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Why would you wash your face with oil?! Oil cleansing method


For the past year I’ve been using oil cleansing method for washing my face. I really enjoy it, I feel like it’s a little thing I do for myself. I’ve been playing around with different recipes and oils. 

Oil cleansing is basically washing your face with oil

instead of soap. This method has a few benefits:

  • First it means that we don’t use soap. Soap is an emulsion of water and oil and has a drying effect on the skin. The soap strips the oil out of our skin and leaves the skin dry and trying to repair itself. Oily skin overcompensates by creating more oil. Which may lead to imbalanced skin and acne. 

  • Oil is a great cleanser since it dissolves oil based grime; “like dissolves like”. Our skin is naturally oily and we definitely don’t want to strip all that wonderful moisturizing oil away, just to leave it clean and nourished. That is exactly what oil cleansing does. 

  • Oils are nourishing and healing for the skin. So instead of having to heal the skin after washing it with soap we can clean and nourish, moisturize and heal at the same time. (Which is a huge benefit for me as I usually shower with my kids and am lucky if I have my hands free for long enough to wash my hair.)

  • Many oils have anti-aging effects, and from the herbalist Rosemary Gladstar I learned that frequency of herbal use is more effective than quantity. So oil cleansing daily will give you a healthy dose of these anti-aging oils. 

  • Mixing your own blend of oils for an oil cleanse is very simple therefore you have a perfectly customized for your needs and skin type. 


The most recommended oils from my research are:

  • Caster oil- added to almost all recipes at 5-30%. Less for dry skin, more for oily skin. 

  • Olive oil- great as a base for dry skin mix as well as aging skin. 

  • Almond oil- great for a neutral, regular skin base. 

  • Sunflower oil- used in recipes for oily skin. 

  • Avocado oil- used in formulas for dry skin. 

Many more oils can be added to customize. Adding anti aging oils like evening primrose and the like can be a wonderful addition for aging skin. Some enjoy coconut oil, but I’ve found a lot of references that it is very drying to many skin types. 

Essential oils: 

Always great to add essential oils. The three that are good for every skin type are geranium, patchouli and lavender. 


Infused oils:

In addition or instead of essential oils adding infused oils is an amazing addition: rose petals, jasmine flowers, orange blossoms, lavender flowers, hibiscus flowers and more and more. Botanicals will boost the vitality of your cleanse and add antioxidants and nourishing compounds to the oil. 

Recipes for different skin types:

  • Regular, neutral skin: 30% castor oil, 40% sunflower oil and 30% almond oil. Add 1% essential oils: lavender, geranium and patchouli. 

  • Oily skin: 30% castor oil, 70% sunflower oil. Add 1% essential oils: chamomile, orange and frankincense. 

  • Dry skin: 10% castor oil, 60% olive oil and 30% avocado oil. Add 1% essential oils: rose, palma rosa and sandalwood. 

How to use: 

  • Rub the oil mixture on a dry face. 

  • Use this as a chance for a face lift massage: using motions that go out from the middle of the face and up toward the forehead. 

  • Wet a washcloth with hot water and wring it out. 

  • Place over your face and steam your skin for a couple of minutes. 

  • Now gently wipe off the oil and repeat the steaming one more time. 

Have you tried oil cleansing? Plan to? Share in the comments below. 

Ecclesiastes 9:8 “Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no oil.”

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