Thank you, Susiestar!

SuZir

Well-Known Member
Some time ago you posted something about oil cleansing and how it has helped you and your daughter with skin issues. And instructions how to do it and all. I got intrigued because first of all I had to check from dictionary what the castor oil means in my language and after checking I was even more intrigued because honestly for me castor oil was mainly familiar from old school adventure books for boys and all the mayhem one can cause with that.

So of course I had to try. And my sensitive, brittle, way too dry skin has never survived this well from the fall and I have high hopes of the winter, if it continues to work this well for me. Usually skin on my face is in this good condition only during summer months and during winter it varies somewhere between 'looks awful' to 'actually broken and hurting from several places', but not now.

I did some googling after I read what you wrote and it seems this trend has not yet really arrived to my neck of woods. I did find only couple references to it in my language from few trendsetter beauty bloggers, but those are not something I tend to read. To be honest I tend to be that kind of gal, who goes to good hair stylist who can cut total wash and go and be presentable hair for me regularly, visits a beauty salon every two months to have my eyebrows and lashes tinted to bit darker shade so others may actually notice that I have them and then just wash and blow dry my hair after my morning run and use at tops five minutes with make up (usually more like two) adding some colour correcting foundation, powder and maybe little something for my lips and eyes before leaving. So no interest or need for beauty blogs and I doubt I would had heard about this oil cleansing thing in the long time if ever without you telling about it here.

Now, if I only could get my offspring to try it... While Joy has less dry and sensitive skin than me, his sport, with all the sweating, pads etc. that irritate, having to wash with soap not to smell etc. can be hard for the skin. And unfortunate for difficult child, now that his body has finally started to believe that it is not appropriate to be pubescent after you hit twenty and he is finally starting to get over all the puberty things like growing like a weed, having oily skin and so on, it seems he has actually inherited my dry and sensitive skin.
 
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1905

Well-Known Member
I agree! My skin was always so dry, also sometimes I would get pimples. I use jojoba oil to wash my face, also I put some on before putting on my make-up. I got my small bottle at Trader Joes, $4 contrainer lasts 6 months. Forget all other cleansers and moisturizers, plus they were expensive. I haven't had a pimple in forever now, oil will get rid of oil on your face, not water.
 

JKF

Well-Known Member
I use organic extra virgin coconut oil and it's amazing. It's really helped clear my skin up and it look and feels so healthy. I never thought oil as a cleanser made sense but it certainly works 100% better than anything else I've ever tried!
 

susiestar

Roll With It
I am glad it helped you. I have super sensitive skin also. I can remember having my skin crack and bleed all over during the winters as a kid when I played outside. Friends used to make fun and call me names because my legs would be covered by fine lines of scabs all winter. It wasn't until we moved to a place with a shorter winter that it stopped happening all over.

I hope that at some point it will help the males in your life. You might try adding a masculine scent from an essential oil to it. I know my bro likes peppermint, and lemon, so for him I would use one or both of those. Or you could use cinnamon, or rosemary or another scent they like. That may be enough to make them more amenable to trying something new.
 

runawaybunny

Administrator
Staff member
hmmmm, I had not read the threads about oil cleansing but I'm having a big eczema flare up right now. My dermatologist advised no soap or hot water anywhere near the patches of eczema.

I'll have to look into this.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
Sorry about the exzema, RB. Jess struggles with that and oil cleansing has been a HUGE help. She also uses baby wipes to allow her to bathe less when the eczema is very active. But thanks to the oils she is using the wipes a lot less.

You can use different oils to cleanse. Right now lots of people are into coconut oil. It actually is one of the more harsh oils for skin though. It does have a nice scent to many people and the way it goes from a solid at room temp to a liquid is fun to play with.

For sensitive skin, I would recommend rice bran oil, grapeseed oil, or apricot oil. I strongly urge you to buy your oils from the grocery. They are usually cheaper in the cooking section of the store (esp at Whole Foods) and the quality is higher and safer. I actually got my rice bran oil at Big Lots and the quality is very high. It is very soothing and absorbs very fast into skin. Some oils are harder to get and I order them from ebay. If you really like the oil cleansing, try getting some rose hip seed oil and adding it to your cleansing oil. It is awesome for anti-aging. It doesn't smell like roses, but has great anti-aging properties and feels very nice. I substitute it for about 1/4 of the grapeseed oil that I use.

I also make a cream that is easy to make and amazing for eczema and other skin problems. You could make it at home in fifteen min or less. My husband teaches at college level and had a student missing class because his 1 month old child has severe eczema and they kept having to go to the hospital because of bleeding, infection and medication reactions to the creams they were prescribed. I made a fresh batch of cream and sent it, along with ingredients and directions, for husband to give to them. husband thought it was strange, but gave it to them anyway. 2 weeks later his student came in to thank us because the baby was so much better and my letter helped them save a ton by making their own cream rather than buying the rx cream that was mostly vaseline and wasn't really helping anything.

You will need to order some things for the cream. I use ebay and have had no problems with my products. To make the cream you need shea butter and illipe butter and an oil that your skin does not react to. I do not use the unrefined shea butter because the scent is very unpleasant and impossible to cover up or work with. I have tried, but the end result is just unpleasant and the odor stays for a long time on your skin.

To mix the cream, put equal amounts of shea butter and illipe butter in a container and heat them over warm water just until they are melted. You can microwave them if you want, but use the lowest power and very small amounts of time, maybe 30 sec to 1 min to start, and even shorter amounts after that. I mix small batches at a time and find putting a bowl in water that is hot but not burning on my fingers is usually all I need. Once the butters have melted, remove them from heat and stir in one part oil. Use the same amount of each butter and of oil, say 1 ounce each, for example. Stir the oil in until mixed. If you choose to add essential oil for scent or healing qualities, add a few drops at a time at this point. You can also add a few drops of Vit E at this point. Vit. E will help preserve the mixture and is good for the skin. I generally break open a few capsules of a Vit E supplement rather than keeping a bottle of it around because it is easier to find in the capsules.

At this point you can either let the mixture sit until it is solid, put it in the fridge for a bit, or put it in an ice bath and stir until it solidifies. If you continue to stir or whip the mixture once it starts to cool, you can actually whip it up like whipped cream. It will melt back to "normal' if it gets warm, but it can be rewhipped if you desire. It doesn't really hurt it. When it cools, it will solidify and can be stored at room temp or in the fridge. I do keep mine in the fridge in summer if our house is hot. It lasts longer and feels amazing! I am pretty sure there is a post with more detailed instructions somewhere here.

This cream is really gentle and feels amazing. Illipe butter has great healing qualities and is amazing on skin. I have psoriasis and find it very helpful. I cannot use pretty much any commercial creams that I have found because I have bad reactions to them. I think it is the preservatives or stabilizers or something similar in them. I even have a hard time with makeup any more. I do mix small batches at a time because natural ingredients do go bad far faster than those creams you buy at the store. I do save a ton of money because I don't buy lotions and potions for my skin anymore. You get large amounts for not much money when you buy the oils in the grocery section. The same amount of a lotion would likely cost a fortune!

I hope these help. I can send the names of the ebay sellers I use via PM if you want them.
 

SuZir

Well-Known Member
I hope that at some point it will help the males in your life. You might try adding a masculine scent from an essential oil to it. I know my bro likes peppermint, and lemon, so for him I would use one or both of those. Or you could use cinnamon, or rosemary or another scent they like. That may be enough to make them more amenable to trying something new.

Hmm, maybe I should try making some and adding a scent and give Joy as a Christmas present. Just have to figure out the scent that would compliment the brand name scents he uses (that absolutely have to be same as everyone else is using :D, you can't blame Joy or his friends for originality. It always baffles me how they find their street shoes from the pile they make outside their locker room. I mean one light brown leather winter converse looks pretty same as other light brown leather winter converse and then there is over twenty pairs of those in one pile...) He is also concerned enough of his looks that he will bother to actual use something like that even though it is bit more work than just using some other face wash product.

difficult child is a different matter. In fact for him I would need to figure out something that smells as little as possible. He still has quite a lot of sensory issues, and being hypersensitive with almost all of them and doesn't tolerate wearing more than one scented product at a time. And he is picky with that. He also thinks he is ugly and doesn't see too much point in 'trying to hide it', so not motivated by taking care of his looks like Joy. More likely to try to if I can convince him it will have more practical benefits (not itching, not smarting every time he showers, less risk of skin infections etc.) At least difficult child recognizes that being regularly exposed to massage oils do help with his skin, so that could be a starting point.

I just need to come up with two different sales speeches to sell them the idea :D Luckily husband is blessedly free of skin issues and I don't try to sell it to him too! He is way too good salesman to fell any sale speeches I can up with :p
 
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