Less Rubbish :: OCM

I recently made some big changes to the way I care for my skin, ditching facial cleansers and moisturizer for the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM). My motives? Well there are a few reasons. First and foremost I've always worried about the toxic ingredients loaded into skin care products.  The number of dangerous, chemical and synthetic ingredients used in skin care products is alarming. You may be surprised to learn that ANYTHING you put on your hair or skin, is absorbed into your body. Skin absorption is potent, hence why some medicines are in the form of a patch you stick onto your skin! Applying creams and oils is no different from eating them, the ingredients enter your bloodstream (hence why I never colour my hair or wear nail polish, and rarely put make-up on my face). For years now I've used natural, organic products where possible, but they are expensive and hard to track down (especially when you live on an isolated island). 

Also, since moving to Norfolk, I've become very concerned about waste management and try to limit the amount of rubbish we create as much as I can.  Looking through my bathroom cupboard recently, I noticed most of the skin products I buy come packaged in plastic.  Some of them are packaged in recyclable plastics, but as I've mentioned before, we don't have access to recycling services here.

I know many people now make their own skin care products (my lovely sister-in-law being one of these inspiring people). I really like this idea but at the end of the day it would mean further research and some experimenting. Plus sourcing resources for me is time consuming (literally....we wait months for things to arrive on the ship). I just don't feel compelled to add yet another time hungry task to my already busy life. Most days I'm flat out maintaining the kefir!

After wondering if I'd ever find an easy alternative, I stumbled across an online article about OCM and was intrigued.  Basically with this method, you use oil to clean and moisturize your skin. Surprisingly, oil does not cause oily skin or acne. That culprit is usually a combination of hormones, trapped bacteria, and dirt. Apparently, a good-quality oil is the perfect substance for cleaning sensitive skin, such as on our face, because it helps gently remove the dirty oil and replaces it with good, nourishing, healing oil. This method just makes so much sense. So after much research I think I may have come up with a solution; a way to manage good skin health that has less impact on the natural environment.

This is how OCM works for me: I mix virgin olive oil and castor oil together in a glass bottle.  The virgin olive oil we have on hand in our pantry which we buy in 3 litre tins, and the castor oil I bought in a glass bottle from the local chemist (hooray...NO PLASTIC involved). At first I made a 50/50 mix designed for normal skin types, but the area around my nose felt dry and was a little red, so I've added more olive oil to the mix (the ratio is probably more like two thirds olive oil, a third castor oil). Each night before I go to bed I massage about half a teaspoons worth into my face and neck (I don't wet my skin with water first). Next I drape a very warm wet face washer over my face for around a minute (Free facial? You bet). Last of all, I thoroughly rinse and wring the washer and use it to gently wipe away the excess oil. My skin immediately feels soft and clean and there's no need to apply moisturizer.  You can use almond oil or grape-seed oil in place of olive oil, if you prefer. Sounds simple doesn't it? It is.

For me, the great thing about OCM is the required ingredients are simple and readily available.  It works out cheaper too. But best of all, this method gives results; glowing, clean, beautiful skin! Go on, give it a go!