OCM - *oil cleansing method

[nijuyanah]

okay, i think i'll try it out tonight.
but how often do you all do it? every night - or just some days per week?

 

[wheneveriwakeup]

I've been doing this for the past 3 days...
My skin feels smooth and soft...
Still have a pimple or two
due to humidity & PMS, however...
Hoping this shows positive results, though...!

 

[Sara_1987]

hi,

i've been a member here for years but never really posted much (or at all)...
Any way. I started OCM about 2 weeks ago and I saw good results but now the last 3 days I've been noticing small bumps on my temples and between my eyebrows a little. I also have huge pores on my nose and next to my nose and quite a few blackheads....these were improving before but this morning (I OCM'd last night) they looked disgusting.

I don't really understand what's going on. Is this some sort of initial purging? (even though I've been doing it for about 2 weeks now) or should I stop.
I was using almond oil and castor before, and then switched to grapeseed oil and castor a couple of days ago (my skin was already getting a bit worse before I switched to grapeseed though).

I shuld probably mention I had mild to moderate acne for years (age 14 to 20 I'd say) and was on every single topical and did 5 courses of antibiotics. The antibiotics would work, but once i quit them the acne would come raging back. Eventually my derm put me on accutane which really helped with the acne but my skin was still a bit "impure" (blackheads never really went away).
about 5 months after accutane (I quit in october, so we're talking about about february/march now) I started getting small bumps/pimples again but not bad enough for a 2nd course of accutane.
My derm wanted me t use differin but I've used it so may times before and it doesn't really help and just made my skin raw and red and ugly.
so that's when I started OCM (I also drink a lot of water and try to eat semi-healthy...I'm a student though so it's hard)

wow; that was long. sorry. hope someone has any advice.

 

[Beena533]

Hey Sara,

I started OCM about a month ago. My skin became a lot better, then I had a HUGE purging period. I mean HUGE - cysts and new pimples. Awful and humiliating. But I stuck to it, and now my skin is SO much better. It's that time of the month, so I had a slight breakout, but that's about it.

However, the purge left my face with A LOT of dark marks. I'm using a combination of tamanu and jojoba oil right now to fade it and it's working pretty well.

First three days: only jojoba oil
For 2-3 weeks: jojoba oil and two drops of tea tree oil. Afterwards, I would put tea tree oil and jojoba.
Week 3 and 4: jojoba and tamanu oil for cleansing; tamanu oil afterwards for treatment.

I'm not sure if you're purging or if it's a bad response to OCM, but in my case it was purging.

 

[Sara_1987]

thanks for the reply.
I think it's already getting a bit better but I'm not sure. I got some tea tree oil to spot treat overnight and I added some to my ocm mix.

I'm just really scared to trigger my pre-accutane acne again, but I don't think that's happening. It's really not pimples, just a lot of small bumps and then maybe 3 of those are sort of red/a whitehead...
I dunno. I'm sticking with OCM for now. hopefully it'll pay off.

i also started taking brewer's yeast again today, hopefully that will help heal my skin faster and help clear it.

I also have this recurring dry patch on my forehead....so dry it's even sort of raw. It really hurts sometimes.
This isn't OCM-related though, because I had it before when I was still using cleanser.
I just have extremely annoying, sensitive skin and am allergic to lots of things I come into contact with on a daily basis so that's not very good.

 

[Tushka_BeLLa]

Is it ok to use these oils:

lavender
rosehip
Vitamin E

 

[ChloeFrancoise]

I don't know about rosehip or vitamin E but people have mentioned using lavender oil for it. I need to get some of that and jojoba oil.

 

[Tushka_BeLLa]

^^ thanks!

 

[Sara_1987]

I think I might also try jojoba oil, but I just got my grapeseed oil so I'm gonna wait a bit. The grapeseed oil just smells so horribly. I have to breath through my mouth when I OCM. (the one I have isn't deoderised and it's just a vile smell imo)

I am seeing a definite improvement in my breakout. The bumps/pimples on my temples are gone. Now just 3 on the middle of my forehead (small) and some healing ones between my eyebrows. I just kept on OCM'ing and spot treated with either diaper rash cream or BP.
Once these are gone my face will be clear again.

The rest of my face is already soft and smooth. The dry patches I had were gonna...even the eczema-like patch I've had above my lips for years is improving!
Im really excited about these results and will definitely recommend OCM to everyone from now on!

 

[Sara_1987]

My forehead still has pimples and there's one extremely dry patch I've had for a while there as well.
the rest of my face also feels quite dry, I guess because of the hot water.
But I still get pimples.
I really don't know whether I should quit OCM or just maybe use every other day? Or is this an initial breakout and should I keep going?

please help!

 

[Batabid]

My original message seemed kinda redundant and I wanted to give some advice to another poster who had some trouble to make it less redundant..... well, here's my wannabe edit:

^My skin was terrible at one point, I think its from using too many chemicals and bad lifestyle. I had cysts that felt like golfballs and the area around my nostrils and mouth was always darker...looked burnt haha. Maybe your skin is just taking a little longer to purge. Drugs like accutane are awfully toxic...so, who knows? It could be purging all the crap you've been putting on it over the years. ;_; Personally I stopped getting pimples when I used OCM, but before that I started eating a lot better, quit smoking and drank ridiculous amounts of white tea along with hours and hours of kundalini yoga and avoiding makeup whenever possible. I believe this helped get rid of a lot of toxins thus alleviating any harsh purging period when I started OCM. It was the final thing *I* needed. My skin has never looked fresher, healthier, etc. Even when I get little sleep.

Keep with it I bet others will agree. Nature > Drugs.

If your skin is super dry, even patches, ditch the tea tree and castor oils. They're way too drying even for me and I have greasy skin all over. Use olive oil until your dry patches heal, just make sure to cleanse thourougly and maybe pat a drop or two on your face afterwards if it feels too dry/tight. Good luck!

 

[Sara_1987]

hmm... I quit ocm about 5 days ago and my skin has cleared up almost completely again...
I might try again with just pure jojoba oil but I don't know...My ocm is just really not for me.

 

[Wanda]

My understanding of the OCM method is that the Castor oil is what remove impurites from from the skin the other oils are used as carrier oils as not to dry out the face.??

 

[bunnyontherocks]

I've been doing this method for about a month and a half now and I am completely in love with it!!!
Not only has my skin's texture improved, but when I put on my mineral makeup, it makes me look flawless! (I always get compliments!)

What I use is a mixture of EVOO, Almond Oil, Grapeseed Oil, and some drops of Jojoba Oil. Afterwards I use a bit of Philosophy 'Hope in a Jar' (I used to mix in a drop of Jojoba oil, but one day I broke out and I got scared afterwards so I stopped doing that, though I have to credit it for having me wake up with an amazing, glowing face. Would anyone recommend me doing this again? It might have been because of a hormone burst, but I would love to give it a go again. Eh, just for the heck of it I might do it tonight!). Commeth morning and I'm happy to see my face in the mirror look so healthy!

Thank you so much chanel for having started this tread, I really, really do appreciate it!

 

[cold_sun]

hello everybody... Ive heard quite a lot about this ocm, but Im really not too fond with all these different methods, which ones for which type of skin, so my question would basically be how and which products to use with combination skin and some pimples... i used to have quite dry stains on my face so ive already tried some olive oil there and the results were really great to i think ocm might be for me as well. so what would u recommend ?
help is very much aprreciated, thanks in advance

 

[bellatulipa]

hello everybody... Ive heard quite a lot about this ocm, but Im really not too fond with all these different methods, which ones for which type of skin, so my question would basically be how and which products to use with combination skin and some pimples... i used to have quite dry stains on my face so ive already tried some olive oil there and the results were really great to i think ocm might be for me as well. so what would u recommend ?
help is very much aprreciated, thanks in advance

I just tried OCM for the first time, after seeing it first here then researching it for about a month. The general consensus seems to be 75% Castor oil / 25% other oil (I'm using Grapeseed) for Oily skin, 50/50 for "normal" or "combo" skin and 25/75 for dry skin.

I mixed 3 ounces Castor oil with 1 ounce grapseed oil and about 10 drops of Lavender Oil (for scent only). I have generally oily skin, prone to a couple blemishes monthly & blackheads often.

If you google "oil cleansing method" you'll find a plethora of information.

 

[SMHoff]

Can someone explain the chemistry behind this? I'm wondering what makes castor oil different from other oils, why you can't just use any oil. (I know some people say they only use olive oil but that's only people with very dry skin, and I'm trying to get rid of blackheads.)

 

[thesiren]

you can use any oil. the differences between them has to do with what will be most beneficial for your skin type.

i've used olive oil and grapeseed oil and had great results with both. i have normal to dry skin.

 

[madchenlieben]

oooooh it's so great! I'm glad I opened this weird-named thread (well for me at least...). Never thought oil cleansing would work so great.
I just did it for the 1st time last night, and today when I woke up my skin was radiating. I believe I burnt it cause I used boiling water haha it's a no-no. but well, great results anyway.
My pimple's still here, but it's a hormone thing.
I'm going to keep it up cause it's really great! thanks!

 

[Yeukie]

Thanks for this thread I <3 Chanel! I've been taking extra virgin coconut oil internally this month and it's been awesome at helping me curb my cravings and reduce my portions. After reading this I started the OCM with my coconut oil 2 nights ago and my skin feels really soft and supple.

My skin is oily and acne-prone and this hasn't made me break out at all. I followed up with my tea tree oil toner from The Body Shop coz I felt like I still had oil after wiping with the washcloth. I love that my skin doesn't feel stripped and dry like it does on my Rx cleanser but I have to get used to the oil is great or oily skin thing. I can't wait to see how it will look in a month/6! I'm hoping it will help with my cell renewal/acne scars too.