A darker shade of green: the oil cleansing method.

 In my quest to become "greener", I'm cleansing my face with oil. Yes, oil. As in EVOO a la Rachel Ray.

I first heard about the oil cleansing method from an online community I'm a member of. I admit, at first I was a bit grossed out about rubbing straight up OIL onto my face. For crying out loud I cook with this stuff! (And make a mean vodka sauce, I might add...) I don't care for feeling like a greasy pizza...and that's what I envisioned. But the more I read, the more intrigued I became.

I have to admit, I'm pretty low maintenance when it comes to skin care. I don't invest a ton of moola on cleansers and moisturizers. I never wash my face at night...unless I happen to be wearing foundation and blush and such for a special occasion. Otherwise, it's washed in the morning in the shower. And as I approach a certain ripe age of ahem-blah-blah-something-five, yeah I'm seeing the wrinkles and "laugh lines"...not so damn funny I have to tell you. But like the 2 or 3 (hundred) gray hair I find on a regular basis, I don't really get my panties in a twist about it. But I'm told this is supposed to eliminate the need for moisturizers and anti-aging crap.

Listofhealthyfoods.com

So, moving on. Oil cleansing method. I have heard great things about Castor Oil, and while I do want to pick some up I decided to start today regardless, because I ran out of my cleanser and figured now was as good a time as any. So feeling like a teen sneaking a can of beer into the garage, I crept into the bathroom with my bottles of olive oil and tea tree oil. The funny thing is, only Matthew and Anthony were home. Not like they'd raise an eyebrow. I added a teaspoon of olive oil and 3 drops of tea tree oil into a shot glass...that's hard core right there, I know. I mixed it around and applied it to my face, massaging for about 15 seconds. It felt nice. I *think* I might have felt some grit after a while...but it could have been my mind playing tricks on me. Then, I wet a washcloth with HOT water and placed it on my face. Waited until it cooled, and repeated. Then  gently wiped the oil off with the same cloth, repeated this a couple of times.

When I was done, my skin felt utterly...normal. Not tight like it is with a regular cleanser. Not pizza-pie greasy like I expected. Just CLEAN. And soft. It's now the end of the day and I don't have the same dry patch appearing on my forehead. I did feel a little "damp" this afternoon while out and about, but I think that might have more to do with the 387% humidity outside than the oil. Once indoors, my skin feels normal. So far, so good. I plan on sticking with it for a while. And like I said, I want to get some Castor Oil as it is supposed to be super-bad-ass cleansing. Will report back from the field in a week.

If you have tried this, or plan to, I'd love to hear your thoughts.