OCM day 1

For those of you who have never heard of it, OCM stands for the Oil Cleansing Method. Some friends and I had a "girls' night" a couple of weeks ago - complete with paraffin wax, nail polish, and a chick flick. One of the girls raved about a natural skin treatment she was trying out, and convinced me to try it, too. It felt amazing!

Turns out, the oil cleansing method is a hot topic on the Internet. Busy, down-to-earth moms to ecoholic hipsters have all jumped on the bandwagon and added it to their blogs. I've decided to give it a shot. 

Here's how it works (from what I've learned): 

1. Combine castor oil with a second oil (the most popular carrier oils I read about were extra virgin olive oil, sunflower seed oil, avocado oil or grapeseed oil) Make sure you get pure, quality oils. 

2. The ratio of the combination will be different according to your skin type. From what I understand, the castor oil is the primary cleanser -- the more oily your skin, the higher the ratio of castor oil. 

3. Rub the oil around on your face (counter-intuitive, I know! Research it -- it supposedly works wonders for ALL skin types!) 

4. Dampen a washcloth with hot water and lay it over your face for thirty seconds to open your pores. Wipe the oil off, rinse the washcloth and repeat until the oil is off of your face. 

I'm using castor oil and grapeseed oil. Instead of mixing the two up in a bottle, I'm trying out different ratios first. Tonight I used a ratio of about 1/3 castor oil and 2/3 grapeseed oil, since my skin is usually dry (especially in the wintertime)! 

Tonight, after day 1 of my second student teaching placement, I decided to treat myself with some all-natural pampering. I ground up 1 cup of oats in our coffee grinder and mixed it into a hot bath (oats help soften your skin). I lit some candles, turned out the lights, and soaked for a good forty minutes. In the tub I treated my face to the OCM, and my feet to a sugar scrub. After getting out and drying off, I moisturized my legs with grapeseed oil. 

So far, my skin already feels great. It feels like a cleanser, toner and moisturizer all in one. Last night I used the castor oil as an eye makeup remover, and it worked wonderfully! It also apparently encourages hair growth (in areas where hair already grows -- I'm not going to turn into a werewolf!), so it should also thicken eyelashes. I mentioned this to Isaac, and he is now using it to rub down those patches on his cheeks that refuse to grow the beard he longs for. 

Day 1 of the OCM ... I'll post an update on how it goes, and whether or not Isaac has grown a beard.