Ocm

[elitenaildesign]

I was reading a thread on another forum on this for quite some time thought I would never try this on my face. Tonight I just tried something basic 75%Castor,20%OO,5%Macadamia Nut Oil and much to my surprise, my skin feels really good. Not oily, just really soft. I will have to try it for a few days to see if it really makes and improvment on the blackheads that I have been getting the last few months.

[Carrie]

Search the Archives. There were a couple good threads on OCM.

[LovelyLathers]

I have been using it for about 2 years and love it. My skin is so much better. It helps my mature skin a lot. I use a combo of Castor, OO, evening primrose, pumpkin and lavender essential oil, tea tree oil. There is lots of info as Carrie said in the threads and the long hair community has a very large thread on it. Everyone has to find a combo that works best for them. I have a facial steamer I use it with once or twice a week the other days I just use it with a hot wash cloth.

[CBE]

I had got interested in OCM a while back. Mostly Lurkin (here on the board) was a real great help to me.

I tried it for about three weeks, and I guess my pores were a little more gunked up than I thought... because I just kept breaking out in zits and blackheads constantly for those three weeks. I guess this is called the "purge". lol But it was bad. I thought I was going through puberty again. I couldn't handle it anymore so I quit.

Jennie... with 75% castor, it doesn't dry out your skin?

The first one I made, I used alot of castor, and I felt like the life was being sucked out of me... too drying. lol Until Mostly Lurkin explained to me that castor is what draws... and too much will make some skin feel like it's been through a wind tunnel. I felt like a dried up prune in a wind tunnel. LOL

[elitenaildesign]

I actually have really oily skin, so thats good. I mean with all than, my skin still felt soft. I was nervous using that much castor, but maybe thats the ticket with me.

[Mostly Lurkin]

I LOVE the OCM!! I haven't used soap on my face in eons. And my skin has never looked better.

The castor (has to be unrefined to do it's magic) is what draws but can be EXTREMELY drying. Start w/lower percentages (25 maybe) and work from there.

Keeping your oil combo simple until you figure out what works for you is crucial.

During the 'purging' - you may begin to doubt your sanity into trying this. But, when you really think about it, a little 'uglies' are worth the end result. Really clean & clear skin. NO harsh surfactants or chemicals to further age your skin. This method works for nearly every skin type (I'm super dry) as the oils help regulate the oils created by your skin.

With continued use I have found the crowfeet around my eyes have softened considerably. and my skin overall has a healthy glow.

I'm NO expert by any means. Can only speak of my personal experiences..

To attend to the 'purging' I have found melting an asprin (real stuff) w/lemon or lime juice then dabbing it onto the blemish then going to bed has really helped alot with speeding up the process.

[CBE]

I decided to try this method again, because my skin needs desperate help. lol

I've tried numerous combos of oils the first go round trying this method, and I can't seem to get the right combo and % of oils that's right for my skin. I always end up with red, dry, irritated skin. It was starting to work when I first started this method... but between the purging and the irritation... I couldn't take it anymore.

Anyhoo... Me and certain oils don't get along... Olive... ugh...not good. Straight OO on my face (even EVOO), gives me cystic like pimples. Those hurt!

RBO on my face... same thing.

I recently purchased some Pistachio Oil and Borage Oil. Pistachio is supposed to be good for facial skin, and doesn't clog the pores (or so I read somewhere here online...). Borage Oil is quite a heavy oil, but it's good for acne and blemishes, red inflamed skin, dry scaly skin, and wrinkles!! (I have all of the above!!)

So tonight, I did a combo of

30% castor

60% pistachio

10% borage

I find the castor at 30% is still too high for me! My face feels very dry and tight, and not to mention a tad bit rosy (red) and feels irritated.

So... you people that do OCM... did you find that too much castor made your face feel irritated?

I know the castor is what draws out... but if I keep lowering my % of castor, aren't I compromising the drawing properties that I need doing the OCM?

[SpaceGirl]

I'll go out on a limb here....

CBE, I tried OCM, too. Tried 100% CO, tried CO and OO, tried CO and Hazelnut and Grapeseed and just about every combination of oils I had. Didn't work. Felt better for a short while then just left me feeling oily and gunky.

So I went to see a skin lady and she put me on some treatments and in a year my face is doing so much better that I go out into public without makeup (sometimes).

Now I'm not trying to say give up on OCM and go see a professional - but what I learned from my experience was that I had a lot (and I mean A LOT) of dead skin layers built up over my face to the extent that nothing was working. nothing at all. It took a series of peels and microdermabrasion to get enough of that layered gunk off my face to the beautiful skin within.

I really think that it may be possible that OCM can work for you (and me) but only after we have some help exfoliating the crap off of the face and actually treating the problem. Truthfully I could probably use OCM now and it might work, but I have something that works and I'm not changing it! But I can even use the facial cream that one of the Carries from this board made in a previous swap! And I guarantee you that would have made me break out before - because EVERYTHING made me break out before. And the truth is everyone sloughs off dead skin cells at different rates. For some the washcloth at the end of the OCM may be enough. For me it totally was not.

So before you tackle the OCM technique again, maybe focus on doing some serious exfoliating first (salicylic and glycolic acids are wonderful for this) and getting to some healthier layers of skin.

I'm crossing my fingers for you!

[mystical_angel1219]

I like this method once in a while. My skin is uber dry.

I usually mix it per two ounce bottle~ olive oil, castor oil, organic sunflower oil, borage, grapeseed and splash of olive squalane or emu.

I don't have the percentages down to any science, this is for personal use and research. Maybe I should work on this for the future.

[Faye_SC]

Okay, my face needs help too, but what is OCM?

[CareBear]

CBE - how are you removing the oil? I can't use a wet wash cloth or I get irritated. I use a dry, SOFT washcloth and do much better. I'm looking for a smooth plastic edge to try scraping it off gently and see how that works next.

Faye, it means Oil Cleansing Method. Simply means you put oil on your face and wipe it off to clean your skin - instead of washing.

In the winter time I use olive + castor, in the warmer months sunflower + castor.

Unrefined castor? Never heard of this.

[CBE]

CBE - how are you removing the oil? I can't use a wet wash cloth or I get irritated. I use a dry, SOFT washcloth and do much better. I'm looking for a smooth plastic edge to try scraping it off gently and see how that works next.

With a wet washcloth.

Maybe I need to try a softer one. Maybe it IS the washcloth that is irritating me and I'm blaming it on the oils.

Carebear... do you find that a DRY washcloth takes the oil off well?

Smooth plastic edge...lol a lettuce knife came to mind for some odd reason..... rotf lmao

[gerrie]

I tried many combos of oils and never found one that worked for my face. I had been using a OCM made in France, from a distributorship they had in the states, which they no longer have and there's no way I'm going to buy my facial cleanser from France I had used it for about 5 years, so then tried my own, which didn't work out, so now I'm using one from here:

http://laventine.com/cleansers.asp

Been using it about 1 year now and I have no problems with it, my skin never feels tight like it did when I tried to make my own. I know you'd rather make your own, but if you can't find the right combo you might try the above. I like the fact that it's water soluble, yet seems to really clean and moisturize my face.

[Faye_SC]

After you put the oil on your face, is there a certain lenght of time it should stay on?

[Ring of Fire]

Also using sunflower oil as a moisturizer, after washing with the other oils, is an excellent alternative to all that expensive stuff. It works wonderful for my skin at least. I have literally thrown away all that junk I have accumulated that never seems to do the trick, especially in the winter. Virgin coconut oil works well too. For skin and hair.

[Ring of Fire]

After you put the oil on your face, is there a certain lenght of time it should stay on?

I leave on for like 1/2 hour most times. A few minutes works as well as long as you give the oils enough time to absorb in your skin. I use a hot wash cloth to remove.

[CareBear]

the dry works fine. I use a hand made one someone knitted for me - it's cotton - but I think any soft washcloth would work. I have really dry skin so a little residual oil is ok with me. if you use a damp one then keep it cool.

Trying to remove with the edge of a credit card didn't work - too sharp.

[Darbla]

I use homemade OCM after a performance as it does a fantastic job of getting rid of stage makeup. I don't leave it on long at all; basically by the time I've finished massaging it in good, it's ready to remove. In the shower I remove it with soap and then use a scrub after, but I exfoliate every single night without fail. OCM does not cause me any more acne problems than I normally have anyway. I think I mixed just castor and olive oils for this current batch.

In the mornings I started a couple months ago just steaming my face for a few seconds with a hot washcloth and then wiping around with that, and my skin is breaking out LESS than ever. You'd think oily skin would breakout more if I weren't using cleansers, but it's not.