just use olive oil. The gunk doesn't all come out straightaway, takes time. Expect spots etc at first while your skin finds a new balance.

Trying to buy castor oil on the high street is like trying to find rocking horse poo.

It's readily available online though, try Amazon or any skincare sites that sell ingredients to make your own products. Aromantics is good.

Hi Pin0t I got my castor oil on line off Amazon I think, I'm still using 70% sunflower oil/30% castor oil (no difference in my skin at all yet) when the jojoba arrives I will try the 80% jojoba/20% castor oil. I'll give it til Christmas and see if it makes any difference to my overall oilyness.

Do you have to use castor oil, or could you just use jojoba on it's own? For a first timer...

apparently it's the castor oil that makes the difference - i've used oils for years, but this is the first time i'm adding castor oil to the mix....with the hope that my pores will be visibly refined!!!

Righto, I've ordered off Amazon. I wasn't impressed at one dozy pharmacist insinuating I was trying to get it for laxatives. I said quite clearly it's for skin (topical) use and she said "Well I've been a pharmacist for 30 years and I've never heard that". Clearly not a MNer.

berri I'm using jojoba on it's own at the mo and it's lovely :)

I agree that stuff that works tends to do so rather quickly - at least it does in my case.

I was really excited about the idea of OCM, and it worked for me for about two weeks - after that it caused the worst breakout I've had since my teens. I am talking big red angry bumps all over my face followed by proper pimples like a teenager. It was so bad that I refused to leave the house for an entire week and am still not quite back to normal five weeks later.

FWIW, I think my mistake was that I carried on using OCM when it was becoming pretty clear that it was not doing me any good. I steadfastly soldiered on through the first week of acne thinking this was "purging" and I'd end up with lovely skin.

Just listen to your gut feeling. Tons of people say OCM has given them the loveliest skin ever - unfortunately I just wasn't one of them.

I tried OCM a few weeks back and my skin definitely looked better, as in it was soft and the tone seemed to even out, but my GOD was it oily. I haven't got especially oily skin - just a bit on the T zone - but even though I was careful to wipe thoroughly, within an hour I positively gleamed.

I've gone back to my usual stuff now. Might give it another go at some point, but I just hated the feeling of being greasy and shiny.

Welcome to my world CalamityKate

Seriously though, so far it has made no difference either way, I'm still oily, no more or less though.

so, day 2 using castor/sweet almond and no different to my usual oils/balms, no blackheads coming off in my hands.....has this actually happened to anyone and if so, at what stage?

This may sound like a silly question MissFoodie, but do you actually have visible blackheads? If not nothing really will come out!

Does no-one else add an emulsifier to their oil mix? I found it made a real difference to the effects - no breakouts/bumps under the skin, no oily feeling afterwards and as for the benefits - skin felt and looked clean and clear, pores greatly improved, etc

Silly question time - but what is an emulsifier?

Not a stupid question at all! I don't understand the science behind it that well but basically an "emulsifier" is an ingredient that binds water and oil together. So adding it to an OCM mix allows you to simply wash away any residue. There are a few different kinds and are used in pre prepared/shop bought beauty products.

I will try to do a link for the one I have.

Thanks TWTGBB!

I do have another OCM question - I've been doing this for about 6 weeks now and although my skin looks so much better than before, I still have bumps under the skin on my forehead (I had this prior to OCM).

I use Jojoba or Sweet almond oil and steam every night. When I use a Castor-jojoba/sweet almond mix I get dry patches and my skin really breaks out.

Any ideas how to address the bumpy head syndrome - and no a heavy fringe is NOT an option! :)

Pepa how much castor oil do you add when you use it? I only use a small amount probably no more than 5%. You could try using the castor only a couple of times a week or just using it on the affected area?

Also would like to add that when I started OCM again but with the emulsifier I had no breakouts other than the odd hormonal spot.

Make up alley had lots of useful posts re OCM so might be worth having a look there.