Oil cleansing—have you heard of it? Have you tried it? A Mama who has been on my page for quite some time let me know that she had just launched her own business & accompanying website/FB page: The Natural Cajun, and asked if I’d ever tried oil cleansing. I had heard of it, but not tried it, so was very interested in it. I always enjoy trying new things as long as the ingredients are completely safe, which these certainly are. I was very pleased when I received her package to see that the product comes in a cobalt blue glass bottle, which screams quality product to me! I was also very happy that she sent 2 pages of info with it fully describing the ingredients & even their sources, and the info as to why oil cleansing is beneficial. Here’s some info from those sheets. Ingredients for the combo skin formula I was sent:
Avocado oil: Swanson foods Organic
Hemp Seed oil: Mountain Rose Herbs Organic
Olive oil: Bragg’s Organic Extra Virgin
Borage Seed Oil: Raw Gaia Organic
Hazelnut Oil: Mountain Rose Herbs Organic
Grapeseed Oil: Mountain Rose Herbs Organic
Sweet Almond Oil: Swanson Foods Organic
Directions: apply a teaspoon worth of oil (I use a cotton ball), place hot rag over face until no longer hot, wipe clean. My favorite part is definitely the hot rag treatment on the face! I find myself looking forward to it, it feels really, really good at the end the day! Also, it smells wonderful, with a slightly sweet but very mellow scent. I definitely see dirt on the cotton ball daily, which shows me it’s working to remove it. I have come to like this method of cleaning my face much more than using soap. It’s both super easy, and soothing- it’s really grown on me. Of course it’s best to use it daily, but I usually do it every other day. I know many of you can relate to the evening chaos of bath & getting the kiddos ready for bed, I put my needs last of course, but am trying to get in the habit of doing this while my kids are in the bath. But even with every other day use, I feel my skin is very healthy right now. I have always had combo skin: my forehead & nose always have dry spots, while my neck & cheeks are oilier, and break out in pimples at times. Bailey told me to leave more oil on the dry parts (don’t wipe it away), and that definitely seems to be helping! My previously oily parts are doing much better than they have in a very long time! I love it! She makes one for dry, oily , acne, or combo skin. They are $15 ($17 for acne blend) which includes shipping. The 4 oz bottle is a month’s worth of cleanser, toner, and moisturizer.
SO, how does it work?! Here’s some info from Bailey, including her personal testimonial: “Now to tell you why I love oil cleansing! I have always had mild skin issues. I am a nutrition counselor and despite my clean, omega 3 balanced diet, I still occasionally break out, or at least I did before I discovered this amazing method. The chemistry behind it is simple: like dissolves like. Your face is constantly producing oil (known as sebum). Even if you have dry skin, oil production continues. When you use harsh cleansers or even sensitive mild simple organic cleanser, your face is being stripped of its natural oils. The result can vary from complete skin chaos to barely noticeable. When you strip your skin of its sebum, no matter how little, it goes into overdrive to produce more resulting in breakouts, dry patches, and oiliness not good. I use different blends for different skin types, but each blend has this in common: astringent oil, nourishing oil, and moisturizing oil. After a few days of oil cleansing my face got the point. I was going to let it do its job, no need to hyper produce sebum and clog up my pores.”
Also, I greatly appreciated this info she passed along to me, showing me she’s very educated about the products she’s using: “ I also wanted to let you know that most oil cleansers, especially DIY ones, use castor oil. I do not use castor oil because of the awful harvesting practices. The workers are exposed to the toxic chemical “ricin” (which is completely removed when the oil is refined). I can’t, in good conscience, use castor oil for this reason.”
I’m very grateful to Bailey for sending me a jar of this to sample, and plan to keep using it in the future.
FB: https://www.facebook.com/thenaturalcajun
Eco-friendly baby/family products MADE in USA 