When I went to visit my sister Sarah at the end of February I came away with some valuable information. One such piece of information was how she got her skin so silky smooth! She shared with me that she has been using oil to wash her face. Now, that seems to fly in the face of logic doesn't it? All the big corporations that make beauty products and retail them for anywhere from $15 to $150+ are printing "Oil Free" on their packages as if that should be a comforting thing! But think about it, what does our skin produce naturally? Does it produce sodium lauryl sulfate? Or PEG? or how about disodium lauroamphodiacetate?
No. It does not. It produces oil. This oil is supposed to soften and protect our skin. If your face is getting really greasy you may want to take a look at what you are stripping it with.
To start out with, I have always had very oily skin. Now that I'm older it seems to be turning to combination skin so I have dry spots on my cheeks, near my eye brows, and around my nose. I was using all sorts of exfoliating products (Neutrogena, Garnier, etc) and then slapping on a bunch of lotion (Mary Kay--which I still swear by and the new regimen actually helps it absorb better), and alternating with Aveeno foam cleansers.
No longer. Sarah had me try her mixture, which was 80% "carrier" oil (you can use olive, safflower, sunflower, etc.), 10% castor oil, and 10% jojoba oil.
You put a quarter size amount on your palm and then rub it into your dry skin, massaging all around your face. Then take a fairly hot wash cloth, wring it out, and lay it on your face. Breath in and out deeply and relax until it becomes room temp. Then take the cloth and in a circular motion wipe off the oil. Repeat if desired.
Now me being me, I took it a few steps farther. Every third day I make an exfoliant:
I do the above but I also add green tea (brew a cup in boiling water, let it cool down, and then add it in), a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, 4-5 tablespoons of white table sugar, and 2 drops each of essential oils in Cedarwood, Rosemary, and Sweet Orange.
It gives it this wonderful oriental aroma that really makes me relax. In the shower I apply this sugar mixture to my face and gently massage. I then do the same hot washcloth trick where I lay it on my face for a minute or so and then gently wipe off the mixture. Then I use the leftover oil/sugar all over instead of soap. I concentrate on my arms and shoulders because I have these awful little red bumps that appear and look like pimples but are not. This mixture makes them dry up and leave. I am so excited I will get to wear tank tops this summer.
Next I am going to try to make my own soap. Here's a list of what is in commercial products, and what they might do to you. I notice that "depression" is listed for several, and as I do have clinical depression I really want to avoid things that might make it worse.
