What: The OCM, Oil Cleansing Method. Notorious, i guess everybody is already familiar with the hot cloth and oil cleansing ritual.
Why:...because i have a little set of observations of my own. For the record, i have combination skin, large pores but no excessive oiliness.
Therefore...: I think there are not only advantages but also problems with this method. I figured i'm the only one who's got something to say 'against' this little treatment...or not? anyways i am still doing it, occasionally, and in the mean time deciding whether i should continue with it or not. I guess i'm going to have to maintain it in my beauty routine but only rarely, maybe once every ten days.
What: the oils i use vary. I usually like the extra virgin olive oil and castor oil combination, but i always add a few drops of almond oil (cold pressed, unrefined), avocado oil or my Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse. I don't use a fancy cloth, such as the expensive muslin cloths similar to the ones from Liz Earle or anything from a kit. I just have two face towels, one purchased from Ikea, that is not so fine, and another one from an interior decoration store, a little softer, with more delicate threads. Therefore there is just a small difference between the two 'cloths' but not something significant. I alternate the two cloths, when i need to wash one of 'em.
How: i used to do it once every three days, then once a week. i got really scared when i read some blogs where the ladies said they were doing it every day, sometimes even twice. i think it's too much for the skin.
....which brings me to the jist of this blog. the pros and cons:
Pros: -it is a natural exfoliation treatment that you can mechanically control. You don't aggress your skin as you would do with any other exfoliant, no matter how delicate the particles are. I use one from a Swedish pharmacy, i don't know its name, but the cream is extremely thick and the particles are very, very small. I think it's a perfect dupe for Dermalogica's Microfoliant or the new version of it that is currently being marketed in Sweden. I usually add three to five drops of almond or avocado oil to the exfoliant when i use it, just to make it milder for the face.
- it prevents breakouts...seriously. I never have them in a serious way, only a couple of small pimples here and there, and i never suffered from acne. But this method really kept those little pesky bumps at bay, which is great. I can only imagine what this would mean to someone suffering from cystic or rebel acne..a true blessing. It delivers your skin the necessary oils and cleanses it extremely naturally, only hot water and oils.
- leaves the skin nourished after the process, which no other exfoliant does, no other home-made mask or anything in the family. It is useful for the ladies who want to keep their treatments at a minimum and go totally natural. You basically don't need any thick night cream afterwards, if you're doing it at night, only a couple of oil drops if you feel your skin too tight.
-takes off all the dirt, dead cells and makeup. and i mean everything. my skin was never pink and plump, baby-like, as it was after each OCM session. you can see the real skin coming out, and you look your own age. No more superficial spots, no more grayness, no more washed off skintone, no more 'opaqueness'. Your skin does glow, and i take it it glows from inside. The blood circulation is activated by the hot water and the friction with the cloth, while the nourishing oil does a delicate and effective job at exfoliating your skin.
- a HUGE thing- if you have oily skin you can wave it goodbye. this method will literally change your skin type, and i mean it. It stops the excessive secretion of sebum and you can easily go from extremely oily to combination skin in just a few 'sessions'.
Cons: it is weird that i actually found those....
Basically i feel my skin gets too dry afterwards. it's not a nourishment problem but a dehydration one. My skin needs hydration because of the exposure to the hot water...and i need to use a hydrating cream, wash my face with cold water, use all sorts of tricks to restore the natural equilibrium...i even got to the point where i had to use vaseline to seal in the moisture...
Again, i don't have extremely oily skin so sebum was never a problem for me. I only needed something to really cleanse my pores and potentially minimize them, or if not, just 'tame' them a little. It didn't quite happen this way. I did observe fewer blackheads and less clogged pores in general but it came at the expense of hydration, which my weird skin needs it. Yep, the old 'oily but dry' dilemma all over again.
Add that to my biggest fear- wrinkles and premature aging. exposing your face to hot water or steaming for long periods of time can result in premature aging, drying of the skin and wrinkles. Therefore i stopped doing it once every three-four days and started thinking of it once a week, maybe ten or fourteen days.
-it is ADDICTIVE. If you don't do it in a month expect hell. My chin got inflamed and several huge pimples, almost acne-type, popped out, despite me not changing anything in my routine except for the OCM. It was a terrible experience, the pimples wouldn't go away with anything, not even aspirin, and i was left with tiny purple spots- scarring. I couldn't believe it!
.....so i think i will be using this once every two weeks and see what's that going to be like. I strongly recommend attention when using this method, because although it is indeed a very effective and beneficial cleansing process, it can seriously backfire if you're not doing to according to your skin type.
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