I clean my face with oil

THE OIL CLEANSING METHOD

I looked into many different methods to naturally remove my makeup and cleanse my face.  The oil cleansing method isn't a new way to cleanse but it was new to me.  It seems totally counterintuitive to wash my oil prone face with oil but WOW this has really worked for me.  Here is my take on the this cleansing method.

1- I make my oil mix which is half castor oil and half sweet almond oil.  I buy organic oils from www.swansonvitamins.com.  I would suggest making a smaller batch to begin with.  When I first decided to try oil cleansing I was so excited that I made a whole jar of an oil mixture which ended up not being the right mixture for my face.  More on this later…
2- I use this mixture to remove my eye makeup.  I take a washcloth and run some hot water (not too hot, your eye area is sensitive) on it to wipe the oil/mascara mess off my eye area.  Then I wash my hands.
3-I put about a quarter size pool of this oil mixture in my palm and then add a couple drops of tea tree oil.  I don't add the tea tree oil to my mixture to begin with because it would irritate my eyes and I wouldn't be able to use this oil mixture for a eye makeup remover too.
3-Next I rub the oil mixture onto my dry face and massage it in for at least 2 minutes.  You can massage for a longer amount of time if you want, sometimes I do.   Most oil cleansing methods have you soak a washcloth in as hot water as you can tolerate, wring it out, and cover your face with the washcloth to steam your face, then wipe off your face.  I do not like to cover my face so I take the hot washcloth and just wipe my face with it, rinse the washcloth and wipe my face again.  I repeat until when I wipe my face the washcloth isn't wiping off anymore makeup or dirt.  It is usually 2 or 3 times.
4- Tada!  A natural makeup remover and facial cleanser.  I don't need to use a moisturizer with this method.  But if you do, you can put a little of your oil mixture on as a moisturizer.


O.K.  Lets get to some of the details of the oil cleansing method:

OIL MIXTURE RATIOS

If you have oily skin you will want to start with an oil mixture ratio of 2/3 castor oil with 1/3 carrier oil.
For normal skin you will want to have equal parts castor oil and carrier oil
For dry skin start with a 1/3 castor oil to 2/3 carrier oil mixture (you may need to omit the castor oil all together if it is too drying for you)
These ratios are a place to start.  You may need to make some adjustments for your own skin and even make adjustments per season or as your skin adjusts to this method.  I started out using the oily skin ratio but as my skin adjusted to this regimen I have now moved to the normal skin ratio.

CARRIER OILS

There are a lot of different carrier oils that you can choose from.  These are the oils that I most commonly saw referenced in my research on the oil cleansing method:
olive oil is where a lot of people who try oil cleansing begin it is supposed to be a good oil for all skin types but I read a lot of reviews that made me question this so I didn't choose to start out with this oil.  I am curious how my skin would respond to olive oil so I plan to give it a try.  I just have to know…
jojoba oil is a common oil in beauty products and is a good oil for all skin types and acne prone skin as well.
sweet almond oil is good for all skin types and oily skin types
grape seed oil is good for all skin types
sunflower seed oil is good for all skin types
avocado oil is good for dry skin type
argan oil is good for aging skin
    When I started with the oil cleansing method I made a mixture of castor oil, grape seed oil, with a little jojoba oil.  After researching oils that would be good for oily and now thanks to whatever hormonal mess I am in from having children, somewhat acne prone skin, I felt that these oils would work well for me.  However, that was not the case.  I expected to have some breakouts as my skin adjusted and impurities were pulled out of my skin by the castor oil.  I had the worst acne of my life!  And it wasn't clearing up!  I knew that it was time for a new formula.  I chose sweet almond oil as the carrier oil for my new mixture and have had great results.  I don't have the perfectly clear skin that I used to have before having children but I am heading in that direction and doing so without using all the horrible chemicals that I had been using in the past.