Oil Cleansing

My skin issues have been a thorn in my flesh for 17 years. I have used COUNTLESS acne treatments from over the counter to prescription acutane, proactiv, chemical peels, salicylic, benzoyl peroxide and cream after drying cream. At 19 I went to beauty school to become an esthetician because I was so tired of my acne. Nothing I did worked or if it did, it only worked for a little while and then I was back at square one. This was what my skin looked like one year ago. This is the worst I think it's ever been. I definitely believe (for me) it was a combination of health issues, what I was doing topically & food allergies. It's been a whole body thing where I've made changes all around & seen great results.

 These are my most horrifying pictures I want to hide, but I'm so proud of how far my skin has come.

I probably shouldn't be taking selfies in the morning after being up all night with a newborn, but you get the gist of it. I still have a lot of scars, but I'm going to be trying out a product I'm REALLY excited about & will post about soon.

If you told me a couple of year ago that the thing that would help me get my skin under control was oil, I wouldn't have believed it. Let me just say, this was NOT something I learned about in Beauty School. It seems like putting oil on your skin is the last thing you would want to do, right?

In ancient times the Egyptians, Romans and Greeks slathered oils all over their bodies. Olive oil has been long known to produce youthful skin, and women & men have used it in beauty & bathing rituals for ages.  Somehow in our modern day, simplicity has been lost to chemicals and treatments with names I can't even pronounce. We've come to the conclusions that we need to dry our skin out instead of nourishing it. That oil = breaking out and that moisturizing twice daily is "too much." What we fail to realize is how absolutely essential oil is to our skins health and appearance. If we are not putting moisture back into our skin, we  become dry and therefore our bodies produce excess sebum. This natural oil our skin puts out to compensate for the lack of moisture is actually what can clog our pores and cause breakouts.

Oil cleansing is so simple and I encourage you to give up whatever regimen you're doing for just two weeks to try it. Then come back and let me know your results and how your skin feels. I recommend purchasing an organic oil such as Jojoba oil. There are other oils you can use, but for acne prone skin, Jojoba is especially good and you can get an organic high quality one for cheap (This is the one I buy).

How To Oil Cleanse

1. Put a nickel size amount of oil into your palm

2. Rub the oil between your hands and then start gently massaging it into your skin. Continue to massage it in, making sure you're getting into your problem areas and using the same movements as if you were using soap to scrub the dirt away. Do this for about two minutes and then let the oil set for another 30 seconds or so.

3. Get a clean washcloth and soak it in warm/hot water. You want a bit of steam but it doesn't need to be too hot. Place washcloth over face, let it set for a minute and then gently wipe off oil

4. Put on a couple more drops of oil as moisturizer or whatever night cream/moisturizer you use.

For extra benefits, you can add essential oils as well. I recommend melaleuca which is fabulous for acne prone skin because it's antibacterial, anti viral, anti fungal and a natural astringent. Use it very sparingly thought because it's extremely drying. It's great for every once in a while or spot treatments.
 Frankincense oil is amazing for EVERYTHING including its healing properties. This is great for damaged or scarred skin as it can help heal. Lemon oil is amazing for skin as well as it helps to even skin tone as well as balance and brighten skin among other things. You can add a drop of your preferred oil each time you wash, or create your own blend with your Jojoba oil in a separate bottle.

(I use & love DoTerra essential oils! If your interested in purchasing some, my awesome friend Shannon aka @hippymedicine has a website you can check out HERE!)

Another huge recommendation I can make is to create a scrub by adding about 1/8 tsp baking soda in with your oil to form a paste which makes an AMAZING exfoliator. This would be a wonderful thing to add 2-3 times a week. Instead of using a wash cloth to wipe off the paste, use warm water while rubbing it into your skin and rinse off that way. You will have excess oil left on your skin after, but I pat dry with a clean towel and leave the oils as my night time "mask". This keeps my skin feeling so soft and it really gets a deeper clean and keeps blackheads at bay.