I've had bad skin for a long time (since I started college as a freshmen, 7 years ago), and not even birth control pills cleared it up. Recently though, I've had to stop taking the Pill (it raised my blood pressure too much), and around the same time, I had to take prednisone for a week (I found out the hard way I was severely allergic to the antibiotic Floxin). Anyway, my skin was SO CLEAR while I was taking the prednisone, which leads me to believe my skin problems are hormonal. When my dosage for prednisone was over, my skin got SO BAD. ugh. Not cystic acne, just really irritated and small red bumps, sometimes whiteheads too. Coming off prednisone, combined with coming off the pill... disaster. My skin has never been so bad. At the time I was using a face wash with 2% salicytic acid, and it wasnt doing a thing to help. I've used proactiv before, so I know it works, but it leaves my skin so dry, plus its expensive for me. At this point, I've tried almost every kind of over-the-counter acne treatment. I tried over the counter microdermabrasions too, which felt nice but didnt clear me at all. At this point, I was so sick of chemicals, and wanted to try something natural and cheap. I was desperate.
On another online community I heard about the Oil Cleansing Method. Basically you cleanse your skin with oil, because even in chemistry we learn that oil dissolves oil. The theory is that, by putting oil on your face, you'll be able to dissolve the dirt and oil in your pores. I was EXTREMELY wary of putting ANY kind of oil on my face!!!! It goes against everything I know about skin care! But I figured, well, everything I've tried hasnt worked, so maybe I have to change my thinking (since my diet is very healthy and I drink a lot of water, cut out caffiene and sodas completely).
I've been doing this for 4 days and I already am seeing an improvement! Its insane! I never would have thought that oil would help my skin clear up! I'm not saying it will work for everyone, but its working for me. I have really fair, light skin that is easily irritated, easily burned. My skin is "thin" too, Im 24 and already getting fine lines around my eyes
I think partly its due to the drying that proactiv did.. anyway, most of my blemishes are small red bumps, and usually they have what seems to be a "seed" in them that I have to get out before it can heal.. (and all hell breaks loose in my skin if I try to remove it prematurely). I also have lots of blackheads on my nose. I dont, however, have any kinds of cysts.
SO! Here is what I've been doing am and pm except I omit the first step in the morning:
-a 75/25 ratio of castor oil/extra-virgin olive oil plus a few drops of tea tree oil: massage this onto a dry face, even over makeup, for 2 or 3 minutes. Take a wet hot wash cloth and place it over your face to steam it, with the oil still on, until the washcloth gets cool. Do this 3 or 4 times. Then wipe off the oil, and rinse with very warm water until you get off as much oil as you can, while still being gentle.
-cleanse with cetaphil gentle cleanser, without washcloth, just to get any dirt you may have missed/couldnt get off. rinse clean with warm water.
-use a toner of chilled chamomile tea
-use a q-tip dipped in tea tree oil to spot treat any blemishes, let dry
-moisturize with a few drops of Jojoba oil, all over your face.
The first couple days my skin was like "what the heck are you doing?" and it felt oily, but my skin never got worse. I steamed more and wiped oil off more, and it got better. And now, 4 days later, my skin is clearing, and I havent gotten any new pimples! I cant explain it. And the Jojoba oil has made my skin feel SO soft and moisturized!!! I look in the mirror, and I cant believe that *oil* has cleared my skin.
thanks for reading, sorry it was so long!
