It’s taking input Thursday and per request I’m giving a beauty post.
I talk about this a lot in my beauty posts but have never really addressed this in its own post. So today I’m going back to basics and talking about oil cleansing. I first heard about oil cleansing in 2013 from a sorority sister and was very doubtful. Oil cleansing is the process of cleaning oneself with oil rather than soap and water (not to be confused with oil pulling which is a procedure of using oil as a mouth wash of sorts to pull bacteria from the body).
I have oily skin, so the idea of rubbing my face with oil seemed crazy – it will cause clogged pores I thought! But I pondered the idea for a bit and it started to make sense – oil desolves oil (ie gross yuck stuck in pores) and soap and water strip it away and cause the skin to produce more – think of soap as like a crash diet for your skin. So, I gave it a try and guess what, I get blemishes less often, my skin feels healthier and I don’t feel like a greasy dirty weirdo.
I started off with a commercial oil blend, and yes I was lured by the pretty bottle.
This is $80 on amazon!!! ($40 on other sites though). Still, ridiculous. I do love the bottle though and forgot to save the last one so I’ll probay buy it one more time. When I looked at the ingredients I saw a bunch of stuff I can’t pronounce and basic kitchen oils – olive, almond, grapeseed and corn. I decided to play around with my own blend and see if I could do something just as effective on my own.
Right now I use these:
Mostly grapeseed oil for the base because its moisturizing, than some Jojoba oil which is the oil closest to skin’s natural ph, and vitamin E for healing properties. I also mix in some tea tree essential oil (good for acne) and lavender for scent (it’s also soothing to skin).
Making is super easy, I just pour my oils into a small container to mix and then pour into a bottle for storage.
Finally, a use for the Lilly bottles from the Estée Lauder collaboration!
At night I massage a quarter size amount into my face for about a minute and then wipe off with a warm, damp washcloth. This removes all my makeup and leaves a light bit of oil on the skin so it doubles as a moisturizer. I still get a pimple or two (I’m 30, so unfair!!!) but this has cut down the frequency and duration. I don’t ever see myself buying a facial wash again.
It’s been a while since I’ve tried a new beauty project so if you have any ideas let me know! I’d love you thoughts on beauty projects or any idea you’d like to read about next week. It’s Thursday and I’m taking input!